For all you pro football fans, it is an exciting time of year. Every team starts 0-0 and has their focus on starting the season off right and making the Super Bowl. Yesterday, on 9-11, fans filled stadiums with hope, excitement and passion not just for their teams, but in commemoration of that tragic day ten years ago.
But football-wise, after week one, half the teams are now 0-1. For those teams unfortunate enough to lose their first game, it is likely that those fan bases are already up in arms about something. Depending on the style in which your team lost, and what happens in the next few games, it presents a marketing question as the season goes on. NFL marketing gets tougher for most as the season goes on. Let me explain.
I believe it is safe to say that pro football is probably America’s most popular sport, exceeding baseball and for sure exceeding basketball. The popularity of the game is not in question. But what if you root for a bad team? As the season goes on, perhaps your team is sitting at 2-8 with no chance of having any Super Bowl aspirations. I know what that’s like, being a Jets fan who for many years felt the season was ruined by mid-October. Do you still want to attend games? Do you still want to go through the effort of getting to the stadium? Of paying for tickets?
The NFL has had a few challenges in recent years, in terms of getting people in the stadiums regardless of a team’s performance. Even for good teams, it has become challenging. The cost is much higher today than it was a decade ago, and if your team has a new stadium it is likely those costs are dramatically higher. The “experience” of watching a game on TV is much better now with HD and things like NFL Sunday Ticket. Many fans are interested in watching their team, but also every other team due to fantasy football. For cold weather teams, and for cold weather teams who are having losing seasons, the effort to get to a game can be considerable if you’re not a diehard.
All of this presents a pretty interesting marketing question. For winning teams, or teams in a playoff hunt, it is a little easier to attract people to the stadium. But for losing teams, it can be very challenging. If the “product” (i.e. the team itself) on the field isn’t good, then there has to be something else to attract people. Below is a short list of things I’ve seen used in marketing bad teams to local fans. What are some others?
1) Market the opposing team and the opposing team’s players. If your team stinks, why not promote the great players coming to town? “Don’t miss your chance to see XYZ Superstar live and in-person, even if he’s wearing the wrong jersey!”
2) Market on-field entertainment. I’ve seen teams pull together halftime shows and concerts in down years just to get people wanting to see the entertainment, not football. “Come watch XYZ Country Singer in concert…and catch a football game while you’re at it!”
3) Market the cheerleaders. Yes, I’ve seen this done before in a few markets. “Come see plenty of pom-poms….” OK. Enough said.
4) Market the fan-friendliness of fantasy football at the stadium. I’ve seen teams market the fact that they have real-time fantasy statistics displayed. “Why sit in your basement watching fantasy tickers, when you can do so sitting in a quiet stadium?”
5) Market the tailgating. In all seriousness, if you’re in a great football market but the team is no good, the tailgates often still are a lot of fun. “If you don’t want to pay for a game ticket, at least come and eat, drink and be merry and pay us for entry into the parking lot!”
Truly, what do you think teams should do if the product on the field is hopeless? Every team has a certain number of season tickets sold already, but a lot of teams do not. They rely on week to week ticket purchases. Fans rightly don’t want to commit to spending a ton of money on season tickets without knowing the team will be any good. It always fascinates me to see how marketing departments react to poor teams, not just in football but in all sports. Do they cut ticket prices? Do they focus on the experience? Do they market to kids and their parents? Do they question the loyalty of the team’s fans and practically guilt people into attending?
The answers depend, and vary on the city and market. But let me know some of the things you’ve seen before. I’ll get you started:
During the Jets 1-15 season, I remember seeing and hearing a few commercials that marketed “free paper bags” at the stadium. You see, a handful of Jets fans showed up at one game wearing paper bags over their heads with only eye holes cut out. The point was that the team was so bad, they couldn’t bear to watch and were embarrassed to show their identity. Well, someone in the team’s marketing department seized on it, and ran a promotion of free paper bags handed out to stadium visitors. From what I remember, it worked, as the attendance did spike for a time. The schtick was “come to the stadium, and no one will ever know you were there.”
That’s creative! What are some others?