Shaun White and Alberto Tomba: The Combination of Professional Marketing Management and Athletic Success

Now before I jump into this essay, I will first give you a background on the history of the sport. The original concept that the snowboard is based upon is the “snurfer”. Developed on Christmas Day, 1965 by Sherman Poppen in Muskegon, Michigan. In 1968, Tom Sims furthered the sport by developing the very first snowboard. Then in 1977 Jake Burton Carpenter developed the first bindings and changed the sport forever.

This case study explores different marketing techniques utilized by Prince sports. Research is conducted by utilizing marketing concepts retrieved from various publications as well as Prince sports website. Evolution in technology, joint ventures and adoption of different marketing techniques proved to be successful for Prince sports. There was an evolution of marketing all together at the height of Prince sports success with the introduction and adoption of social media in the marketplace. Prince sports ability to adapt and make changes based on consumer feedback

The business of sports is one of the fastest growing industries in the country. All over the world, many people participate as players and spectators in a variety of sporting activities, creating opportunities for the marketing of a company’s goods and services. An important part of the business of sports is sports marketing, which revolves around understanding consumer behavior and motivating target markets to purchase goods and services. Sports marketing at Clemson University has many different aspects ranging from sports and technology and sport law to sponsorship and sports economics.

Imagine being at the top of the world, on a bitter cold mountain, over top of an enormous crowd. The lustrous lights are shining below on the massive jump created for the professional snowboard competition that will decide whether you win or lose the competition. I have dreamed of being a professional snowboarder as my dream job ever since I have been introduced into the sport of snowboarding. Being on top of the enormous slope and strapping into my bindings instantly makes me feel relaxed and puts a grin on my face. While gliding down the mountain I become focused and dialed in on my riding. Being a professional snowboarder as an occupation, I would compete in large competitions such as the X- Games or the Olympics to win prizes and gain popularity. The excitement from the crowd and the view from the course would give me goosebumps as I race to the finish. This would give me the rush of happiness and excitement every time I strap into my bindings to compete and make it seem like I would never work a day in my life. Competing in snowboard competitions as a professional snowboarder would be my passion and dream job in life all while traveling and being with friends.

Next, How she became famous in snowboarding. She has been snowboarding since she was 4 years old, so she has lots of experience. So you know

Snowboarding before the time of Shaun White was like the calm before the storm. At the age of 13 Shaun was professionally sponsored and on his way to changing snowboarding forever. With so much skill and desire, Shaun brought the competition in and really took it to the next level. Not long after his arrival, Shaun was already the face of snowboarding.to snowboarding None of these accomplishments came easy for Shaun or his parents. Before the financial aid of the corporate sponsors took place, “Shaun White’s snowboarding activities cost his parents $20,000 annually” (Gale, 2006). The physical and financial dedication paid off in 1999 when Shaun was first signed to Burton Snowboards. Not long after that, the winning began. Starting with a pair of Silver medals in Halfpipe and Slopestyle during the 2002 X-Games. Gold medals in Slopestyle for 2003, 04, 05, & 06. Gold medal in halfpipe 2003 as well as 2006. Finally, Winter Olympic halfpipe gold medals in 2006 and 2010, with a total medal count of 15 medals (including bronze) between 2001 to 2010 (Gale, 2010). Arguably the winningest

Tony Hawk was a professional skateboarder that was helping Shaun White with skateboarding. When Shaun was finally 17 years old he turned into a pro. For snowboarding he was trained by a man named Burton. He made Shaun white a famous professional at snowboarding. He then started his career which was snowboarding after he turned pro in Burton's

     Burton created and owns the US Open snowboarding championships, in addition to the enormous success in the snowboarding industry; it has the potential to grow beyond the U.S. The possibility to create similar events in Europe, China, Japan and Canada, where the demand for snowboarding is increasing, could benefit Burton. Through development

Due to the nature and complexity of contracts, agents are expected to have a background in contract law and be knowledgeable in finance, business management, financial and risk analysis, and of course, sports. In order to be a successful sports agent one must not only be a great negotiator, but also be highly motivated, have exceptional communication skills, be prepared to work long hours and handle multiple tasks at the same time.

The use of specific athletes in marketing campaigns really began to show promise when athletes like Jordan began wearing their own brands of shoes. The idea to consumers or fans of the NBA that they could wear the same shoes as Michael Jordan, and somehow play like him was an easy sell by Nike. Today it is now common for marketable athletes in almost all sports to wear their own style of shoes, spikes, or skates. An interesting point to make is that through Nike Michael Jordan eventually launched his own clothing line called Jumpman23 that makes everything from socks and underwear to winter coats. Even though Jordan has been retired since 1999 the Jumpman23 company has continued to release a new shoe every single year that are simply called “Jordan 24”, an increasing corresponding number to the number of years the shoes have been produced. The new Jordan shoes still retails at over $150 a pair even though Mike hasn’t stepped on the court in 11 years! After retirement and becoming the CEO of the Jumpman brand Michael Jordan has been able to court other famous athletes from a variety of sports to wear his brand. A few examples of the athletes include Derek Jeter (baseball), Dwayne Wade (basketball), Jason Taylor (football), and April Holmes (track and field). The wide range of athletes in all different sports who now market a brand for arguably the greatest athlete of all time truly shows the money, power, and influence an athlete can experience

The ultimate goal of marketing is to become a household name, meaning that a product should be well known to everyone. Sports marketing has the same goal, except the product is associated with sports such as sports clothing, teams, or sports drinks. In an article titled “Career and Professional Development: Sports Marketing,” contributors describe the general classification of a sports marketer. The article explains that a sports marketer generally stays at the same level throughout his/her career due to its high satisfaction. Alexandru Mihai writes in his article “The Strategic Sport Marketing Planning Process” that there are certain steps a sports marketer needs to take in order to have success. A few of these steps include

Traditional marketing and Sport Marketing have similarities and differences. Being able to understand the similarities and differences would help someone comprehend both principles. Both principles share the Marketing Mix or 4P’s of marketing. The 4P’s are product (or service), place, price, and promotion. As defined by McCarthy and Perreault (1988), the marketing mix refers to the controllable variables the company puts together to satisfy a target group. I will explain the differences of the 4ps in traditional marketing and sports marketing.

The price that we pay is the value that we associate to any product, whether it is a good or service. It is the compensation given to a person or authority to purchase an object or service. The greater the value associated to the product, the greater the price.

"If industry is to be successful in dealing with public opinion . . . it must learn the language of the people, it must consider the study of public opinion as important as any phase of its operations. It must recognize that public opinion can be measured, and utilize the increasingly scientific methods developing today for gauging it"(Ross)

At its peak burtons controlled over 40 % of the US snowboarding market and remains the market leader despite growing competition.