Ben Shields outlines key strategies for team success in the $750 billion sports industry

Winning isn’t everything: A new book by MIT Sloan School of Management’s Ben Shields outlines key strategies for team success in the $750 billion sports industry

Sports organizations must forge an identity, reinvigorate their venues, use business analytics to drive revenue, and maximize technology and social media to engage fans

Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 3, 2014—In the $750 billion sports industry, many teams try to employ the same strategy: win as many games as possible and money, media, and fan support will inevitably follow. But a new book by MIT Sloan School of Management lecturer Ben Shields offers a different approach for achieving success.

“Building and growing a sustainable sports organization requires more than just racking up wins,” says Shields, one of the authors of The Sports Strategist: Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Industry (Oxford University Press, 2014). “The most successful franchises of the past couple of decades have maximized strategies off the field that—unlike winning—can be controlled and shaped.”

What’s driving this trend, he says, is that winning has become a commodity. As leagues and conferences extend their seasons, more and more teams now declare play-off success: In MLB, for instance, it used to be that the league leaders won the pennant and then went to the World Series; now, five teams in each league make the play-offs. In the NBA and the NHL, more than half of all teams earn post-season play.

“The mantra of youth sports where ‘everyone gets a trophy’ is now permeating professional leagues and college conferences,” he says. “This means that teams have to work harder to stay top of mind with their fans. They have to forge an identity and facilitate storylines around that identity; they have to provide memorable experiences at the stadium; they have to capitalize on big data analytics to increase revenue; and they have to engage fans using social media.”

In the book, Shields and his co-authors, Irving Rein, a professor of communication studies at Northwestern University, and Adam Grossman, the founder and president of Block Six Analytics, the sports marketing firm, blend academic expertise with real-world case studies.

Take the Dallas Cowboys, for instance. Over the past 19 seasons, “America’s team” has not been particularly successful on the field—its record is 146-142 during that time—but the Cowboys remain the most valuable franchise in the NFL valued at about $3.2 billion.

“The Cowboys stand for nostalgia and patriotism—and fans relate to that,” says Shields. “The team also does a brilliant job cultivating storylines across all platforms, including social media. Its cast of characters includes: Tony Romo, the flawed hero, Jason Garrett, the coach who is always in the hot seat, and Jerry Jones, the team’s ringleader. It’s a reality show broadcast live from Dallas 365 days a year, keeping the team relevant even when it’s not on the field.”

Sports organizations must also create a “memorable and immersive” venue experience for fans, according to Shields. “One of the biggest challenges today is getting people out of their interconnected living rooms, away from their big-screen TVs, and back into the stadium,” he says. “An even bigger challenge for sports organizations is making it work within a budget. Rather than building a new park from scratch, the South Bend Silver Hawks, a minor league baseball team, incorporated a nearby historic synagogue into its ballpark grounds and transformed it into its team store. The ballpark synagogue has become an award-winning, must-see attraction whether the team wins or loses.” 

His book arrives at a time when sports organizations are fighting harder than ever for the wallet share and engagement of fans, media, and sponsors, while facing unprecedented competition both domestically and internationally. The cost of doing business continues to rise, while traditional revenue streams are under increased pressure. 

“Winning games will always be important in sports, but building a winning business off the field is the key to success over the long-term,” says Shields. “In response to this challenge, we’re already seeing breakthrough innovations and new perspectives on difficult problems.”

Ben Shields is a Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management