This could easily be a post about how Nike also generated a considerable amount of coverage, but to do so the information would derive across a number of athletes at different moments. Instead, this post sits squarely on the shoulders of three events: DAZN’s Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou and the NCAA 2024 Indoor Track and Field Championships, which took place at New Balance’s The Track. Birkenstock has a semi-sports moment with a hilarious John Cena moment.
The Track at New Balance is revealing itself as one of the fastest surfaces in track and field. This is leading to incredible times in major events. Track is always considered a niche sport and not as important as distance events like marathons where an everyday citizen can participate.
This post isn’t looking at the inclusive aspects of niche sports, it’s looking at the long-term marketing and branding accomplished by an investment in facilities and sport. The New Balance logo appeared in every social media clip from high school to college this weekend. On one YouTube channel alone, NCAA Championships, the New Balance facility was seen digitally across 22 different videos, using only long form videos and not shorts: 1,000,000 times.
That’s a social media value of $20,000 for New Balance, but here is the more interesting fact, the NCAA didn’t even highlight every event. There was no buildup to the moment and there hasn’t been any post championship coverage. More important, while New Balance did get the opportunity to highlight The Track the marketing team missed a critical opportunity to develop the niche even more. The content and coverage should have been done in house and positioned as both video and long-form news on New Balance’s site.
The ring walk is a staple in boxing. Mike Tyson was always menacing in black shorts and a cut out towel. Anthony Joshua is fully aware that he looks like a model and he capitalizes on his physical presence by taking on the traditional flourishing robe of boxers entering their fights.
Sports brands have always attempted to associate themselves. Roy Jones Jr. actually had a Jordan Jumpman deal and George Foreman famously wore PONY boxing shoes when he became the oldest man to recapture the heavyweight title. AJ has been all Under Armour and the ringwalk video combined with the media DAZN created perfectly for this fight is a playbook for brands to follow.
DAZN carried the AJ vs Ngannou fight. It was the second time Ngannou, an MMA fighter, entered the ring against one of boxing’s best heavyweights. Anthony Joshua is unlike many of UA’s endorsed athletes, there is never a moment where he is spotted not being brand loyal. He’s an amazing asset for the brand.
This wasn’t more apparent than in every video presented by DAZN. Over 22 videos on one channel equaled 14,876,800 views of the Under Armour logo. That’s a monetary social media value of $297,536 dollars as of 3-11-24.
The irony in discovering the monetary value of various niche sports is when a moment happens in a more subversive manner. As the sports weekend came to a close The Oscars landed and social media was alight with posts and shares of various highlights. 13 hours ago one media clip landed on YouTube. That media clip garnered 1,873,166 views and led to this comment:
Boxing, CrossFit, Ninja Warrior, Parkour, Lacrosse, Track & Field, Frisbee Golf and any sport that receives a small amount of coverage are niche sports. MMA and UFC are growing but can also be considered niche. These lesser-known athletic events, when marketed the correct way, can help both brands and retailers establish long-term connection to fans of brands and those new to the footwear and apparel of both retail and brands.
