You know, I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I have this deep feeling that the NFL is in even bigger trouble as a business than most of the key indicators we are looking at would tell us.
You know the key indicators which I am talking about:
- Lots of empty seats
- Declining ratings
- Bad PR
- 3 teams moving in 1 year
Its this last one that I think is the straw that will tend to break the camels back.
Earlier this week, I wrote about the future of the live entertainment industry and I talked about 3 things that will drive that, quick refresher:
- People
- Stories
- Experiences
If you look at the NFL moving 3 of their teams in 1 years time, that is a big red flag for the health of the business.
Why?
Well, you take a dump on 2 markets…that’s people.
You tell a story that you don’t care about the fans themselves, only the people that view on TV: that knocks at the story and the experience.
Which means that this should really be an offseason of self reflection for the NFL, which if we are being honest has been the case for the last few years now.
With Deflategate.
With concussions.
With Ray Rice.
All of these things alone aren’t enough to derail a business, but combined, it provides the drip drip drip that can erode a business’s stability more rapidly than imaginable.
Which leads us to the point of action.
Sure, the NFL just pulled their little play action move on broadcasting a Sunday night playoff game that drew good ratings, but that is only a short respite from the above challenges.
And, the question returns to what do you do to straighten out the ship?
The first step is you have to get back to focusing on your fans, not just the ones that only care about you for their fantasy team.
You have to focus on real fans…the ones that buy your merchandise, go to your games, and that consume your product regularly.
Again, more likely than not, the ones that are only consuming your product on TV are not really your customers, they are the customers on the TV companies.
So return the focus to the people…
There is a place for the TV consumers, but the big deal has got to be driving more and more people into the stadiums, into NFL sponsored products and events, anyway that you can sell the NFL experience in a way that you control.
Second, you have to spend some time on telling the stories.
Too many of the NFL’s stories today are all about what is wrong. People talk about the Patriots, but most of them are about how much they hate Tom Brady, or how the Patriots must be cheating…
People talk about the mess that has been made of the 49ers, but people don’t talk in the same way about the way that the Falcons are reshaping their fan experience or the Dolphins with Hard Rock Stadium.
Finally, we need to really take the stadium and in-game experience to another level.
The challenge is making the in-game experience is a must see again. You can’t just half-ass your in-game experience with some pretty entrances, cheerleaders, and $15 Bud Lights. You need to make the game engaging and fun. You need to provide some opportunities for your fans to get closer to the game and make them more rabid in their participation and viewing.
The thing about the NFL is that they have all the money in the world, but they need to act more smartly and focus on the fans.