Fan Relationship Management – A Mug’s Game, or Setting the Trend?

Apologies for the slapdash approach to this blog post, I was writing it as a response to another post, and thought, I need to blog this, and here it is:

Part of the issue with FRM is that the sports industry as a whole is still lacking 5-10 years behind the rest of the business world. Only in recent years have sports clubs noticed the importance of keeping fans on side, yet they are now forever playing catch up. In order to learn the best practices, they are having to develop old strategies, whilst the business world surges ahead.

I have no doubt that fallin season ticket sales is in part, due to the recession. The cost of football is an increasing spiral that many fans are unable to afford. An example, of my dear Ipswich Town, where their top priced seat is £1000. Far pricier than Manchester United or Arsenal for that matter. Whilst there are a minority of seats at that price, the brunt of NOT selling these seats comes from increased revenues in other areas.

However, other downfalls are the amount of football being played, and the TV aspect. People may be able to afford a season ticket, but not the travel week in and week out. They may say, why pay £500 for a season ticket, plus travel expenses, plus food costs, plus a programme, when they can get the same level of satisfaction sitting in front of a tv screen with a beer (or wine).

Anyway, I digress. The importance for me is not that what clubs AREN’T doing, but what they are. Whilst progress is slow, they are progressing. More and more clubs are taking on crm systems, they’re learning the trade bit by bit. Previously they have rested on their lorals, but now they are taking action. In my view this can only be a positive.

What I think clubs need to do more than ever, is engage sponsors in activation with fans. O2 are a fantastic organisation at doing it, and many sponsors could learn from them. Whether it is merely access to tickets early, or winning money can’t buy experiences, or even giving a free burger when you buy a drink, O2 are prepared to put the effort in. Yes, it costs money, but could this not be negotiated by the sponsors at the start of the contracts? At the end of the day, rights holders are there to make money. However, they need to spend money on their fans to make it back in revenue, and I feel it is this that is currently being missed.

How can swimming brands continue the work of the free swim campaigns?

Following the emergency budget a few weeks ago, much has been said on the topic of budget cuts among the more high profile removals, such as NHS, restructuring, and tax changes.

However, little has been said about the cutting of free swimming for the under 16s, and the over 60s/65s. WIth the growing obesity “crisis” (I use the term lightly), in the former category, how will this affect not only their attitudes, but also the swimming brands linked in with the sport?

The Amateur Swimming Association has recently gained a significant improvement in support from the general public, as the number of wins in major tournaments have increased. SInce the days of Sweetenham, the GB team are now a force to be reckoned with, in comparison to previous years.

The initiative with British Gas, to promote the free swims, was a campaign that was highly commended, yet was not something I heard many people speaking  about. However, I am very aware that I am not the target market so this could be why it passed me by.

With this in mind however, how can current brands and leisure companies ensure that footfall doesn’t decline in local pools, and how can they continue to engage with the consumers in order to gain full advantage over the competitors?

I believe that the answer lies not only within the products they offer, but the experiences they can provide. When I was a child, one of my greatest memories is upon completion of my swimming badges. Currently brands are fighting for position within the market, but apart from the traditional brand (Speedo), there is little standout from one particular competitor.

However, learn to swim schools are more important than ever before, as parents get their children into the pool, and older generations try to maintain their fitness levels, and this is an area that I believe swimming brands are yet to really enter into. Whilst many brands, such as Speedo, enter the competitive arena, the leisure market is a market that is seemingly ignored with little investment in comparison to the competitive level.

Red Dead Redemption by Terry

The following article is pretty unrelated to sports marketing, but at the same time, I suppose you could link it to the PR aspect of the sports industry. Either way, I am going to comment on it.

I am not a fan of John Terry. I do not like his attitude. I do not like his behaviour on or off the pitch. I do not like the way he conducts himself in front of the media. However, today John Terry has won my admiration.

Following his outrageous antics off the field, and to a certain extent, his thuggish behaviour on it, I am always one to call him childish names. In fact, I can honestly say that before today, I wouldn’t have been intimidated in meeting him due to my lack of respect for him.

Yet in the most frank, un-media trained conference I have ever witnessed, I saw a player who was not only hurt by the poor performances he and the team have shown so far, but also a player that has the cojones to put his England career on the line to show he cares. Media reactions to the conference have been hilarious, such frank interviews are a rarity, and the mainstream media were unsure how to report the bluntness of Terry’s comments. Some called it a rash interview, others praised his honesty. My opinion is he did what he had to do; tell the truth.

