2017 Sport Marketing Association Conference (SMA XV) Boston, MA November 1-3, 2017 a Conceptual Framework for Retro Marketing In
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2017 Sport Marketing Association Conference (SMA XV) A Conceptual Framework for Retro Marketing in Sport: The Five Practical Areas Zach Scola, University of Kansas Olzhas Taniyev, University of Kansas Brian Gordon (Advisor), University of Kansas Friday, November 3, 2017 50-minute poster presentation 9:00-9:50 AM, Washington Ballroom (including questions) Retro marketing has become commonplace in the sporting world, whether it is teams utilizing throwback uniforms or participating in a “turn back the clock night.” The Toronto Raptors of the NBA have employed retro marketing tactics multiple times this year by changing the imagery on the court, uniforms being worn, and giveaways to the fans to align with the old Toronto Huskies team (Dator, 2016). An even deeper incorporation of retro involves teams such as the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Maple Leafs who have utilized retro elements in their logo and uniform redesign (Creamer, 2016; “Golden State Warriors Unveil,” 2010). Retro marketing in sport is distinct from general marketing and deserves to be examined as such. Sport consumers can develop an “irrational passion” for their teams that other consumers do not feel towards their favorite brands (Hoye, Smith, Nicholson, & Stewart, 2015). This intense fandom sport consumers display towards their favorite teams is important to consider as one of the main goals of retro marketing is to bring back historical aspects of a brand’s past (Brown, 2013). As retro marketing has become such a fixture in sport marketing, the purpose of this study was to create a conceptual framework of retro marketing in sport that details the profusion of marketing tactics that incorporate retro, categorizes the wide array of these sport marketing practices and guides future research on the topic. There appears to be some ambiguity regarding the definition of retro marketing or retro branding (Brown, 1999) but through retro marketing “every individual element of the marketing mix has been brought back from the dead” (Brown, 2013, p. 523). Brown (2001) explained there are many different utilizations of retro marketing and distinguished them through three categories: Repro, Repro nova, and Repro de Luxe. All of which use aspects of the past in an updated marketing practice (Brown, 2001). In sport, teams and leagues often mix old and new marketing practices where they use updated technology in their marketing but pay homage to a historical period of their brand’s past which is an important aspect of retro marketing (Cattaneo & Guerini, 2012). Based upon the usage of retro marketing in sport and the past research on retro marketing, the authors have defined retro marketing in sport as the utilization of elements (real or imagined) from a sport organization’s history in their current marketing strategy and tactics. To address this void in the literature, the authors not only established a definition of retro marketing in sport but they also created a conceptual framework that described and categorized the variety of retro marketing practices in sport as well as provided a guide for future researchers on the topic. To explore this construct, the authors utilized a general inductive approach, analyzing the context without a preconceived framework in mind (Thomas, 2003). The authors deemed this the most effective approach to create a conceptual framework for retro marketing in sport because of the vast examples in sport and the ability an inductive approach has to categorize the practices (Thomas, 2003). Relevant previous literature along with the actual retro marketing practices utilized by sport organizations guided the authors towards the creation of five practical areas of retro marketing in sport. The authors discovered five practical areas that make up retro marketing in sport: imagery, merchandising, venue, gameday sales promotions, and advertising. Imagery was comprised of logo and uniform redesigns and teams wearing throwback uniforms. Examples of retro marketing in imagery include the Sacramento Kings of the NBA introducing a new primary logo and color scheme that resembles the team’s original imagery (Lukas, 2016), the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets of the MLB wearing throwback uniforms regularly (McGuire, 2016; Snyder, 2016), and the NBA along with Adidas, who in 2013 added seven throwback jerseys to their “Hardwood Classics series” (Young, 2013). Merchandising focused on the sale of memorabilia that had retro elements. When it comes to merchandising, there are brands who thrive and rely upon retro sport material such as Mitchell & Ness, as well as Boston, MA November 1-3, 2017 2017 Sport Marketing Association Conference (SMA XV) teams and leagues that sell a great deal of retro merchandise. By 2000, all four major sport leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL) had created retro merchandising lines with Mitchell & Ness (Our story, n.d.). Venue as a practical area included any display of retro elements of the