Promotion through sports: storytelling in telegram channels with sports focus

Abstract

INTRODUCTION. In recent decade sport has been viewed as an independent industry. This circumstance contributes to the development of sports marketing concept. In a broad sense, sports marketing covers three main areas: “sports marketing” (sports products promotion activities), “marketing through sports” (marketing of non-sports brands) and “mass sports marketing” (pro-motion of healthy lifestyle ideas, physical activity). The article examines storytelling technology in the context of promoting goods and services in telegram channels with a sports focus. MATE-RIALS AND METHODS. The empirical basis of the research is formed by telegram channels of authoritative sports journalists S. Mikulik, V. Utkin, S. Gridasov (“Sergey Mikulik. While in memory ...”, “Real Radio Utkin”, “Gridasov with a beard”). The use of the content analysis method made it possible to identify authors’ types in analyzed telegram channels, as well as to characterize the features of storytelling use in the “packaging” of advertising integrations.RESULTS AND DISCUSSION. The conducted research allowed us to come to the following results: a) telegram channels with a sports focus have high potential in the “brand-audience” interaction; b) the main format for maintaining telegram channels is storytelling; c) storytelling is an effective way to “package” advertising integrations; d) the tone of storytelling is determined by the type of author of the telegram channel.CONCLUSION. Storytelling acts as a way to package advertising integrations, helps them achieve a native character, provides “channel tone” necessary for its author, and allows to form author’s style of a channel, which is manifested in the broadcast of the author’s types.