Sponsorship of sport teams has seen a dramatic rise as major companies in various countries have integrated it as a necessary part of their marketing strategy. In South Korea, sport sponsorship began when the government of the Republic of Korea made it a social obligation of big companies to support the country’s professional football and baseball teams. Yet SoKor companies like Samsung and Hyundai did so by strategizing their sports marketing and sponsorship, which made them the most successful business cases in the history of sports marketing.
What Makes Sport Sponsorship Different from Sport Commercials
Sport sponsorship goes beyond releasing commercial advertisements of athletes as endorsers or personifications of the ideals carried by certain brands. It’s actually a marketing mix of providing the basic funding that a league needs in their training athletes and in putting up as well as taking part in sporting events. The deal is mutually beneficial since business sponsors have a broad range of materials, venues and occasions in which to display their brand name, logo and products to a large group of audience that could even extend globally.
Yet it took effective and quality sport marketing and sponsorship strategies for Samusung and Hyundai to make sure their investments will produce immediate and at the same time long-term impact. Through their dynamic and engaging sponsorship campaigns via Olympic and World Cup championship tournaments, the two industrial firms made their respective brand and their corporate image among the fastest rising in the business world.
As a matter of fact, the funding support provided by Samsung and Hyundai by way of sponsorship deals proved successful, since Korea’s national football team made record as the first Asian league to enter the semifinals, via the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The success of Korea’s national football team continued when they ousted defending champion Germany in the qualifying round of the 2018 FIFA World, with a score of 2-0.
How Samsung and Hyundai/Kia Benefited from Sport Sponsorship Deals
Unknown to many, the two South Korean firms both started their manufacturing business about 70 years with products that were quite different from the products they are known for today.
Samsung started out in 1941 with textile production while Hyundai began in 1947 as a construction company. After South Korea’s revolutionary economic development between 1980 and 1990, they diversified and subsequently made electronics (Samsung) and motor vehicles (Hyundai/Kia) their major products.
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In recognizing their lack of practical experience in sports marketing and sponsorship deals, they devised new marketing strategies that will enable them to compete in the emerging globalization movement. Otherwise, they would have had little success in competing with the already leading multinational companies like General Electric, Sony, Siemens, General Motors, Ford, Toyota, Honda, BMW and the likes.
Bookmakers are Also the Best Strategist in Sport Sponsorships
Sporting events have always attracted massive audiences where many identify with a sports team. That being the case, sponsorship agreements enable a sponsoring firm to convert a large group of highly passionate sports fans into becoming its loyal consumer base, not only locally but on a global scale.
The significance of sports events became more pronounced after sports betting in several countries became legal; turning bookmaking into a highly lucrative business for many high profile sportsbook operators. These bookmakers were also at the forefront of sport sponsorship deals, particularly in EU member countries and the UK.
In 2001, the ROK government eased some of its gambling restrictions in preparation for the country’s co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, along with rival country Japan. The legalization of sports betting came with the establishment of Sports Toto Korea, to serve as the only legal 토토사이트 (betting site) were Korean citizens can place their wagers.
Yet it was also an opportunity seen by major sportsbook operators like Bet365, in expanding their Asian reach in South Korea.
