The series of lockdowns has left everyone with serious time on their hands, and most people started a project to pass the time. What was yours? If your project focuses on creating the latest start-up to shake-up the sports industry, then you are in good company. SportsTechX reported in 2020 that the European SportTech market saw €500m+ invested in 2019 with solid predictions of further growth for the future [1] – not a bad time to join the market, right? Look no further to see how you can get the edge on established agencies and renowned consultancies in a thriving, fast-paced industry.
How do you fit into the current market?
The sports industry is estimated to be home to 1,576 start-ups and 2,077 founders [2], and it is vital to explore the current state of play before joining the market. The first step is research. Find your competition, define their specialisms, analyse their clients and identify their target audience. The research step is fundamental to understanding how your start-up will bring fresh perspectives, new audience offerings and original client solutions into an already established industry.
Now you need to think about your start-up and how you will make your mark on the industry. What is your USP going to be? How are clients going to differentiate you from existing companies within the industry? Can you capitalise on industry trends to develop agency specialisms? Will your mission and vision statement and agency values be indecently recognisable on a search engine page full of other agencies?
The above questions are some of the many hard questions you need to ask yourself to find your unique edge as a new start-up in the sports industry. Key knowledge of what is already on offer, accompanied by a clear vision of your USPs will help set you apart and help you become a point of difference. The combination will ensure you don’t become another face in the crowd. Another route to success for your start-up could be to become an expert on emerging social channels and marketing trends.
Newly found start-ups should also be looking to learn from other start-ups, leading by example to complement their capitalisation on emerging industry trends and marketing channels. The art of learning from others is about looking at what is working well for other businesses in the industry. Are they good at commercialising their client’s content? Are they engaging the right audiences in their preferred digital and social spaces at the ideal times?
Start-ups leading by example
The Space Between
The Space Between is a sports & entertainment marketing agency founded in 2020, focusing on injecting something new into the sports industry. The agency’s point of difference is its “hybrid, flexible agency model” that seeks to expand or shrink their team depending on the needs of their client base.
Founded: September 2020 by Lisa Parfitt, Adam Raincock and Tom Gladstone
Client list includes: Vitality, Grolsch, Mitsubishi Motors, Screwfix and Principality.
TOGETHXR
The newly founded media platform has set-up by four Olympic champions to amplify and strength the voice of women throughout the world of sport. Alex Morgan (USA soccer star), Chloe Kim (Olympic snowboarder and gold medalist), Sue Bird (WNBA champion) and Simone Manuel (Olympic swimmer and gold medalist) co-founded the cross sports venture.
Founded: March 2021
Social following: 48.6K Instagram, 18.7k Twitter, 6642 TikTok, 994 Youtube subscribers, and 427 Facebook followers.
The time for innovation, embraced change and start-ups
The sports landscape has changed substantially over the past 12 months, and with that comes an invaluable opportunity to drive innovation, embrace change and potentially launch a start-up. The first stage of any business venture should be in-depth market research and getting to know your industry inside out. The research stage will help you refine your point of difference, discover emerging industry trends and learn from established and new names in the business.
If you are on the cusp of bringing your start-up concept to fruition or if you have plans to shake-up the industry with a fresh perspective – we can help. Digital Playmakers offers a three-month package designed to craft your pathway to start-up success and help you launch the company of the future for the sports industry. Contact us to begin your venture with sports growth experts by your side.
References
[1] https://medium.com/sportstechx/a-global-overview-of-sportstech-1fe8baeec2f0
[2] https://www.crunchbase.com/hub/sports-startups
[3] https://digitalplaymakers.co.uk/social-media/social-media-in-sports-marketing/
[4] https://digitalplaymakers.co.uk/industry/digital-marketing-in-the-sports-industry-2021/
[5] https://www.emarketer.com/content/tiktok-users-around-world-2020
[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1199871/number-of-clubhouse-users/
