Running Billboards?
The world of sports marketing is growing at a rapid pace. More and more sports fans are born (or converted) everyday, and so too are more and more advertisements making their way into our arenas. Stadium signage, sponsored blimps, game sponsors, and even signs painted onto football fields and under hockey ice are found around the world. All of these forms of sports advertising have been accepted world-wide. However, there is one form of sports advertising that has not made its way to the US as of yet. Beware sports fanatics of the running billboard.
In America, many people are unaware of this so called ‘running billboard’. However, every huge soccer fan (or European) knows exactly what I’m talking about. Take a look for yourself. I present the running billboard:
European soccer teams have been wearing jerseys similar to these for quite some time now. Unlike American sports teams, these European jerseys feature sponsors on the chest, not the actual team’s name or logo. These soccer jerseys include the team logo, but they are dwarfed by the actual sponsor graphic. Other European sports exhibit similar jersey layouts - including the NFL Europe.
So why haven’t American sports teams followed suit? Is it because team owners are afraid of a negative fan reaction? Are our leagues run by more loyal commissions? When it comes down to it, what is the difference between putting your name on and around a team’s stadium and putting your name on a team’s jersey? If European soccer can do it and still survive as one of the world’s most popular sports, then why can’t the NFL or MLB do the same? Even the MLS hasn’t replaced team names with sponsorships. In fact, the only main sport in our country that exhibits the running billboard (even though it isn’t necessarily running in this case) is NASCAR. I guess you can call them rolling, speeding, sometimes crashing billboards.
The change would bring a lot of buzz, and sports writers across the country would sound off for weeks if the move ever were to take place. Implementing the running billboard in America’s most popular sports would ignite a frenzy of debate. Just imagine how much it would cost to place your billboard on every New York Yankee jersey. Your company name would be broadcasted on every Yankee game (with a frequency that is through the roof), printed in nearly every edition or Sports Illustrated, constantly featured on ESPN, and directly tied to one of the most valuable sports brands in the world.
I wonder if the transition will come to the US. NASCAR has had these sponsorships for decades now. Advertising on some of America’s most historic sports teams would definitely take many levels of negotiation and compromise. I am very interested to see how close America will come to accepting the running billboard in the future.
