目的地营销机构大举布局足球营销

上周,美国、加拿大、墨西哥三国同步启动史上规模最大、围绕单一体育赛事打造的目的地营销项目。
三国为此投入八年筹备,寄望通过六周全球赛事曝光,实现目的地长效知名度提升,带动入境游客量与外来投资长期增长。但筹备之路一波三折。签证限制、边境政策、出行成本与地缘冲突持续占据舆论焦点,这是任何赛事主办国都不愿面对的局面。尽管如此,美加墨三国仍会全力运营至赛事落幕。
A bet that eight years of preparation and six weeks of global attention will translate into lasting visibility and long-term growth in visitors and investment. The build-up has been turbulent. Visa restrictions, border politics, travel costs and geopolitical tensions have dominated the conversation in a way no host nation would have chosen. Yet all three countries remain committed to playing until the final whistle.
对目的地营销从业者而言,布局足球营销早已不是新鲜事。2015年佛罗里达州旅游局将品牌印上富勒姆足球俱乐部球衣,业内公认这是文旅行业首笔重磅足球赞助;自此,大量高曝光跨界合作接连落地。而真正的难题,是如何让这笔营销投入产生实际回报。正因这一行业痛点,两位资深行业专家贾斯汀・库克与瑞安・桑迪兰兹展开专项研究,梳理越来越多押注欧洲足球俱乐部的目的地营销机构案例。
For destination marketers, investing in football is nothing new. A slew of high-profile partnerships has emerged since Visit Florida appeared on Fulham FC’s shirts in 2015, arguably the first major investment of this type. The harder question is how to make that investment pay off, and it is this challenge that has prompted two experienced practitioners, Justin Cooke and Ryan Sandilands, to examine the growing number of destination marketing organisations that have placed their own bets on European football clubs.
这些赞助合作背后是哪些机构?落地执行如何开展?哪些项目取得了成功?又有哪些经验能指导新一代跨界合作?
过去十年间,大批目的地营销机构选择与欧洲头部足球俱乐部达成合作。足球坐拥狂热的全球球迷群体,品牌全年持续曝光,能与受众建立深厚情感联结 —— 这是绝大多数传统广告难以复刻的优势。
业内关注度最高的当属卢旺达旅游局的合作矩阵,其合作版图一度涵盖阿森纳、巴黎圣日耳曼、马德里竞技与拜仁慕尼黑。其他标杆合作包括:马尔代夫旅游局赞助利物浦、卡塔尔旅游局合作国际米兰、刚果(金)旅游局携手AC米兰与巴塞罗那、迪拜旅游局赞助皇家马德里。阿布扎比则走出一条完全不同的路线:收购曼城俱乐部,搭建多俱乐部运营网络,这也是目前以足球塑造国家品牌最宏大的一次尝试。
足球文旅营销早已不再是小众试水。当下大众对硬性广告愈发抵触,传统推广很难吸引注意力,而欧洲顶级足球俱乐部能提供全新解决方案:主动认同俱乐部理念、粘性极强的全球受众。曾经多数文旅预算无力承担的赛事权益套餐,如今拆分灵活、模块化可选,投入成本已可与区域广告投放对标。
This is no longer a niche experiment. Traditional advertising competes for attention in an environment increasingly resistant to interruption. A leading European football club offers something different: a passionate global audience that actively engages with its identity and values. Rights packages that were once beyond most tourism budgets have also become more flexible and modular, making them increasingly comparable to regional advertising investments.
库克与桑迪兰兹本次研究的核心问题是:俱乐部售卖的各类营销权益,是否真正匹配目的地的推广需求?
两人均深度参与过这类跨界合作,完整经历项目立项、商务谈判、落地执行与效果复盘全流程。
部分合作交出了真实、可量化的亮眼成果。卢旺达旅游局与阿森纳长达数年的合作虽近期到期,但数据证实,卢旺达在核心客源市场的目的地认知度显著提升,得以向此前几乎毫无认知的海外受众讲述本国转型发展故事。
另有不少项目收效平平:机构购入赞助权益,却从未完整落地执行。场边广告牌短暂亮相后再无跟进;贵宾观赛套房长期空置;社交媒体配套内容互动惨淡。赞助资源与游客实际转化、订单量、入境人次、旅游消费、招商引资之间的关联,大多只停留在主观设想,缺少真实数据佐证。
库克认为,这正是众多目的地营销从业者的核心短板。
“很多目的地陷入一个误区:以为买下球衣赞助标就是整套营销策略。” 他表示,“足球的确能打开通往海量全球受众的大门,但只有精准锁定目标客源市场、细分客群画像,并配套完整转化方案 —— 将流量转化为入境游客、旅游消费与投资项目,赞助才能产生真正价值。优质跨界合作从来不是单纯的广告赞助,而是驱动目的地长效增长的综合平台。”
“The mistake many destinations make is believing the badge is the strategy,” he says. “Football can open the door to vast global audiences, but it only creates value when it is built around clear markets, clear visitor segments and a plan to convert attention into arrivals, spend and investment. The best partnerships are not sponsorship deals, they are destination growth platforms.”
两位专家一致认为,这是行业核心痛点:足球产业擅长售卖各类营销权益,却难以保障购买方依靠权益实现商业价值。
桑迪兰兹解释道:“我此前负责赞助招商时,会提前了解各合作行业的盈利逻辑,以此判断合作大方向是否可行。后续则需要采购方结合自身品牌与业务深度拆解、定制配套合作方案。”
多数目的地营销机构缺乏体育商业运营经验,又面临业绩考核压力,往往在未建立清晰成功标准与量化评估体系的前提下签约合作。从官宣赞助到落地实质文旅收益之间存在巨大断层,大部分营销价值都流失于此。两位专家发现,绝大多数合作在启动前都缺少清晰完整的顶层策略。合作流程通常是俱乐部权益方抛出合作方案,目的地被动响应;机构往往先筛选现有权益套餐,而非先明确自身推广需求;只会横向对比不同赞助包价格,而非先设定营销目标;只统计曝光量这类浅层输出数据,不追踪游客转化等深层业务结果。
Many destination marketing organisations, navigating unfamiliar commercial territory and under pressure to demonstrate relevance, sign deals without a clear framework for success or measurement. That gap, between a sponsorship announcement and a meaningful tourism outcome, is where much of the value is lost. What strikes both analysts is how rarely these partnerships begin with a clearly defined strategy. The conversation typically starts with a rights holder presenting an opportunity and the destination responding. Destinations often evaluate what is available rather than define what they need, compare packages rather than set objectives, and measure outputs rather than outcomes.
足球对文旅推广机构的吸引力不言而喻:极少有传播载体能汇聚如此狂热的全球受众、建立深度情感共鸣。但高曝光意味着高投入,这类大额营销支出必须配套可量化的回报指标。
这套评估逻辑同样适用于规模更大的国际足联世界杯。当全球沉浸在六周足球盛宴时,一个关键问题仍待解答:终场哨响之时,美国、加拿大、墨西哥三国能否均交出一份亮眼的文旅成绩单?
Souce | Breaking Travel News
Editor | Oscar
Auditor | Rui Lei