The reason I find the marketing aspect of sports interesting
is because of the creativity involved in creating a message. With social media
and the advancements in technology, it is possible to absorb quite a lot of
information. However, we live in a society that has come to expect
entertainment on demand. The general attention span of a person is shorter now
than it used to be a decade ago. Marketers have tools like videos and
interactive apps that can help capture the attention of fan. The job goes further
than capturing the attention of the fan; the relationship needs nurturing in
order to maintain the revenue stream open.
We must understand that fans are a major revenue generator
for sports teams. Fans affect revenue in the form of tickets, merchandise and
game day purchases. Fan engagement is necessary to capture the attention of a
target market. Psychographics can be a useful tool to understand what fans
might find engaging. Creating a message that can engage the fan can lead to
acquiring new fans; new fans translate into an increase in revenue. Every major
sport league has an off-season, a perfect time to deploy loyalty reward
programs that may help keep a fan engage with social media. The ultimate goal
is to keep fans engaged with the team or the brand in such a way that he
creates value overtime instead f just for one season or game. Fan loyalty is
important because it maintains revenue streams open, not to mention the ability
to convert new fans into life-long fans.
The Orlando City Soccer Club a MLS franchise has done an
impressive job at engaging, nurturing and creating new fans. They engaged fans
by giving away car magnets for weeks, giving fans in Orlando a sense of
belonging. They used incentives in their season ticket renewals, this method
allowed them to renew 15,000 season ticket. They also used exclusive gifts and
memberships from their support groups in order to create 3,000 more season ticket holders.
During my internship with the Orlando Predators, I learned a
few tricks that can help keep fans engaged before, during and after the game.
The Predators provide entertainment, food and other engaging things for their
own tailgating event known as PredFest. During the game, they mix sponsorship
activation with fan engagement by throwing t-shirts in to the stands during
media timeouts. The t-shirts are usually a mix of sponsor branded and team
branded t-shirts. They are also events that require fan participation during
these timeouts. These events are founded around a sponsorship activation event.
This mix creates for an engaging environment even when the game is not being
played. Lastly, the team allows fans to enter the field at the end of each
game. They do this to allow fans to meet players and cheerleaders and get their
autographs. They also provide posters free and merchandise for sale at the
center of the field, this helps maximize profits in sales.
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