Sponsors for Pool

[Fleece3]

Hey Gang,

Why are there no non-pool product sponsors for our events/magazines. When I went to the US Open (tennis) i sat there and looked at all the logos around the court, not one of them was for a tennis product company. If you watch auto racing you will see the sponsors on the cars, most on them are non-automotive. Flip through Golf digest, again most of the ads are for non-golfing stuff.

Yet go to the US Open (pool) or flip through Inside Pool and every ad/sponsor is for a pool product. I believe that this is directly affecting prize money, exposure, etc. Why no American Express, Coors, Rolex, Ing Direct, etc...

Are these types of companies not being pursued???? Is pool not being marketed to them??? If not, why not??

 

[TheBook]

I was thinking the same thing. Don't pool players buy watches, drink beer, wear shoes, drive cars, have insurance, drink milk, eat at McD's?

The problem maybe that there is no governing body like the NBA, NFL, NASCAR. Car racing was not very big until NASCAR was formed. Maybe the IPT will change that.

Or maybe the sponsors think that pool is a secondary sport for most people. The sponsors probably feel everyone has been exposed to their products thru other sports.

 

[WINTHEDAY14]

I totally agree with every word you said it is hard for a pool player to make any money and being able to travel.I understand at the age of 14 yrs and i love the game i wish alot more others would take interest.

 

[pooltchr]

The problem maybe that there is no governing body like the NBA, NFL, NASCAR. Car racing was not very big until NASCAR was formed. Maybe the IPT will change that.


.

I think you hit the nail on the head. There is no national organization to head up the marketing effort. Left up to the individual promoters, the likelihood of getting Budweiser or Aflac interested is slim and none. Another reason we should be pulling for KT to succeed.
JMHO
Steve

 

[ironman]

Outside Sponsors

Pool Has had spnsors like Miller Lite, Jack Daniels,Camel Cigs,Cal Spas.
Outside sponsors aren't going to stay with pool until we get it on TV, and I don't mean this boring crap on ESPN.
Pool is not going to be on TV until we find a way to keep an audience. The stuff we have now, (to the public) is very boring. Sure. we love it, but we understand it and appreciate how hard the game really. We can spot talent. We can spot patterns and understand what a really difficult shot is and how hard it is to execute. The problem is, "WE" don't matter!
Fat's was a household name. His name has probably come when pool mentioned more than anyone in the game. If we took a poll out on the streets with the public, I would bet that less than 5% of the public couldn't name one player who is regularly on ESPN. WHY? It is very boring and all the incredible chacters are gone.
This sport at the present is so screwed up that it doesn't know if it is scratching it's watch, or winding it's butt.

 

[Colin Colenso]

The US Open 9-Ball simply doesn't get enough exposure to be considered as an avenue for marketing. Marketing departments and their representative agencies invest a lot of time and money into brand marketing strategies, so they need to find events that can be leveraged well over time and will broad exposure, or through grass roots activation.

I doubt the organizers of the US Open have this type of package in an appropriately presentable form to excite the ad agencies or marketing departments.

 

[carter1984]

I think everyone has mentioned some valid points. The sponsorship dollars are out there, I feel that no one has yet made the right pitch to these sponors. When I saw Bank of America throw over a half a million towards a bike race in downtown Charlotte (no tv coverage there), It opened my eyes. I thought to myself, if they can spend this much on an event like this, why would they not want to spend even a fraction of those advertsising dollars reaching out to players of one of the most popular activities in the country? A little bit of money can go a long way in this industry right now. Playing pool still ranks at the top of participation sports, and it is up to the people who run tours and tourneys to put together the right package to pitch to these non-pool related sponsors. Pool players need, insurance, they bank,they drive, they drink, and they buy all sorts of stuff. Companies have set aside dollars just for marketing and advertising, so, here again, it is up to the people who run these events, tours tourneys and leagues, to reach out to these potential sponsors and sell them on the benefits of advertising to their audience.

 

[Colin Colenso]

I think everyone has mentioned some valid points. The sponsorship dollars are out there, I feel that no one has yet made the right pitch to these sponors. When I saw Bank of America throw over a half a million towards a bike race in downtown Charlotte (no tv coverage there), It opened my eyes. I thought to myself, if they can spend this much on an event like this, why would they not want to spend even a fraction of those advertsising dollars reaching out to players of one of the most popular activities in the country? A little bit of money can go a long way in this industry right now. Playing pool still ranks at the top of participation sports, and it is up to the people who run tours and tourneys to put together the right package to pitch to these non-pool related sponsors. Pool players need, insurance, they bank,they drive, they drink, and they buy all sorts of stuff. Companies have set aside dollars just for marketing and advertising, so, here again, it is up to the people who run these events, tours tourneys and leagues, to reach out to these potential sponsors and sell them on the benefits of advertising to their audience.

