The Marketing Implications of International Sports Rating Systems

Abstract

Recognized world sports federations appear to have chosen their official rating systems with marketing in mind. 87% of the 105 official rating systems involve the simple accumulation of points, which encourages top competitors to enter as many tournaments as possible. Most of those systems recognize a seasonal champion. A marketer can exploit the importance of the end-of-season events and the appearance of top athletes. To be successful in a combat sport like wrestling, boxing, and judo, physically overcoming the opponent is intensely personal. Top competitors can be advertised in personal terms to encourage the awaiting audience to buy into the upcoming contest on an equally personal level. In other sports such as running, swimming, and rowing, each competitor performs unimpeded by the opponent. Often the best performance for a season is used to crown a yearly champion. A rating in seconds and meters is more tangible than one in points. A marketer can illustrate the small gap between top competitors making every stride important to potential ticket buyers. Some of the object-control sports like basketball, cricket, ice hockey, rugby, soccer, and tennis are rated by point accumulators and some are rated by more sophisticated systems that self adjust, based on the relative strengths of the opponents. Mind sports such as chess and bridge are included because these competitions are recognized by the International Olympic Committee and by SportAccord. The specifics of those rating systems are provided in this chapter as are suggested marketing opportunities.