The United States hosts a lot of sporting event each year, ranging from basketball tournaments, baseball matches, and American football games. These events allow families to visit the venue and have a good day watching the games. Because of the sheer number of people who are heading to venues, like stadiums, during a certain game schedule, companies have come up with the idea of building their canopy tents either inside or outside the venue and promote their products. They are taking advantage of the fact that a lot of people would be attending a certain event, from hundreds to thousands of individuals, making their target market huge. Companies would like to offer their products at a venue because there is a chance that there will be people who would develop an interest in the product they sell, no matter what it is.
Many companies who are trying to sell their products at a sporting event choose to house their representatives or marketers inside a promotional canopy, which is a tent-like structure that bears the name of their company up front. This way, people who are visiting the games would be informed about the company’s basic details, like their name, logo, and website. One of the most frequent businesses found inside sporting events would be food-related businesses. Food trucks and food carts abound, especially near stadiums and other large-scale venues. Business people know that offering food choices to the public can be an instant hit, with some offering their twist on the food product, hoping that it would become viral. Many food businesses started in this setup – opening up their canopy tents near sporting venues and selling everything that they have on their end, sometimes specializing in a single type of food that can be eaten inside the venue, like hot dogs, burgers, and sandwiches. Over time, businesses found out that establishing a food business near sporting venues could become viable and profitable, and many others followed suit.
The success of the food business near sporting events prompted other entrepreneurs to try their luck selling their products during certain game schedules. Championships draw in the largest crowd, and most of these businesses appear during these times. Another branch of business that did great with the sporting crowd would be companies selling memorabilia and other souvenir products. These businesses started printing t-shirts, mugs, pins, and refrigerator magnets with the opposing teams, hoping that patrons would be buying. Since these products can be kept for a long time and can also become a collectible, these items quickly sold out. Customized canopies selling souvenirs have become a staple for gaming events. Just like the food business, seeing them outside a sporting event has become the norm.
Businesses that are neither selling food nor souvenirs have been wondering if other products can still be sold near sporting venues; the answer is yes. All they have to do is to set up an attractive promotional canopy tent, complete with witty and knowledgeable marketers and a few other tricks up in their sleeve. There are companies which hire talented marketers that could put up a small show as crowds pass by. The more bizarre their program is, the higher the chances for the passersby to stop and see what they are offering. Some companies also pushed it a level higher by introducing interactive games and activities within their booth. People could be drawn in if there are prizes at stake, and there is a chance of the product being bought if they ended up successfully playing the game. Aside from the games, the people should also be given enjoyable, interactive activities so that they could go back to the booth often and remember the brand being promoted by the company.
Marketing at a major sporting event is not difficult and companies need to study and conduct research that would make their business viable. Creativity is the key to unlock opportunities waiting for businesses who wanted to take a huge slice of the profit from the thousands attending these events. If they are creative and lucky enough, the crowd might buy everything that they sell, and businesses that did great could also go viral these days, adding the possibility of gaining a huge market. Businesses should not be intimidated selling their products at a sporting event; instead, they should see it as an opportunity to succeed.
