Jim Harshaw » Revolutionize Your Athletic Program with Video Content

Uploaded by Jim H. & Riot Staff | on Riot Sports Marketing | April 11, 2011

http://www.riotsportsmarketing.com In the 1960's there was a sport marketing revolution. A man named Roone Arledge from ABC Sports took a chance. ABC would broadcast college football games nationwide that were previously only broadcast regionally due to the regional nature of fan bases, particularly college fan bases. How would they make a game between Penn State and Florida interesting to viewers in California?

"Heretofore, television has done a remarkable job of bringing the game to the viewer. Now we are going to take the viewer to the game!!," stated Arledge. "We have a supply of human drama that would make the producer of a dramatic show drool."

Think about it. You don't watch sports to see a quarterback throw a ball, a volleyball player set the ball or a wrestler shoot a double-leg takedown. NO! You watch because you have a relationship with that person or team. Even if you've never met the players, you may have attended the same university, your father was a fan when you were a kid, you watched interviews of the team, you know the backstory or are somehow emotionally connected to the athletes.

Do not think for a moment that your fans are any different.

If you want more fans then build a relationship with them. Connect with them and let them connect with you.

For example, what if the head coach of your favorite team sent you a message and copied thousands of other fans on this message? This is what happens on Twitter everyday! How would that change your relationship with that team? Would that make an indifferent fan an engaged fan? Would that make an avid fan a rabid fan? Absolutely! An rabid fan for life!

Roone Arledge continued: "...the viewer must meet the players, but he will meet them as he would if he were at the game. This will be accomplished by using a blowup of the cover of the actual game program and introducing the individual players by means of pictures of them in their normal street attire..."

You can do better than this! Buy a Flip Camera and do in-person interviews at practice, at school or in a casual setting. Let your fans get to know your personnel- athletes, coaches, trainers, administrators, other fans, sponsors (that would be stoked to get in front of your audience) and alumni.

Arledge also stated, "...We will utilize every production technique...to heighten the viewer's feeling of actually sitting in the stands and participating personally in the excitement and color...In short, we are going to add show business to sports!"

Don't worry about production techniques. Authentic "Youtube-quality" video's tend to go viral more than highly produced videos anyway.

The point here is that you can learn from what the professionals are doing. For decades, professional sports marketers have understood that they must give their fans an experience in order to keep them and move them up the escalator from fringe fan to fanatic. You can do this now too!