As the first post-graduate business school specializing in sports management, AMOS (Académie du Management des Organisations Sportives), which is based in Paris with programs worldwide, was already unique. However, AMOS wanted to set its program apart even more by providing cutting-edge training in modern marketing techniques.
Sébastien Archimède, international programs coordinator, said the school adopted a focus on digital in 2012. Beginning with a variety of digital courses and complementary studies – the school insists that its students are well-rounded in all areas of business – AMOS added digital tools, including a dashboard aggregator that uses widgets to help students create, control and build personal news feeds, keep notes, manage work groups and track social media traffic. AMOS then incorporated those tools into the curriculum.
Using the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil as a case study, the students tracked the business behind the matches. They studied different advertisers and football clubs, measuring impressions and social media mentions to determine reach and effectiveness of the event for those brands.
Among the findings: Adidas was the most mentioned brand sponsor, the Real Madrid team’s Karim Benzema was the most mentioned player, and host nation Brazil’s loss to Germany generated the most traffic of all World Cup events.
“We want to teach our students how to gain a competitive advantage using these digital tools for future clients anywhere in the world,” Archimède said. “Today we have students who are using the tool with our sports partners, such as the French Football Federation or Adidas, to show them how sporting events can be more effective marketing platforms.” The tools are especially cost effective for sports with smaller budgets, Archimède said, such as cycling or judo.
AMOS’ digital platform also serves as an international portal and menu for all of its students around the world to access information, events and curricula. The results? AMOS has garnered kudos from students and marketing partners for its leadership in using digital tools to create comprehensive behind-the-scenes analysis in sports. ◆
