Sports Marketing 2.0 | Pat Coyle

Just got a sneak peak at the Feburary 2007 ESPN Sports Poll numbers, which asks Americans (12+) questions like, “which is your favorite sports team?” The Colts moved up 3 slots (in that category) from last year into the #6 position.

Here’s the top 10 list:

While it’s nice to see the team gaining popularity, for me this poll inspires more questions than it inspires pride:

1. Loyalty: Are these “new” fans simply bandwagon jumpers, or will they remain Colts fans even when we’re not winning Super Bowls?

My thoughts: Yes. These are bandwagon jumpers, but some of them, and especially the youth, may remain fans for life. And by the way MOST of these new fans DON’T live anywhere near Indiana. The WEB will play a critical role in nurturing these fans over time.

2. Web traffic: With all these fans loving the team, why is our Website traffic in the bottom half (in terms of traffic) of all NFL team sites?

My thoughts: Right now we’re doing an OK job of providing Colts content, but we’re not doing a great job with user EXPERIENCE. I expect that our fans will visit with us online more often as long as we start meeting them there. In other words, we need to engage with them more deeply than we ever have before.

3. Brand: How did the Cowboys become “America’s Team”? Is there anything we can do (from a marketing perspective) to cause the Colts “brand” to become similarly engrained in Americana?

My thoughts: At the risk of oversimplifying, I will say that it might not be possible for a new “America’s Team” to emerge today given the stratification of media markets, the emergence of niche interests, etc. Granted, NFL still attracts massive TV audiences, but fans themselves are divided in their interests. They’ve got fantasy teams. They’re playing Madden NFL. And they’re busier than ever with LOTS of stuff that has nothing to do with NFL of course.

Whatever we do, we need to remember that we are a NICHE brand. As Tony Dungy likes to say, we need to “do what we do,” which for the Colts means continue striving for excellence… Do it with character and integrity…and Make it Personal. If someone doesn’t like this strategy, then he may not like the Colts. That’s OK. That’s what the Raiders are for. That’s not a slam on the Raiders, it’s an observation. They’ve got a “bad boy” image and they’ve got a HUGE and loyal fan base that loves it!

The Colts are a good, somewhat old fashioned, hard working Midwestern franchise with a Hall of Fame QB. We’re not perfect, but we’re striving to do things right. I’m not sure I’d want to represent any other image, nor try to attract fans who weren’t drawn to it. I’d like to see us push the envelope on this as much as possible…and force people to either love us or hate us. Our biggest enemy is “luke warm” fans.

From a marketing perspective, we’re in the entertainment business. Look at Pro Wrestling. You gotta have hero and a villain to make a great story. I’d like to see every team gain positions of emotional tension…where each team represents a CAUSE that their fans really care about…so that when we play, the intensity gets even stronger.

Right now the main tension exists around geography. People care about their “home town” teams. But more and more fans are following teams from outside local markets. They don’t really care about the home town. They care about favorite players. But I wonder if we package and present ourselves differently on a national front (and the Web is the ONLY way we can do this) if we could capture the imaginations of Peyton Manning fans, for example, and turn them into COLTS fans. Most fans who LOVE Peyton will at least LIKE the Colts. But I don’t want LIKE. I want LOVE. How do we move these fans toward LOVE?!