Sports Promotion and Social Media

DESCRIPTION:
Theories and methods in the broad field of sport communication; sports consumer and business markets; sports sponsorship and partnership; marketing in traditional (offline) and digital (web marketing, social media and mobile applications) modes to create integrated communication plans.

RATIONALE: 
Sports promotion, through sports sponsorship and marketing communications, has increased in importance over the last few years due to the need to create revenues and to disconnect from state funded sources. The module concentrates primarily on the objectives of marketing communication of brands (that can refer to products, teams, venues and athletes) that invest in sport promotion and the strategies and tools to achieve these objectives. The approach combines the advancement of new methods of promotion through traditional offline methods and digital methods with emphasis to social media to attract participants (athletes), buyers (fans) and sponsors.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: 
On successful completion of the module, the student should be able to:
1. Evaluate the theory pertaining to issues in sports promotion and sponsorship and formulate appropriate communication strategies within a sport industry setting, for a team or product.
2. Explain the fundamental concepts and processes of marketing promotion and communication in sport and evaluate the role of social media in the promotion of sports.
3. Explain and evaluate different types of sports promotion and communication strategies with emphasis on sport sponsorship and social media and the targets they are relevant for.

METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING:
In congruence with the teaching and learning strategy of the college, the following tools are used:
- Class lectures.
- Analysis and discussion of cases and assignments on sports marketing issues.
- Major Written Project (individual): Students develop a communication strategy and plan for a selected product in the sports industry (a team or a product brand, as selected by the instructor)
- Office Hours: Students are encouraged to make full use of the office hours of their instructor, where they can ask questions and go over lecture material, case studies or project.
- Use of a Blackboard learning platform, where instructors post lecture notes, assignment instructions, timely announcements, as well as additional resources.