We Could Take From Other Sports
It does come across sometimes that there is a certain elitism in the UK hockey community about our fair sport. We all think our sport is fantastic - indeed, I now tell people I'm a hockey fan first, football fan second. Some people, though, show a pure loathing for other sports.
Football, cricket, golf (guilty), rugby: all sports that I've seen naysayed by the hockey community. Some with good reason (I still stand by the golf is a walk wasted argument), others just seemingly out of pure spite ("football is s***, never watched a game, but it's s***").
However, many sports do a far better job of promoting themselves, and creating a welcoming atmosphere that hockey has great difficulty in doing. What are these lessons, and how easy would they be to implement?
Well, there's no formal segregation anyway. Where there is specified seating, fans do try to book together but the few games I have been to have seen away support mingling in with the home fans, no trouble, a bit of friendly verbal jousting, but nothing untowards. If we're this supposed family sport, welcoming fans in from throughout the league, why dump them in a corner of the rink? Personally I'd love to be sat behind an opposition fan, being able to discuss the game while it's happening (and maybe digging in a bit if we're well ahead).
2. Adapting to remain relevant (taken from cricket)
Long form cricket was losing its appeal. The result? 20/20, which in turn led to the invention of the Big Bash and the IPL. Now, I'm not saying we need a radical revamp of the game, or a new format to bring in new casual fans (although I did enjoy our 20/20), but the whole presentation of the show needs a revamp. In that, Gangnam Style. No. No more. It has passed. Same with the Harlem Shake, and the Clap Clap song. Yay, make everyone go "Woooooo". No ta. I would forgive pop music being used if it was at least from the same year.
3. Ticket promotions and fan incentives (taken from football)
Going to use my football team of Sunderland for this. Twice a season, the club offer season ticket holders the chance to buy two tickets at £10 each to bring friends to their game, the intention being that they enjoy the game and come back. Granted, we don't have the best product on offer but the idea is to get people in. Other teams who don't fill their ground do the same. Potential there. We also get discounts on merchandise throughout the year as season ticket holders, and deals with outside businesses too. All doable, all workable. It'll get people in, get people buying merch, improve relations with sponsors. People spending money = win.
4. Polish The Show (taken from American Football)
Everybody watches a bit of the Super Bowl each year, even if they don't particularly like the game. Why? The fluff. Dynamic entrances, hype, lots of hot air. The Half Time show. At the end of the day, it has your attention for the game, but beefs it up for the casuals. It's something every team could do more with - appeal to the masses, find something to bring them in, then hope they get kept in by the game.
5. Make the most of commercial opportunities (taken from almost every other sport)
That big screen thing above the ice? So many missed opportunities. We could have taken some of the sponsors off the ice and put them on the board. Football grounds have the electronic boarding around pitches now to maximise possible revenue. At cricket games, the big screens are covered in ads. At Castleford Tigers you can sponsor the pillar that props the stand up. Little things like that where we can make the most of commercial opportunities, and the rewards that come with that (better relations with companies, a wider audience reach.)
Just a few ideas, there are more to be taken I'm sure.
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1 comment:
1) I agree with your point but I think this is more of a supporter's issue than a club one. Most people will want to sit with fans of their own club's fans. Most rinks let people sit where they want and 'away' supporters will always tend to gather together. Getting a different perspective on things though always makes things interesting!
2) I think you've described the changes Barry Hearn has made to snooker in recent years. Certainly livened things up and made the game more modern without actually changing the way the game is played.
3) There's a balance to be found here. Blackburn Hawks and Blackburn Eagles have an offer on this weekend. £8.50 gets you into both games (Sat and Sun). Hawks have also teamed up with Rovers in the past. Goto a football match and get free entry to the hockey match. It's a great incentive to put bums on seats, but won't fill your arena week in week out. My first ever hockey match was on a half-price ticket and I was hooked from the start (the season that Blackburn Rovers were premier league champions too), but there has to be an interest for going in the first place. I've also worked at (football) games where cheap tickets were on offer, lots of extra people through the door (mainly parents shoving their kids in as free childcare) but they're not interested in what's going on in the game. Makes the whole thing a nightmare for safety/security and can annoy the real fans. It's always worth a shot (it worked on me), but also needs careful management.
4) See 2, by the way I've never watched the Super Bowl! I took my six and four year old daughters to their first game recently - Steeldogs vs Scimitars All Stars at Ice Sheffield. They loved it, the only thing they remember is the ice dancer doing gangnam style during the interval (oops, see 2!).
5) Come out of the arenas and into rinks, those big screen things don't exist, but clubs should use whatever opportunities are available to them. I'd love to see the electronic adverts football have around the ice! Most clubs need to start with the basics, Blackburn Arena still has Heineken League adverts pasted to the boards. I don't think they've added anything new since the arena opened - although they make good use of the walls around the back of the arena. Telford is a mass of white, so many opportunities there that aren't being used. Bradford needs a lick of paint more than anything. For those who have got the infrastructure they absolutely need to make more use of it. Nottingham's scoreboard at the last CHL match was mainly blank throughout the match, that's 60 minutes of missed opportunities just there. I set up the first Blackburn Hawks website in the late 90s, got into local shops in the town centre and put posters up for the Hawks in their window, in exchange for an advert on the website and in the programme. No money changed hands, but it drove custom to both sides (the 10% takeaway discount for Hawks programme holders was especially popular!).
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