To change or not to change?

Whatever your opinion about the impact of Covid-19 on your personal life, ability to work or enjoy sport, we can probably agree very few things have remained unchanged. The question is whether these changes will stay or revert back to a new normal once Covid-19 can be safely contained.

According to Nike who now generate 30% of sales from digital business the consumer shift toward digital is here to stay. With 83% year-on-year growth via Nike’s owned digital properties and $900 million in incremental revenue, it is no surprise. Enforced change has accelerated and helped Nike achieve their digital sales goal three years ahead of schedule. If you have all the training apps and membership programs to serve customers, the only way is up. Most telling was the statement from John Donahoe, Nike’s President/CEO who said: “We know a consumer who connects with us on two or more platforms has a lifetime value that’s four times higher than those who don’t.”

Another deep thinker and author of How brands grow is Professor Byron Sharp from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute who used the phrase ‘mental and physical availability’ and ‘penetration over loyalty’. Despite all the challenges faced by marketers, Sharp’s belief which many support is you can’t grow without growing the size of the customer base, also known as the ‘go for penetration’ message. A similar message to market penetration in the Product Market Matrix developed by Igor Ansoff in the 1950’s. But Sharp goes further suggesting you drive penetration growth by reaching really ultra-light buyers and not just the heavy user or loyal customers. This seems particularly relevant for sport teams with millions of fans overseas who will probably never attend a live match in their lifetime.

If there is anyone who embraced change in the gaming world in the last 10 years it is Candide as he was first known but now goes by the more familiar name of Ninja, or Tyler Blevins. From Halo to Fortnite, change has been a strategy for Blevins who built a following of more than 15 million on Instagram alone and established his reputation playing Fortnite. Out of more than 350 million registered Fortnite gamers, Blevins has a 36% win rate and is in the top 20 in terms of overall kills. No wonder Microsoft’s Mixer platform offered him an exclusive deal worth more than $30 million to leave Twitch. But, after one year competing with Twitch, YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming, Mixer closed down in June 2020 and Ninja is reflecting on his next move. Some suggest a move to YouTube, but Blevins is eyeing another sector that needs change, Hollywood. Equally, Blevins has what the movie industry needs, a direct line to the next generation of superfans.

After a decade of Leaders in Sport live conferences in London, it became LeadersWeek live online and on demand. An impressive line-up of guest speakers shared their views on the latest changes taking place and what could be expected in 2021 and beyond. Peter Hutton, Director, Sports Partnerships identified four pillars of business value for Facebook and sports. The audience watching sport grows by the day with more than 1.25 billion monthly viewers on the Facebook platform. With the introduction of Facebook Reels this growth is expected to continue. Sponsorship of teams, events and fan groups offers brands another touchpoint with key audiences. Social commerce with shopping experiences, paid online events, fans subscriptions and conversion of content into paying customers from ticketing and other assets drives engagement and ROI. Finally, ad-funded monetization is a vital revenue stream for many rights holders including the UFC who generate more than $1 million per year from the Facebook platform. With most fans unable to attend live matches a virtual season ticket and live streaming may be another change we have to get used to for a while.

The final word comes from consulting giant Accenture who has just unveiled a new brand positioning and company purpose in a campaign described as its biggest brand move in a decade. The name of the new campaign: “Let there be change.” Amy Fuller, CMO says “Bring it on, we welcome it, we acknowledge that change is reality and that it can be an opportunity, but it is not optional.” Voila.