Players left the field on Friday giving the same media trained lines fed to the media every week, with exception of Rooney, who quickly fell back in line with a public apology fed into the usual channels. In a break from ranks, Terry made the call to break away from the traditional feeds given to the media, and show that he has the pride and passion we thought had left the squad.

Now don’t get me wrong, I still can’t stand the guy, but as a professional footballer, he has gained my respect. Regardless of the outcome on Wednesday, he will have my backing.

Missed Opportunity for Hyundai After ITV World Cup Blunder

With fans already heavily critical of this World Cup, you’d think that broadcasters would do all they can to ensure fan satisfaction. At ITV, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Unsatisfied with continuing with possibly the worst commentary team in the history of football, and the most boring line up of pundits known to man, ITV made yet another braodcast error on their HD channel, very similar to the one against Everton in February 2009. Whilst understandable that mistakes can happen, ITV have broken a cardinal rule of sports broadcasting, never make the same mistake.

General opinions amongst fans I was with was a combination between anger and amusement. I began towards the latter end of the scale, but as Hyundai filled a substancial England football void, my attiude rallied towards the former option, compounded by the missing of a goal in what was otherwise a thoroughly dull match.

Adrian Chiles apologised at half time, but it was of little use, as commentary had been replaced by music for the half time break and many fans restocking their beer glasses at the bar. ITV produced their usual tact of “it isn’t our fault, it was someone elses” (some things never change).For those of you that haven’t seen it, see the error below.



What was most surprising was the little response from Hyundai. Now I can be pessimistic at the best of times, yet I willnot allow myself to believe that they paid to have the advert placed then, particularly with the 4 second delay in broadcast times. Yet the extra coverage they have had because of the blunder has been extraordinary. AS far as I am aware, nothing has been said, or issued to the media. If it has, it hasn’t been picked up on.

Within minutes of the error, puns were appearing online: “Toyota may not be able to supply working brakes, but we’d never interrupt your football” was a particular favourite of mine.

However, as far as I am aware, Hyundai haven’t attempted to spin this in their favour. Admittedly a tricky task given the result, but it is do-able. No apology was issued, no attempt at connecting with the fans after the error, which for me would not only have been a way of apologising for their part of the mistake, but also attempted to diffuse the anger aimed in their direction. Whether it is done through a viral apology, or a rushed print ad; adding a bit of humour would have lightened the mood.

A “we don’t do broadcasting, but if we did, we wouldn’t interrupt your football” type of campaign would not only keep the event being talked about, it would show a bit of realisation that a mistake was made.

Further Sponsorship Woes for F.A

Following my previous post commenting on the sponsorship troubles of the Football Association, National Express have since announced that they too will be negating on the opportunity to renew their sponsorship as the F.A’s transport partner.

It comes as a devastating blow to the FA as they look to increase the revenues within the sport, particularly during their bid for the 2018 World Cup. With deals renewed at a lower value with Carlsberg and Umbro, the F.A need to ensure that they maximise sponsorship revenue to ensure the continued growth of the national game.

One particular theme that appears apparent is the lack of ability to promote the sponsorship to the general fan. With local clubs and teams, sponsorships are viewed on a regular basis. F.A sponsorships never really appear in the public domain unless there is a big event coming up. Obviously, I may be sitting in the wrong circles, and there may be a lot more happening behind the scene that I am unaware of, but when comparing sponsors of the Rugby Football Union, to those of the F.A, there appears to be a lot more activation coming from the Rugby Football Union.

Perhaps it is due to the negotiation skills within the contracts, but O2, RBS, Investec, Greene King and Powerade have all run national campaigns gaining wide recognition of their sponsorship and investment in both the professional and local aspects in the world of rugby, an aspect of the promotion can be seen below. It is very rare that much is made of the sponsorships of the England football team, and it appears there is a lack of creativity from both sides of the agreement.

With lack of awareness of the sponsorships, the values of these contracts will go down. In times of recession, it is vital that sponsors are serviced more than at any other time. Showing that their money is taking them above and beyond their expectations is a big part of the renewal of a deal, and increases the likelyhood that the fee is the same or even increased.

Whilst it is a difficult market, it is imperative that the F.A sharpen their act within the sponsorship arena to improve their relationship with their sponsors, both current and prospective.

