The same media types that decry the recent wave of questionable morality in sport are the ones who reap the greatest rewards from it. They take on a superior attitude when relating the latest indiscretion, skirting of rules or bonehead comment as if to instruct us in exactly what should offend us and to what extent we should feel slighted. They try to sap the fun and excitement from the field of play to bleed it into the off field story…making what happens outside the lines the big story in what is ultimately a blow to the sport. But what they can’t account for, what they’ve never found a way to contain and what they NEED to be focused on to grow their business in conjunction with the entertainment they cover is fan affinity.
Fan affinity is one of the most spectacular (think Lambeau Field on a Sunday) and most frightening (think European soccer riots) social and economic forces to develop as it is only barely predictable and can create a fierce loyalty between a consumer and a brand or property. People just don’t walk away from their teams like they do from their favorite shows when they turn stale. If their favorite actor or actress makes a movie that looks terrible, they will stay out of the theater…but even horribly flawed franchises draw their most loyal of fans through thick and thin.
Too often, media thinks that they need to cater to casual fans by emphasizing the sensational and the peripheral, but people don’t feel passionate about these distractions, even if they do lean their head out of their proverbial car to see the car wreck now and again. Affinity cards, loyalty programs and web presences that allow fans deeper access to feel more a part of their teams have proven widely successful as they fan the flames of the passion that already exists in a true fan. Why couldn’t the pre-game shows, sports news shows and press learn this same lesson and focus on what the fans of the game really want to see and know more about? Something tells me that as proof of loyal fans increases, advertising and marketing dollars will closely follow…
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