One of the problems all of us marketers has is that we lie to ourselves. We want so badly to reinforce what we think we know that we often miss the obvious.
We turn to focus groups and see what we want to see.
We turn to "experts" and hear what we want to hear.
We turn to research to read what we want to read.
We even talk to our customers. Unfortunately, our customers perception of how they interact with our products and services don't alway match reality. No where is this more obvious than at sporting events.
No where in any research have customers told us that they get most excited at a sporting event by T Shirts. But its true. I have gone to NBA games in every arena and many NHL and MLB games across the country . Without exception, the response to T Shirts being thrown into the audience exceeds the response to actual game action for all but the most exciting of game action moments.
The minute the T Shirt cannons or slingshots come on the court, field or ice, every man, woman or child of any age is up screaming their head off trying to get a free T Shirt . They have no idea what is on the shirt. They know the chances of getting one are slim, but it doesnt matter. Its T Shirts gone wild.
Its a huge marketing lesson.
The Customer is always right, but often they tell you want they want not by their responses to your inquiries but by their actions.
Sporting events are special because they allow customers to be part of and participate in an energetic environment that is unique. Some leagues are trying to minimize that energy by reducing sound, lights and other activities. Its a huge mistake. Maybe they should take a step back , or better yet a step up and sit with their customers and watch how they act during a game.
Its much more rewarding than sitting through a focus group.
The Lessons of T Shirts to Marketers
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Reader Comments
(Page 1)2. When are you going to slingshot "David Stern University" shirts into the Mavs crowd? I would stand up for that one.
Posted at 3:04PM on Jan 15th 2007 by John Mark
3. imagine now if they were high quality t shirts - t shirts without that cheap screen printing ink that melts when you iron it (not that you'd be ironing said flung into the crowd t shirt). shirts that fade really well with time and get super soft. i'm talking about the t shirt with VINTAGE possibilities. i predict mass hysteria would ensue.
4. That is a great observation and one I have noticed as well on the corporate/ motivational level. A company will have a big meeting to rev up the troops right before they are inevitably handed more work and then the swag comes out. They want you to cheer and get pumped about the new initiative or the company in the form of cheering and jumping for cheap shirts, mousepads and such. the employees will not react in that form for anything else in that meeting no matter how good the information, so t-shirts is where its at for instant emotional response. I know because i have 10-15 shirts 3 backpaks, 1 beach towel, and dozens of other smaller peices to show how I respond at the slightest hint of free stuff being flung into a group of previously uninterested people.How can complex people be so easy to figure out sometimes.
Posted at 3:16PM on Jan 15th 2007 by scott dearmore
5. I think you guys should shoot free Donald Trump hair toupee's into the crowd. This in response to "The Donald's" comments about you a couple weeks ago.
Actually I think you should hand them out to the first 10,000 fans... could you imagine 10,000 people with that awful comb over?
If anything... it would get him so fired up it would definitely be worth it. Plus, imagine the press coverage. Would be a great way to get free press for HDNet, etc... but more than anything it would just be funny.
Bryan
Posted at 3:29PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Sports Blog
7. It is amazing how fast a group or individual will tell you what is on his mind by an action vs how fast it takes to interpet what he says.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then actions a worth a million.
Guy
Posted at 3:36PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Guy Pelletier
9. http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=m_gladwell
If you follow this link you can see talk by economist Malcolm gladwell about this exact issue. The conclusion is that the masses typically do not know how to express their desires, and they do not know what they want in the first place. People basically say what the ads tell them they like, even if it is not what they want.
Posted at 4:00PM on Jan 15th 2007 by superdave
10. I get exactly what you are saying! I consider myself a pretty savvy basketball fan and a very smart businessman. I realize when those people walk on the court, there is a 1:10000 chance of me getting a shirt.. but you are right... I'm up on my feet like a moron screaming for a 5$ cotton t-shirt, that probably won't fit anyway! lol...
And the passing comment you made about the minimalized lighting and sound... that has to be a reference to the Mavs at Lakers a week or so ago... I spent the whole first half of the game thinking something was wrong with the lights in the Staple center.. it wasn't until Mark Followell mentioned it after half-time that it was "theatre lighting" that I caught on... The first thing I thought was, what the hell? Thats the worst damn idea ever! It didn't make it anymore dramatic.. it just pissed me off... if anything when referees made bad calls or players (Mavs and Lakers both) got away with a travel, illegal pick, etc... it just magnified it! There was no ambient sights or sounds to distract me...
And it can't be good for the crowd... they feel like they wasted money.. part of the fun of going to a game, like you said, is interaction with the rest of the fans. And I'm sure it drove the players nuts! I've played basketball in a dark gym before the lights were all on... it messes with your depth perception and it messes with your spatial recognition.