F.A show lack of understanding in latest sponsorship offering

It has recently been reported that the F.A have failed in their task to acquire a £40million a year sponsor. £40 million a year. This figure suggests that the F.A have one of two possible problems; One, they have no idea about the market at this point in time, or two, they are financially overspending to the point where by even if they are aware of the market, they have to put out a ridiculous figure in the hope of getting out of trouble.

Either way, the F.A have damaged their business acumen, with particular regards for the FIFA World Cup bid in 2018. The lack of understanding, one way or another, highlights the F.A’s lack of understanding on a finance front, something that FIFA will not take lightly.

Of course it must be appreciated that market conditions are hard, but with sponsorship revenues of club sides generally reducing further and further, with exception of the big four teams in the Premiership, sponsorship is going through a restructural process. How and when this process will be complete is unsure, but rights holders need to be aware that times are changing, and so are the revenues.

Bristol Rovers were one of the many sides struggling for sponsorship, and who rely on that sponsorship revenue to keep their club running. With the conditions of the market, they knew they would be unable to achieve the levels of revenue required. So, in a world first for football they held a sponsorship raffle. Each entrant paid £1000, and  were guaranteed an advertising hoarding. Winners of the raffle gained shirt sponsorship, and second and third each won different categories of prizes, ranging from boxes for a whole season, to matchday sponsors.

This strategy was high risk. It had never been tried before, and the club may not have achieved anywhere near the figures required. However, the risk paid off. With more than 100 entrants into the raffle, the club generated £100,000, more than double they could have hoped for for their previous sponsorship package. In addition to this, local businesses benefitted as it was a fee they could jusify and spend without breaking the bank. Bristol Rovers also achieved financial backing from a sports body for their idea, as radical thinking was richly rewarded.

While admittedly on a much smaller scale, the F.A could learn a lot from their member clubs, in particular when it comes to innovative thinking.

Apologies

Apologies for the continued silence over the last few weeks. I am now in a position to start writing again. I look forward to reading your comments and thoughts on what I have to say!

Are sports businesses finally getting on board with New Media?

The title of this blog may seem an odd question to ask. Indeed, everyone knows that New Media is basically anything digitally related. But some of this digital technology has been around for 20 years, for example the internet. So why are people still struggling to understand the concept of digital, with particular regards to the sports industry?

It appears that the sports business model in the U.K is on average 10 years behind that of it’s U.S counterparts. We followed the licensing and merchandising craze, and we have now fallen into the era of extreme pay levels. So what should we expect next in from our tuurbulent sports market?

Well it seems that in many regards it is going to be linked to the Customer Relationship Management or Fan Relationship Management; and therefore prospects of sports organisations becoming more tech savvy is on the up.

Fans of sports organisations have been neglected for many years. Previously their behaviour has been related to the community bond of a particular team or country, not so much how the team they follow has treated them as individuals. However, something in the mindset of the sports consumer has changed. Increasingly becoming fed up of the increased ticket prices and rocketing costs of attending a game. Fans are beginning to fight back. Liverpool fan’s opposition to Hicks and Manchester United fan’s opposition to the Glazer’s has come to the fore in recent weeks, with protests becoming a more and more regular occurence. Portsmouth fans have been left wondering whether their community will even exist in a few weeks time.

So what are clubs doing with regards to their fans and CRM? Websites appear to have been around forever, but lack of foresight by the Football League Clubs, and Rugby Union Clubs too, have led them to all having the same format of website by agreeing a long term deal, that leaves them unable to manipulate the site how they would like. Whilst this may seem like a good idea, it has meant that clubs have lost identity, and the ability to control how they present themselves.

 Well it appears that the “digital newbies” are finally beginning to show their power, as database marketing and membership schemes are growing. Some good examples are Bolton’s free membership scheme for children, which as one of the smaller Premier League clubs, is a fantastic way of viewing fans with a Life Time Value (LTV). By allowing them membership now, and creating a bond between fan and club, it is unlikely that the child will go off and support one of the more successful, less local teams. Arsenal’s membership scheme is one that is highly regarded throughout the world, let alone the industry, and personally I believe that they are perhaps one of the first organisations to get a grip on CRM.

