Utilizing influencers in marketing for Finnish Hockey League organizations

Abstract

Sports organizations in Finland need to find fresh marketing methods to attract people to consume sport. At the same time, digitalization and social media have revolutionized marketing methods and changed the nature of marketing. One fast developing and efficient way to market is influencer marketing. The commissioner company of this study was JYP Jyväskylä Ltd, one of the fifteen Finnish Hockey League organizations (Liiga). The research problem was to find out how influencers can be utilized in marketing to promote the commissioner company's business. Another aim was to understand more deeply the use of influencer marketing as part of a company's marketing strategy. The research method was qualitative. It was conducted through semi-structured interviews by using Microsoft Teams. The selected interviewees represented three different Finnish Hockey League organizations. These organizations were selected because they had already used influencers to promote their businesses. Remote interviews were conducted in September 2023. The transcribed interview data was further analyzed by dividing it into different headings representing different themes. The themes were extracted from the theoretical framework. The findings show that influencer marketing is an efficient, modern form of marketing. It provides the commissioner company with opportunities to reach such new target groups as young people. For instance, a meet and greet event activation creates added value to the event by engaging and persuading the audience. Utilizing influencers in the planning phase and setting out cooperation objectives is vital. When selecting influencers, it is important to ensure that they are connected to ice hockey scene, they are sport-oriented, or they at least have some connection to the city concerned. Creating an influencer event is the easiest way to measure the benefits of influencer marketing. It is essential to budget for influencer marketing as part of the company's marketing to get full benefit from it. In future research, the study could be continued and extended to include all the Finnish Hockey League organizations. This would provide a more profound understanding of the phenomenon. It would also be relevant to repeat this study in a few years time to see whether the organizations that participated in it have continued to use influencers in their marketing and what new perspectives have emerged.