Ryan K. Kim (University of Texas at Austin), So Youn Lim (University of Texas at Austin), Won Il Choi (2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee)
Abstract: Sport licensing business is one of the main domains of marketing a sport event, which not only creates financial benefits but also leverages event and cultural experiences. Although sport licensing has been studied in various sport fields and settings (Cobbs & McKelvey 2009; Kwon & Armstrong, 2006; Sage, 1996), the licensing business in Korea has been rarely touched upon and it is still a current problem in recognizing the challenges and opportunities for marketing managers.
Recently, the 2014 Incheon Asian Games Organizing Committee partnered with IB Sports to manage a full range of officially licensed 2014 AG products through various marketing channels. 2014 AGOC is expecting that this partnership will increase reliability, expertise, and competitiveness of the license business. However, the licensing business of past events in Korea will indicate these will be nothing more that challenges. Not a single past large scale licensing business in Korea has succeeded or met the standards the organization has set upon it at its inception. The purpose of this study is to investigate current structures and processes of the 2014 AG licensing business, the challenges for marketing managers, and possible solutions or approaches in tackling these issues.
The study will apply a qualitative approach including semi-structured in-depth interviews and secondary data analyses. The authors initiated the interviews with a marketing manager. Further interviewees will include licensing experts, associate managers, and business partners of the AG. The topics will include the process and structure of the licensing business and their experiences with AG. Also, data will be analyzed from several secondary reports and sources regarding to the status of licensing businesses.
This will allow us to unveil the opportunities and challenges 2014 AGOC is facing and inform us on how sport event licensing businesses are developing in Korea. Implications of measures and strategies will be further discussed.
