Sretenka L. Dugalić

Sports theory has seen the development of an idea that the grounds for acquiring the competitive advantage in sport comprise: training and education, infrastructure and research. As the research projects in the Serbian sports practice (both fundamental and applicable ones) are not frequently undertaken, or are motivated by partial interests, the objective of this article is to put under the spotlight some aspects (primarily, the marketing ones) of this complex subject which, to a great extent, determines the formulation of strategies in sports. Sponsorship in sports has become increasingly important over the last few decades as one of the financial strategies applied by the sports organizations in order to acquire external resources for initiating sports events on one hand, and promotional strategies for companies looking for more economical and efficient advertising methods, on the other hand. Searching for the touch point between the sponsoring company’s products and characteristics of the consumers who come to the sports arenas as spectators should be carried out through detailed and systematic market and consumer behaviour research. These data are necessary for sports organizations in creation of their marketing strategies and preservation of their market segments, and for potential sponsoring companies when defining the point of a business relationship. Through systemic and continuous consumer research projects, sports organisations and potential sponsoring companies create databases with an aim to win, serve and keep their target segments within the limits of projected values in the conditions of fierce competition.

Keywords: sports market research, sports buyer behaviour, factors in the process of learning and perception, marketing strategy of a sports organization.

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