I like sports. I’m not a fanatic; I like the drama and watching the teams I like. I know people who will watch any and everything can that’s sports. I know people who spend 12 hours or more on Saturday watching as much college football as they can and do the same on Sunday with the NFL.
But I can’t sit and watch a game if it’s teams I don’t care about. I guess you can say I’m a casual fan (unless it’s my team). And I’m really taken with ESPN2 having the Pat McAfee show do a fun second version of a college game. They divide into teams to support each team playing. But it’s more than support, there are donations to each school’s favorite charity for first downs and scoring plays.
Then, the cast does crazy things like trying to throw a football through a basketball hoop, trying to throw a toy football (with fins) into a football target net, etc. When they’re successful they double, triple, or quadruple that scoring drive’s donation. Last week they raised about $43,000 for one school’s charity, $40,000 for the other, and doubled it by also donating an equal amount to the Red Cross for Hurricane Ian recovery.
The McAfee thing got me keeping on a game I wouldn’t normally have on. And it brings up the question:
What are we doing to capture the attention of those people who aren’t the fanatics (for what we do) but who could benefit from what we do?
This is the very heart of marketing. How to reach people who we need to reach whether it’s for our services or (in our case) matching business sellers with buyers and vice versa. It’s too bad there’s no easy answer. For some it’s advertising. For others it’s referrals (a great way) and repeat business (even better than referrals).
It’s knowing what works for you and to keep doing it, while always experimenting with new tactics, and, most important, tracking whatever you can track.
“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” John Wanamaker
