|
|
Post by crawdaddy on Sept 1, 2015 19:51:03 GMT -5
Having attended MBO in person and watched several of the AVP broadcasts and streams, I'm struck even more than before about the changing demographics of AVP fans from the glory days of the early 1990s. I'm seeing lots of middle-aged fans (probably holdovers from those glory days) and young kids. What I'm not seeing much of are fans in their 20s and 30s. Accordingly, the vibe is decidedly not the booze-soaked, party atmosphere that used to be associated with AVP events.
Not saying this is good or bad, but I'm wondering how this plays into the AVP's strategy to expand and attract new fans. Do you try to change the demographics by appealing to that missing crowd, or do you embrace this fundamental shift? I'm not sure you can do both.
Note: I didn't got to Long Beach, which clearly made a more obvious attempt at getting millennials to attend (through the music festival and the six-man tournament), so don't know if the fan base there was fundamentally different.
|
|
|
|
Post by downtheline on Sept 2, 2015 12:48:24 GMT -5
There is a gapping hole in the 25-35 demographic. There is a group of loyal 50-65 fans. And i agree a younger group of girls VB fans that are drawn to the sports new opportunities. There seems to be some college age VB fans also in attendance. The venues must be interactive, have great food and drink(s), have areas for shade to relax on a long day and better rest room facilities to keep people coming and enjoying the day, imho.
There is a reason successful sports venues provide good food and reasonable comforts to their fans. The crew at MBO did a good job keeping the piers public restrooms clean and functional. Long Beach was a long haul for relief! Neither had food for purchase options worth a darn. So you get volleyball junkies and family watching...
|
|
|
|
Post by guest2 on Sept 2, 2015 15:21:33 GMT -5
How would the 20-35 year olds know those things werent there? I think the problem is the sport has no media presence and no presence at places where 20-35 year olds go. Where would you see the news that an event is coming to your town if you don't follow volleyball?
Agree that in the future all that stuff is needed though to keep fans and make money
|
|
|
|
Post by crawdaddy on Sept 2, 2015 15:52:43 GMT -5
How would the 20-35 year olds know those things werent there? I think the problem is the sport has no media presence and no presence at places where 20-35 year olds go. Where would you see the news that an event is coming to your town if you don't follow volleyball? Agree that in the future all that stuff is needed though to keep fans and make money Very true with regards to the AVP. Leonard's marketing of his LB event was very different, although as I said in my original post I don't know how successful he was in reaching that age group. |
|
|
|
Post by volleyballer4life on Sept 3, 2015 13:22:45 GMT -5
It'd be nice to see more player profiling as well - It's nice to have interactive opportunities for fans at events, but above that I just think casual fans have little to know knowledge of the players and their storylines.
With the boom of juniors sand, it'd be great to see the players scatter throughout the region the day or two before the event and really get involved with the locals to generate interest. I paid $5 to watch one of my former players compete at her high school match yesterday, yet we don't provide a product that warrants that for the best players in the country... there has never been more of a demand for younger athletes to find role models in the sport, let's embrace that demographic and run with it!
|
|
