Conference in NOC: Sports marketing should target fans and TV viewers

The National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Belarus hosted a conference on sports marketing on 19 November.

It was attended by experts representing the Russian media Match TV (Yelena Rudakova), the Dynamo National Olympic Stadium (Aleksandr But-Gusaim), Luzhniki Olympic Complex (Anton Laptev), the Russian Football National League (FNL - Robert Ter-Abrahamyan). They spoke about interaction with spectators and fans, the organization of mass projects and events.

“It is not the first year that the NOC of Belarus has been paying attention to the development of marketing in Belarusian sport. I would like to wish the participants of the conference good, interesting discussions. We are in difficult conditions, but we are gradually ‘breaking through this wall’: our athletes, I think, performed well at the Olympic Games, win medals at the World and European Championships. competent marketing has a fair share of credit for these achievements," Dzmitry Dauhalionak, Vice President of the NOC of Belarus.

The conference was opened by a discussion panel with the participation of representatives of the sports industry and marketing specialists.

The primary task of sport is the result, but it is no less important to make sport more popular, to attract more spectators.

Vitaly Ostrovsky, Head of the Marketing Department at the NOC of Belarus, spoke about the topics of the forum:

“The NOC of Belarus has been hosting the conference on marketing for the third year in a row. We discuss various approaches to the development of this area. The primary task of sport is the result. The equally important aspect is how to make sport more popular, attract more spectators, how to earn money for federations and clubs in this area. People often ask, is it possible to be financially successful in sport? The answer is positive. The state invests huge funds in the development of infrastructure. Athletes have good conditions for training, and this approach pays off. Our conference helps to find ways of cooperation with partners. In separate cases today we have discussed the topic of attracting sponsors. The participation of HC Dinamo Minsk in the KHL is a positive example in Belarus. As for football, we are still moving in this direction. This is a great benefit for our managers who work in the sector,” Vitaly Ostrovsky said.

Yelena Rudakova, Director of the Department for Development and Interaction with Sports Organizations at Match TV, believes that marketing should be aimed at young people.

“All sports marketing should be aimed at fans and TV viewers. Today sport is a key factory of creation and expression of emotions. It is very important to study how our youth get emotions, where they go for emotions. The adult audience continues to consume sports content in more traditional ways - stadiums, TV screens. It is imperative to make a sports event a true family event today. This will mean that in a few days the child will be brought to the sports section. This is the conversion we should all strive for today,” Yelena Rudakova said.

“In the modern world sport competes with the entertainment industry,” Anton Laptev, Deputy Director General for Development at Luzhniki Olympic Complex (Moscow). “It is important to work, find interesting solutions and invest in marketing.”

The conference was attended by more than 150 managers of Belarusian sports organizations.

Press service of the NOC of Belarus
Photos by the NOC of Belarus