Build a Brand Workshop or... How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Empty Seats

This post begins a study on the Crew and the MLS brand and what the Crew can do to right the ship. Comments are encouraged as this is meant to be a positive exercise and examination on not only what the front office can do, but also what the fan base can do to right the ship.



When they announced the “Dare to be Massive” campaign I applauded. I thought it was the right thing to do. Then again, who isn’t in favor of a sports team they like selling more season tickets? I mean, seriously it’s not that hard of a proposition to get behind. Then I saw this video on Massive Report.

Setting aside the usual lip service you’d get from any commissioner of any league when he is being interviewed by ANYONE and the weird guy in the blue shirt that keeps looking in the camera, there were a few takeaways I got from this video that make me very nervous. Garber stated “Our goal here today is to try to get the mojo back. To try to re-kindle some of that success and passion that existed in the corporate community and season ticket community and getting back to being the leader that this team had been many times in it’s 16 year history.”

It’s no secret to anyone with an Internet connection and 30 seconds on their hands that the Crew haven’t been drawing well at the box office. Since the opening of Crew Stadium in 1999 there have only been four years in which the team’s attendance increased from the previous years. Only one time was the increase larger than 500 fans per game. We’ve got trouble folks. Right here in the capital city. Don has found much prettier girls to take to the prom and something needs to be done quickly.

Last season Columbus finished 17th out of 18 teams in average attendance. Folks, New England averaged over a thousand fans MORE per game than Columbus. NEW friggin ENGLAND. Honestly the only reason we wern’t in last place is because San Jose’s stadium only holds 10 thousand.

The issue, and my concern is this. A loose translation from the “Google: Corporate to English” translation tool reveals what the commissioner actually said in the Massive Report interview.

Our goal here today is to try to get the mojo back. - “Seriously guys, what the hell? 12 thousand fans a game? I got more people than that to my kid’s birthday party and we charged 10 bucks for parking too.”

To try to re-kindle some of that success and passion that existed in the corporate community and season ticket community - “Come on, show up to games! Nobody is going to want to slap their logo on a jersey if you can’t even fill your damn supporters section!... Yes, yes I know New England can’t fill theirs either, but we promised the guys from UHC Patriots season tickets.”

getting back to being the leader that this team had been many times in it’s 16 year history - “Guys, Detroit wants a team, Orlando wants a team, Ottawa wants a team, I want a team in New York. At some point this league will stop expanding. When that happens and large stacks of money start being waived in Clark Hunt’s face what will the counter offer be?”

I can tell you if that counter offer is 12 thousand fans a game, this team will be gone faster than you can say Baltimore Colts.




So why is the Crew drawing so poorly? Yes, factors such as the weather may have come in to play, but it was sunny and 71 on a Sunday afternoon when we played Chicago in June and we only drew 13,498. This is a game when school is out, against (arguably) our biggest rival and we couldn’t even get the stadium to ¾ full.

Why are people not showing up? The Crew were winning games at that point (the team only had three losses at this point in the season, all of which were away). To find out lets look back even further.

Before the expansion era in MLS (pre 2005) Columbus had finished above the league average attendance every year except one (1998, the last year at the shoe). After the expansion era started Columbus has finished below the league average every single year.


Lets look at what MLS was promoting in 1999.

Lets now look at a commercial from 2010.


What is the difference between these two spots? For that matter, what is the difference between Major League Soccer’s branding pre-expansion era and post-expansion era? Night and day. There is a message in what they are currently putting forward. The league has created a brand that it wants to be associated with and it is feeding that image in everything it does.

2007

2007

2011

I understand that a few of these videos aren’t produced by MLS, but that’s not the point. The MLS brand is excitement, participation and a sense an organic community of ownership with their fans. This is what the league has become. If you look at every team that drew over 18 thousand fans last year you see the exact same thing. These teams have embraced the MLS brand and are running with it.

I hate mentioning teams like Portland and Seattle, so for this exercise I will not. Instead I will look to the east. Philadelphia has embraced the culture of it’s supporters. Heck, half the reason Philadelphia even has a franchise is due to it’s supporters so why wouldn’t you? They have done an amazing job at two things. First and foremost they feature the Sons of Ben in the majority of their advertisements. An example of which is right here.

Secondly, they keep the Sons of Ben the hell away from the families. Obviously Crew Stadium was built well before the advent of segregated supporters sections in the USA, but in Philly’s case, having a newer stadium is rather helpful. There are only two access points to the walkway behind the supporters area. This helps the locals who are bringing grandma and grandpa to their first match to know where to go and where to steer clear from.

The Union, as well as other teams have done something that the Crew have attempted to, but have not succeeded at doing. This was an amazing start. However, when it is followed up with this it becomes deeply troubling. If you Google the phrase “Black out the Galaxy” EVERY link except the last that comes up on the first page takes you to thecrew.com or another Crew related website. That’s sad considering there’s a name of another team in the thing that I just Googled and the word Columbus or the word Crew are not in there.

Also if you look at our promotional schedule it includes days such as “Silence the Sounders” and “Put out the Fire”. I know, I sound like a broken record as I’ve obviously already stated this before, but if you are marketing the away team as the primary message of your advertisement you are not building your brand, you are building theirs. Promoting the Galaxy in Crew advertisements does one thing. It states to the Columbus marketplace that you believe the Galaxy are a superior product and thus will help your bottom line if you market them more than your own product. This is a dangerous precedent and unfortunately has been going on for five years.

So what do the Crew need to do to? There’s a number of things. First and foremost shore up the brand. Provide on-point messaging to the people of Columbus and pull themselves out of the fourth place in the mindset of the Columbus sports community. Secondly, deliver on the promise that you have set up with your branding. Third, develop your fan base from a local fan base in to a regional fan base.

This has to happen. It’s not really optional anymore. If you look at teams such as Toronto FC they already have pockets of supporters as far away as Detroit. The Columbus Crew must evolve and grow as a brand and they must do it in 2012. In the next few posts I will examine each one of these steps and provide ideas and a pathway to get there. I believe “Dare to Be Massive” was an amazing start. I believe this club can do it, but if it’s just the employees of this club this mission will fail. This fan base must take a more active role in the ownership of this brand and must propel it to the next level.

When Crew Stadium opened in 1999 the team jumped from an average attendance of 12,274 to 17,696. This was an increase of 5,422 fans per game. Last year Columbus averaged 12,185. With the “Dare to be Massive” campaign my sources tell me that we have eclipsed last year’s season ticket figure already and it isn’t even 2012. This is a great start. This is a crossroads for the Crew and the Crew’s fan base. This can be the team that pulled itself up by the bootstraps and showed why it is the hardest working team in America or it can be the team that faded to black.