From 6-8th May 2014, the first WISE Work in Sport Exhibition for careers in sports was held in Lausanne, Switzerland. As the home of nearly 60 international federations, the city of Lausanne has played a central role in the development of international sport and was the perfect setting for this new event.
As the sports industry market research carried out by Plunkett in 2011 revealed, a significant proportion of the workforce in developed nations such as the UK, US, Australia and Japan rely on the sports industry for their livelihoods. Further, the European Observatory of Sport Employment (EOSE) has also measured that 74% of people in Europe are involved in some type of sporting activity.
The sporting goods industry has had a long association with major international sports events - using them to drive their marketing strategies each year. On the other side of the world, according to US government figures sporting equipment sales in retail stores amounted to $42.6 billion. The growth of live sport has also seen audience figures increase significantly, with 340 million people now watching the English Premier League and Champions League across Asia. The number of sporting academies in the region has also increased by more than 20% over the past two years. But what is so unique about the sports industry? Clearly, the industry has a special place in the business world. It is a business driven by fans rather than customers. This key fact alone presents different interpretations to different people. For example, for some it creates opportunities to leverage more commercial value from the sector. For many others, however, it places an emphasis on youth development, passion and the need for community development activities linked to sport.
In the opening session of the international WISE convention, Prof. Denis Oswald acted as moderator for the first roundtable discussion which considered the themes of hard and soft legacies of major international sporting events. During an interesting discussion of both the pros and cons of large scale sporting events, it was highlighted that such events bring significant value to a host country in terms of infrastructure development for a city, education of volunteers and new youth community projects. This fascinating roundtable was concluded by FIFA General Secretary, Jérôme Valcke, who highlighted that hard and soft legacy is not only intended to be for during the staging of an event but is also a long term commitment by the international federation for the future development of the game.
As the growth of the sporting industry is highly influenced by media and technology development, WISE ensured that the exhibition programme included numerous speakers from this area of the industry. Speakers in this area of expertise ranged from technical experts in coaching, senior managers from international federations, volunteers, sporting goods companies, agencies and many more.
Interesting topics related to the future of sports marketing were also discussed. In one specific session, the question of whether or not we need a measurement system to calculate the returns on sponsorship used at sporting events was considered. Key factors needed to be considered such as, how much value can sponsorship investment return to any company involved in the sponsorship? How much can sports act as a powerful tool to increase the awareness of a brand?
As sports coverage is one of the most widely viewed categories online, many federations and companies shared their strategies of how to create more fan engagement through social media. Providing second screen access in stadiums, broadcasting technology and interactive mobile devices were all reviewed.
Another exciting panel focused on the sharing of club experiences from around the world. This session also included a section on how event management works in different sports. The audience for these sessions really benefitted from the speakers who clearly explained their experiences and also the lessons they had learnt as they built their careers in sport management.
A key feature from all of the exhibition discussions was the need to provide excellent service, no matter what sector of sport you work in. As mentioned earlier, in a normal customer-driven business, people tend to take better care of their customers because there is a risk of losing them to a competitor. Although sport is a unique industry where everything is driven by the loyalty of the fans, this does not mean that we should not provide the best possible service in every aspect of our sport business activities.
The main benefit of participating in the WISE exhibition was the opportunity to interact with senior managers in world sport. This not only provided us with an chance to meet the right people in our area of interest but also to share ideas and our passion of how to develop sports further and for the benefit of the whole community.
The conference highlighted the importance of networking and communication in increasing the value of the sports industry. A further trigger for this will come from the alumni associations of various sports management courses. It was good to see, therefore, that a special session was dedicated to discussion of how to leverage the power of alumni associations in building a successful career path in the sports industry. This particular session was of interest to many participants at the exhibition. For example, the career coaching and education panel made it clear that the conference was not only for graduate participants who intended to build a career in sports but was also for ex-athletes looking to build a new career for when they finish competing in their chosen sport.
The exhibition also included a special awards evening for international sports management education courses. It was very exciting for the gathered audience when British Olympian Colin Jackson announced that the FIFA Master Programme had been named as the best sports management course in the world for 2014 by the award judges. CIES Director Prof. Denis Oswald received the award on behalf of the course Scientific Committee from SportBusiness International representatives and Colin Jackson.
After two full days of conference workshops and panel sessions, WISE ended smoothly. Exhibition delegates were left with many hopes and a new determination to be ready to enter the world of sports business. WISE was a truly great step in helping to open doors and better understand the unique value of working in the sports industry. Sharing ideas and experiences with experts from the industry was invaluable. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we all now understand the value of working together in building a better future for the industry.
Be WISE, work in sport!
Videos:
Opening ceremony: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOGKxiLF91U
Sports insiders give their verdict on WISE: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUiga6Bkgds
WISE Behind the scenes with Colin Jackson (award ceremony included): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guHnz7SJj80
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