England Rugby, since the World Cup Victory in 2003, have rolled out the England Rugby Supporters Club. To date, this has been a very successful campaign, but more and more people I speak to are beginning to utter rumblings of  unsatisfactory perfomance from the scheme, as they have been unable to get tickets, one of the primary reasons for sign up. England Rugby, however, were also one of the first sporting bodies to launch into the social media arena with England Rugby on Facebook. The group has continued to grow over the last 12 months, but an explosion in membership over the last month has helped the gorup numbers swell significantly, thus creating a new database in itself.

Manchester City have also realised the potential of online media, appointing a social Media exeutive to undertake all of MCFC’s online social media networking.

Why is this important? Well it is significant to the sporting industry as it shows that they are beginning to realise that fans are no longer guaranteed. People are choosing how the want to view their sport, and in order to capture their audience as best they can, they need to interact with fans. Whether this is through competitions, or by giving fans the ability to communicate with the club or body they follow, it allows a new method of communication. it allows bonds to form, and communities to build up strength.

While this is an evergrowing medium, digital is going to influence how fans interact with their club, and how closely they feel connected to them. If sports businesses are left too far behind this digital whirlwind, it could lead to dwindling numbers, and therefore smaller profits.

Champions League Playoff – Champion Idea or Doomed for Failure?

Courtesy of: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jB8fXOs8gSE/SS0tnoXp66I/AAAAAAAADJY/y9dcV8ObcPM/s320/Champions-league-logo.jpg

So it is with mixed reviews that the Premier League announce potential plans to have a Champions League playoff, starting in 3 years time.

I must admit, my feelings towards the idea are mixed.

On arrival of the announcement, I was elated. “YES! More competition for the fourth spot, breaking the regular monotony of the top four.”. Yet the more I think about it, the less enthused I am.

The reason for this is that the Champions League should be just that: The Champions League. I already feel that 4th place in our great Premier League is a bit of a demotion for Europe’s greatest competition. How would I feel if 7th place from it entered the competition, as their desire to win was so much stronger than 4th place? To be honest, despite the possible fairytale, as with my favourite Ipswich Town back in 2003, I’d be pretty annoyed if some floozey entered the European arena without any real credentials.

Courtesy of: http://www.imageurlhost.com/images/a1ftqlhm113an2bvnujk.jpg

I have also heard concerns from fans that the Premier League are looking to skim yet more money out of fans. I can see why this is of concern, especially with the price of football continuing to rise. However, to me, this is a complaint among the fans of the top 4, concerned that their team would miss out of the bumper pay day to widen the gulf between fourth and fifth even more.

Another concern I have had is that it would lessen the demand for fourth spot. Currently the gap is closer than ever, due to clever management by some of the outsiders, yet if they had a chance of qualifying in 7th, would they still put the effort into gaining that fourth place? I don’t think they would.

However, on the flip side of this, some of the mid table teams would perhaps push their efforts, making the league more competitive as a whole.

My experience with playoffs has never been very good, with exception of the 1999 season. However, I do know that playoffs are one of the best atmospheres I have ever seen. Both teams fighting for the ultimate prize, promotion. Fans giving an atmosphere like you have never heard before. The passion for the teams involved is unbelievable, something you have to be there for to understand. Many Premier League fans won’t remember this hotly anticipated time of the year, but trust me, it is an unforgettable experience, win or lose.

Looking back over my argument, I am still on the fence as to whether it is a good idea or not. Only time will tell. Of course, only the teams of the Premier League will decide, and I know there will be at least 4 teams that will be marking a big X in the no column, making this decision a very tight one indeed.

FIA again show lack of cohersion in latest blunder

Image Courtesy of Sportindustry.biz

The FIA have once again shown a complete lack of cohesion within the organisation, as they overturned their own statement last night.

Previously, the FIA had stated that the new teams had 3 races to get themselves into shape following the signing of a new agreement last season. Last night, they changed their mind and stated that any team missing a race would fall fowl of their own regulations.

It seems clear that the FIA are completely unaware of what the rest of the organisation is doing. If this is not the case, then they are bowing to hidden pressure from somewhere.

Either way, it is a bad precedent to set, especially for an organisation that has been underfire in recent seasons for its lack of authority in certain areas, as well as the media circus that followed the Max Mosely scandal in 2008.

For the FIA to gain back any credibility, it needs to start working with its members, not messing them around. Their strategy is shoot first, then look at what they are shooting at; a messy and potentially dangerous method to use in such a well followed and popular strand of sport.