Risks

A company that fails to do sports marketing well faces the following risks:

• You can make poor deals because of not understanding all the costs: The professional leagues are unbelievably effective at knowing your company and how much revenue you generate and extracting just enough so that you have a hard time breaking even.
• You can find yourself getting lost as a small participant in a major marketing arena, like the Super Bowl. 
  
• You can waste money because of poor execution:  It doesn’t matter if you have a relationship with a team or an athlete, if you don’t execute effectively, you will waste your money. Once you make the commitment to sports marketing and your strategy, you have to outwork everyone you’re competing with, because that’s how you win. 

Opportunities

A company that is successful in sports marketing has the following opportunities:

• You can move your customers out of neutral, out of apathy toward your brand by finding a passion point that cuts through the clutter of daily work, cellphones, girlfriends, spouses, jobs and life. 
• You can connect with your target audience on a personal and emotional level – and influence their purchasing decisions – by identifying your brand with the sports, teams or players they love.