How To Market The Sharks
by Robert McEvoy
7th July, 2017
Within 1 hour of Manchester, our former home city, there are 44 teams which sell over 5000 tickets regularly. There are less people in that area than the population of Bangkok, which has at most 3 teams selling those numbers. Sports attendances in Thailand therefore have massive potential to increase, and as a former Sports Marketing Manager for a team called the Sharks, (available at very reasonable consultancy fee rates), I would suggest the following basic ideas to the Chonburi Sharks management.
Firstly though, the club needs to change its culture towards selling tickets. One of the biggest success stories in UK Sport had a simple mission statement: "We are here to sell tickets". It might seem facile, but it is a simple message. It is not only a football club. The player's job isn't to play football, it is to sell tickets. If tickets are sold, the club is stronger, more valuable and more loved.
That might be a long way away, so in practical terms, there are a number of simple marketing activities that The Sharks could do.
Firstly, use the fans you have to recruit new fans. There are any number of initiatives that could be copied, such as Kids for a Quid available at many clubs in the UK, etc etc. The ideas and permutations are endless, but the basic idea in marketing terms is to use people already on board to attract others. Every fan will know 3 or 4 potential fans, use them. Bring a friend for a Baht? If your own advocates won't help you, then give up.
However, as shown with the lack of promotion of the recent family and student discount deals at Chonburi, communication is something that Thai clubs do very badly. In modern day Thailand, with the number of channels open to people, and the amount of time people spend on LINE, Facebook, Instagram, this is a huge miss. Chonburi should do everything they can to get their fans LINE ID or FB, so that every possible offer can get as much exposure as possible. There is no point coming up with ideas if you can't get them out.
Next, Chonburi should use their assets more, and the key asset they have is their players. Players should be out in the community, dressed in team kit, linking with potential fans. Schools, football centres, Universities, Shopping Centres, festivals, even packing bags in Supermarkets. This isn't as easy as it sounds, and requires manpower and expertise to organize, but by getting players out there, interacting with possible fans, ticket sales will increase. Again, you can add to this with coaching programs, lifestyle and health programs, which can be sponsored to create revenue.
Finally, and this is something that is quite new even in English football, is the idea that not all fans want the same experience. Chonburi Stadium provides something to sit or stand on, and a game to watch, but in Thailand with its big wealth divisions, this is another miss. Why not have more expensive areas, with nice seats, waitresses serving beer, fans parking and nice food.
In a country where malls have supercar parking, clubs need to give rich people the chance to show their wealth, and it would allow price reductions in less popular areas for those who are just happy to get in. Family sections would be another plus, with play areas, kids food and drinks, mobile phone charging points for Mums. Again, the number of sections is limited to your desire to sell tickets and imagination.
I think that some forget that Thai football is still in very much in its infancy as a professional sport. The players might be professional, but the clubs and their businesses are not. Hopefully this will come, as it will make a big difference to the way it is perceived, and maybe even Thailand as a country. It would just need one club to do this and others would follow. Why couldn’t that club be Chonburi?
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