Return on Investment in Sports Marketing Initiatives: A Study Focusing on a Brazilian Soccer Team

Our study analyzes the sports marketing environment, focusing specifically on soccer, in order to determine how a soccer team marketing department operates in terms of organization, planning, development of activities, and professionalization. The method utilized was based on a Brazilian soccer team case study. Data were obtained by means of a semi-structured interview with one of the members of the Brazilian soccer team marketing department, and complementary data were collected from material supplied by the respondent, from secondary sources and from the Brazilian soccer team website. It was possible to verify how marketing activities are developed by the club and to compare it with what is established by the theory, that is, how to plan and perform sports marketing activities. Moreover, it was possible to propose a structure for evaluating the club marketing performance by identifying the areas responsible for the best results, particularly in terms of financial returns.