Football and Fall: Deliver Relevance to Online Fans

With fall right around the corner and the football season officially getting started —especially with a hometown win for the Atlanta Falcons—I thought it appropriate to talk about the opportunities that exist for companies to connect with fans this time of year. Fans are a passionate bunch who care about their teams but also want to ensure their sports-viewing experiences are good ones, whether in the “man-cave” or at the stadium.

By utilizing IP Intelligence, companies can feed into that passion by automatically delivering online information that is relevant to local fans. Let me draw a few Xs and Os for you:

• Sporting Goods Store: Display ads for local teams’ fan gear. For example, show Falcons’ jerseys to those visitors from Georgia and Saints hats for those logged in from Louisiana.  Or, though I usually am not a big fan of ‘one-site-fits-all,’ forget about the pro teams and just default to UNC gear for everyone (Go Heels!)
• Travel Agency: Showcase fall travel specials. For example, advertise special air and hotel packages from visitors’ local cities to other NFL cities.
• Colleges and Universities: Highlight local alumni and booster groups on school web sites. For example, a recent University of Georgia graduate who now lives in Minnesota would be interested in connecting with other local Bulldog fans.
• Big-Box Retailer: Identify retail locations where fans can purchase products “in store.” For example, for visitors from Dallas, display a list of retail locations within a 20-mile radius where they can buy the latest flat-screen television or ultra-portable grill for Sunday’s Cowboys game.

The list is endless…fans could also get the top-10 tailgating recipes for their regions and then be presented with coupons from their local grocers…and so on.

Don’t underestimate the power of The 12th Man. Learn to deliver information online that captures the attention, support and spending power of the local football fan.