September 20, 2009

Squeeze the Lemon

In the sports advertising business, too many teams are too quick to go outside of their prime immediate market areas (within 30 miles of the stadium door) to try and find new fans. They get to this point because they think they have used up their core audience and have done enough to get them. This is a huge misconception. There is nothing like increasing the frequency of message to people who are within easy travel distance of the venue. Think of it this way. In order to motivate more distant markets, your message needs to be out there longer as well as intense. There is very little impulse attendance beyond 30 miles. It has to be planned attendance and that takes more reminding, thus more lengthy regular advertising tonnage is required. Close-in potential attendees can make a split second decision if they are reminded and prompted close to the date of the event. The problem is that the team advertiser has not "squeezed the lemon" hard enough, period. This is all very logical but gets lost in the panic of a lack of response.

Bob Leffler
Owner/CEO