Victor Loukas - Marketing Strategy for the Sports Industry

Victor Loukas has grown up playing sports, and is an avid football fan. He often combines this interest with his work as a market researcher when he collaborates with athletic and sporting goods companies to conduct research and develop strategy. This field encompasses a huge range of activities, services, and products, and is very international. Luckily, developing strategy for sporting goods companies can be a very engaging task, because sports are a passion for many people around the world, and companies can use that passion to connect with their consumer base.

Victor Loukas

Conducting research in the sporting goods industry involves many product tests, observations, and scientific experiments. With athletic products, especially nutritional ones like energy bars and sports drinks, it is crucial to have these scientifically tested and compared to their competition to find solid facts that can be used to draw the customer in. Observed product tests are also great, because they show exactly how an athletic consumer would use the product and help pinpoint trouble spots that arise when using the product so that they can be fixed.

With sports being such a big influence around the world, there is a huge consumer base to study and analyze. Almost everyone around the world has enjoyed playing or watching some sort of sport in their lifetime, and sports leagues have millions of followers and gain attention from national and international media. Because of this, Victor Loukas believes it is essential to get a full cross-section of consumers when conducting market research in the field of athletics.
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Victor Loukas - Careers in Market Research

Victor Loukas is a San Jose based market research executive, and has had a career in the field spanning the past fifteen years. Throughout his career, he has worn many hats within the market research field. There are many different potential careers in marketing and market research specifically, and in order to be successful, one must be versatile and be willing to wear many different hats in their day-to-day life.

Victor Loukas

 A market research employee may complete several different types of tasks throughout their day, depending on the company that they work for and the project they are handling. Typical activities include meeting with clients and research staff, conducting research via focus groups or observations, analyzing survey data, preparing client reports and recommendations, and managing budgets. To be a successful market researcher, it is crucial to be very organized and have good attention to detail.

There are several different research strategies that are common, and most researchers tend to specialize in either qualitative (analyzing subjective data, such as opinion results or observed behaviors) or quantitative (statistics, facts) research. However, most successful market researchers are trained in both so that they can adapt when necessary. Most market researchers are employed by market research agencies, where they work on projects with several different clients at one time. However, some market researchers are employed by their companies directly, and all research is given directly to the client.

Most market researchers have a degree in marketing with a concentration or certificate in market research. Many will also get their master's degrees in the field. Victor Loukas believes that education is an important part of the process of becoming a successful market researcher.
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