You're right Carter,
The potential is there, just like it was there with Poker.

It needs marketing savvy people to make it happen.

KT is setting new benchmarks now, with pool content that will reach an audience of hundreds of millions of viewers.

Yes, non-televised events can gain sponsorships too, but it needs to be presented professionally to sponsors. Often times such events are big losers for sponsors, but they can be winners if the sponsorees put together a good package that includes VIP hospitality and grass roots activation such as a series of qualifiers through many pool halls and public venues, mall exhibitions and the like with a lot of POS (Point of Sales) promotional material.

 

[Nineballchamp]

No exposure

I prefer minimal amount of exposure. Look at Texas holdem, everyone is on that band waggon, only problem is that Holdem has been played for over thirty years, to include the world series of holdem.The last thing I want is for every one to make pool an over exposed band waggon sport such as that. It would be good for the action though.

 

[allie]

Pool definitely needs outside corporate sponsorship! As a player on the WPBA Tour for the last five years, I can attest to it personally.

From what we've been told by various marketing companies that have been hired by the WPBA, one of the main factors for the lack of corporate sponsorship is the fact that demographically speaking (based on TV viewers), pool does not attract the 18-34 year old group. Not to say that there aren't any who watch pool, but that they comprise a smaller percentage of all those who do watch. They are the most 'important' demographic group because of the fact that they are young, and would potentially continue to buy certain products throughout their lifetimes. I am guessing that that factor and the general socio-economic status of pool viewers combines to make pool an unlikely sport to sponsor....

Alice Rim

 

[Snapshot9]

Rofl

Pool definitely needs outside corporate sponsorship! As a player on the WPBA Tour for the last five years, I can attest to it personally.

From what we've been told by various marketing companies that have been hired by the WPBA, one of the main factors for the lack of corporate sponsorship is the fact that demographically speaking (based on TV viewers), pool does not attract the 18-34 year old group. Not to say that there aren't any who watch pool, but that they comprise a smaller percentage of all those who do watch. They are the most 'important' demographic group because of the fact that they are young, and would potentially continue to buy certain products throughout their lifetimes. I am guessing that that factor and the general socio-economic status of pool viewers combines to make pool an unlikely sport to sponsor....

Alice Rim

Alice ... and all they have to do to get them to tune in is to come
out with 'Billiard' shoes. The teenagers and early 20's group would
jump on them, and would watch simply because they had the shoes ... lol

 

[sjm]

Pool definitely needs outside corporate sponsorship! As a player on the WPBA Tour for the last five years, I can attest to it personally.

From what we've been told by various marketing companies that have been hired by the WPBA, one of the main factors for the lack of corporate sponsorship is the fact that demographically speaking (based on TV viewers), pool does not attract the 18-34 year old group. Not to say that there aren't any who watch pool, but that they comprise a smaller percentage of all those who do watch. They are the most 'important' demographic group because of the fact that they are young, and would potentially continue to buy certain products throughout their lifetimes. I am guessing that that factor and the general socio-economic status of pool viewers combines to make pool an unlikely sport to sponsor....

Alice Rim

Great post, Alice. I've also seen the demographic data, and it's our sport's predicament. Another important factor is the income demographic, and the stats say that our sport's fans are below average in income. Hence, our sport's challenge is to change the demographic of its fans. It has already been noted that numeorus corporate sponsors have taken a shot. Probably, the most significant of these was RJ Reynolds, maker of Camel cigarettes, and even they couldn't make pool work for them, despite great access to the young demographic.

Ultimately, the presence of corporate America will mean nothing to pool until pool itself can deliver the goods, which, in business terms, means that pool has to make it profitable for a corporate sponsor to be associated with it.

That makes the IPT venture critical. Until Kevin Trudeau, corporate sponsors have not believed in the business model enough to invest heavily in pool. Ultimately, though, if Trudeau, a very successful entrepreneur, doesn't make money through his IPT venture, he will have only temporarily injected pro pool with some life, not brought the sport to the next level. His venture will eliminate, or further substantiate, pool's image as a "sport that can't deliver the goods." If the IPT is profitable, it will open many doors for both men's and women's pro pool, so let's keep our fingers crossed, and wish the IPT well.

Creating a pro pool product and environment that will make it possible for corporate sponsors to make money through association with pool is, ultimately, more important than whether pool can attract those sponsors, so our commitment to enhancing the quality of the pro pool product is as important as our efforts to sell it to corporate sponsors.

 

[Nostroke]

I prefer minimal amount of exposure. Look at Texas holdem, everyone is on that band waggon, only problem is that Holdem has been played for over thirty years, to include the world series of holdem.The last thing I want is for every one to make pool an over exposed band waggon sport such as that. It would be good for the action though.

When the bandwagon slows down for Poker, there will still be at least double the amount of people onboard then when it started -probably quadruple. Hard to believe you would not like to see that for pool.