Redefining Trends
Boxing used to be a major sport in America. The heavyweight champion of the world was the considered the strongest man on the plant as a series of colorful stars made the sport a dynamo for viewers for decades.
And then something shifted. The sport became about big money and big paydays. The major fights shifted to pay-per-view and at night. It was no longer turn on ABC on Saturday afternoon to watch a star boxer. While it made a lot of money for the sport, it killed off the next generation of boxers. Kids simply watched and followed other sports because top-caliber boxing was no longer available. That led to a lessened pool of boxers as well as cut down on the potential future fans. The sport now is almost an also ran to football, basketball, baseball, hockey and mixed martial arts, which has caught America's attention as the sport of choice for controlled violence. Boxing has gotten so punch drunk that the biggest story in the sport right now is about two guys who can't agree to fight. If Roberto Duran were around, he would say no mas.
Other sports are feeling this same pinch of redefining trends. NASCAR's popularity gained every year in the 1980s and 1990s, but it has been stuck in a right for most of the 2000s. Actually, the rut is turning into a backslide as once loyal fans are abandoning the sport because of rules that were invented to grow the sport.
What's the message? It's to be careful with your marketing strategy. Yes, it is a good idea to seek new fans and new money, but never do so at the expense of your core base. It is a media relations lesson that sometimes is forgotten.
And then something shifted. The sport became about big money and big paydays. The major fights shifted to pay-per-view and at night. It was no longer turn on ABC on Saturday afternoon to watch a star boxer. While it made a lot of money for the sport, it killed off the next generation of boxers. Kids simply watched and followed other sports because top-caliber boxing was no longer available. That led to a lessened pool of boxers as well as cut down on the potential future fans. The sport now is almost an also ran to football, basketball, baseball, hockey and mixed martial arts, which has caught America's attention as the sport of choice for controlled violence. Boxing has gotten so punch drunk that the biggest story in the sport right now is about two guys who can't agree to fight. If Roberto Duran were around, he would say no mas.
Other sports are feeling this same pinch of redefining trends. NASCAR's popularity gained every year in the 1980s and 1990s, but it has been stuck in a right for most of the 2000s. Actually, the rut is turning into a backslide as once loyal fans are abandoning the sport because of rules that were invented to grow the sport.
What's the message? It's to be careful with your marketing strategy. Yes, it is a good idea to seek new fans and new money, but never do so at the expense of your core base. It is a media relations lesson that sometimes is forgotten.
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