teams’ past including banners for past teams as well as team hall of fames and rings of honor within the stadium. Specifically, many NFL teams have created their own team hall of fame inside of their stadium (Belson, 2014) and teams like the Boston Celtics and Duke Basketball proudly display their retired jersey numbers in their rafters (“Duke to retire,” 2007; “Should Boston Celtics,” 2015). The practical area of gameday sales promotion included any giveaway or themed event that utilized retro aspects. Last year, a vast number of MLB teams gave away retro themed items at their games (Snyder, 2016) and the Georgetown Hoyas gave away an incredibly popular Allen Iverson bobble head (Chippin, 2016). Lastly, advertising included general advertisements that used retro elements and advertising campaigns which celebrated milestone years. An example of a league using retro marketing in their advertising is the NHL, who are celebrating their centennial with many events and advertisements throughout the 2016-2017 season (Mirtle, 2016), whereas the Chicago Cubs of the MLB celebrated their 100th year at Wrigley with events in the stadium all season in 2015 (Neveau, 2015). These five dimensions were selected approach because they are well-known marketing tactical areas and encompass most of the retro marketing practices utilized in sport. The framework created in this study has defined and categorized retro marketing in sport in a way to assist practitioners as well as academics. There are numerous avenues which sport marketing scholars may expand upon and further this new line of research. Future scholars should examine how and why sport organizations implement retro marketing. The rationale behind sport practitioners utilizing retro marketing is important as it may delve into what makes something retro in the eyes of the sport practitioner. Further, the consumers need to be examined as well since it is imperative to understand why retro marketing is effective. Also, using this framework, scholars will be able to see which dimensions of retro marketing are most effective for positively impacting brand image, behavioral intentions, and actual behaviors. One final route that would assist scholars with research on retro marketing in sport would be to build a measurement that evaluates the degree to which specific marketing practices are viewed as retro from the perspective of the sport consumer. A measurement would help define what truly makes a marketing practice retro, whether it is the concrete aspects like colors, font, and imagery or the intangible aspects such as the way it connects to the teams’ or leagues’ past. This study was necessary because retro marketing in sport has become a popular practice, yet has not been examined by scholars. The conceptual framework has defined and labeled these retro marketing practices in sport into five broad dimensions to assist practitioners and scholars. As a first step in what should be a long line of research on retro marketing in sport, this conceptual framework should be relied upon in future empirical research conducted on the topic. References Belson, K. (2014, Oct. 23). Encouraging a walk in the hall of fame. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/arts/artsspecial/nfl-teams-harness-stadiums-as-museums.html?_r=0 Brown, S. (2013). Retro from the get-go: reactionary reflections on marketing’s yestermania. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 5(4), 521-536. Brown, S. (2001). Marketing – The Retro Revolution. Thousand Oaks, C.A.: SAGE Publications Brown, S. (1999). Retro-marketing: Yesterday’s tomorrows, today! Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 17(7), 363-376. Cattaneo, E. & Guerini, C. (2012). Assessing the revival potential of brands from the past: How relevant is nostalgia in retro branding strategies? Journal of Brand Management, 19, 680-687. Chippen, A. (2016, Jun. 14). Georgetown to unveil Allen Iverson bobblehead. The Score. Retrieved from http://www.thescore.com/news/1043523 Boston, MA November 1-3, 2017 2017 Sport Marketing Association Conference (SMA XV) Creamer, C. (2016, Feb. 2). Maple Leafs new logo takes traditional turn for centennial. Sportslogos.net. Retrieved from http://news.sportslogos.net/2016/02/02/maple-leafs-new-logo-takes-traditional-turn-for-centennial/ Dator, J. (2016, Nov. 12). Raptors unveil their incredible Toronto Huskies throwback court. SB Nation. Retrieved from http://www.sbnation.com/lookit/2016/11/12/13608974/raptors-unveil-huskies-court-toronto-nba Duke to retire numbers for Redick, Williams. (2007, Jan. 11). ESPN.com. Retrieved from http://www.espn.com/espn/wire/_/section/ncb/id/2728247 Golden State Warriors unveil new logo, color scheme and branding elements. (2010, June 17). Retrieved from http://www.nba.com/warriors/news/warriors_unveil_new_logo_061710.html Hoye, R., Smith, A., Nicholson, M., & Stewart, B. (2015). Sport Management: Principles and Applications (4th ed.). New York, N.Y.: Routledge. Lukas, P. (2016, Apr 26). The Sacramento Kings unveil their new look. ESPN.com. Retrieved from http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/15385685/uni-watch-unveils-sacramento-kings-new-look McGuire, J.