Branding the Sports Experience

A new study released in Ad Age today reveals that sports jerseys are “prime” real estate for marketers…as in potentially $370 million in ad value “prime.”

So are the jerseys the final frontier? What about the playing surface, seat backs, bats, balls, etc.? Will the branding be so watered down we won’t see it anymore?

I’ll always remember my trip to the “Dean Dome” (Smith Center) at North Carolina University in the mid 1990’s. By design, there were no ads visible from the seats. The sports experience was center stage, and it made for a serene feel with only light Tar Heel blue surrounding the fans.