I'm sure it could be classified as dangerous for the players... I think there needs to be a consistent playing situation. Baskets are all the same height... floor is all the same width and length... I think there should be consistent lighting too! And sound. Its not tennis for cripes sakes... its suppose to be loud
Sorry about the Rant. Where's my shirt? lol
Posted at 4:06PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Matt Price
12. I agree with you wholeheartedly on this. I think a great example of this in a different arena is what Microsoft does at their events. I have been to more Microsoft developer, system builder, tech net, blah blah blah events than I care to count but I always come home with a pile of swag. I have an entire closet devoted to event swag now and it never stops me from getting excited about what they will give out at the next one.
Posted at 4:41PM on Jan 15th 2007 by MichaelSB
13. How could the Dallas Mavericks (or any organization or business) use t-shirts to get fans more excited about the game itself, not just the free shirt? After they're launched, fans sit down and get back to their hot dog...
Narendra, I agree that competing against others to catch the shirt certainly adds to the emotions. Adults want to win it for their kids (or themselves).
14. The problem with most 'research' and/or surveys, is the context or complete lack thereof. Unfortunately, it's hard to quantify anecdotal, natural or real-world feedback for it to look presentable on a powerpoint for the pinheads. So keep firing t-shirts (of the kind Holly mentions in 3) and feel free to mix in some hottie gunners...
Posted at 4:59PM on Jan 15th 2007 by cd_turk
15. Your post brings me back a few years ago before i lost my life savings trying to start up a sunglass company. I was a show when some band started having a small crowd play simon say's for a free t-shirt. My life changed that day. "The Simon Say's theory"
Posted at 5:11PM on Jan 15th 2007 by murphy
16. part of the frenzy could be the fans trying to gain a few seconds in their alloted 15 minutes of fame. btw Mark, you are way over your 15.... but you earned it.
for me: I want a novelty item that cannot be purchased. I want to brag to my friends sitting next to me, and tell my friends when I get home.
17. This lesson is apparent across the board - an extension of the idea that children don't do what you tell them to, they do what you do.
human beings have a distorted perception of themselves and their wants and needs. hence, marketing can be one of two things: a bit of mindreading that sees the market's true wants and attempts to appeal to that, or an infrastructure that can create artificial need and can convince the consumer that the aticle in question is a must have. In my estimation marketing does more of the latter - creating artificial demand - and popular culture is a strong engine for that.
I imagine that the characteristics you attribute to marketers are evident in individuals as well. That's why the most important thing you can do is watch your consumer. This is why Google is king - and will be because I don't see their monopoly going away soon. All they do is watch and let the world tell them EVERYTHING. Wow.
I work in film and once read an interview of Jerry Bruckheimer. The interviewer asked him how he spent his spare time. He said, interestingly enough, that he spent a lot of time at the movies. Gauging a firsthand audience reaction on opening night... incognito, is a powerful way to gauge the reception to a movie, its stars, the genre, the concept, etc. Observation is powerful.
Posted at 5:59PM on Jan 15th 2007 by blyx
19. Sports fans love competition- what we witness is not the love of t-shirts, it's the love of competing. Go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans sometime soon and witness the competition for virtually worthless plastic beads.
The t-shirts work particularly well because, with modern t-shirt cannon technology, anyone may feel like they have a chance to win one and part of the victory will be of their own efforts- how many of us will admit to moving over to our spouse's aisle seat when they're launching t-shirts?
If I marketed a sports team, I believe I would launch a lot more low value stuff into the stands- probably doubloons like you see at Mardi Gras. Make the doubloons valuable for cheap free stuff provided by marketing partners (free taco after game, etc.) and also low end souvenirs unto themselves- embossed with likeness of Dirk, Mark, Avery and other on/off court Mavs.
The problem with t-shirts is that you also sell t-shirts. I've caught a few in my day and handed that cheap shirt over to the kids and kept the $20 for the "real" shirt in my pocket.
Find a way to get the home viewing audience involved also. Direct them to your website after the game for a limited duration non-random game of skill to win some prizes that will reward them for having faithfully watched the game in real time- if they Tivo it they will be beyond the contest time limit.
Maybe set aside four really great seats at the next home game for the grand prize winners of these right after the game on line contests where the questions are just as likely to be about your sponsors as the game itself. Fans love to participate in competition, that is why they "adopt" your team and even you personally.
Sure it's fun to watch the Mavs throttle some opponent, but it's even more fun to watch Mark Cuban "take on the man", knowing that he has been blessed with the resources to call it as he sees it, right or wrong.
Posted at 6:49PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Trey Tomeny
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1. I am always amazed at how crazy people get over t-shirts. You see it in clubs when some KBLAH radio wants to have a promo as well as sporting events. I always remain seated during the shirt barage. The cell phone comes out and I start checking other NBA socres.
Posted at 2:54PM on Jan 15th 2007 by Jon