Social Media Analysis of Florida Panthers

Fan Loyalty in Sports.

Executive Vice President of Communications and Marketing for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Bill Wickett believes that Loyalty and Rewards for season ticket holder was the top priority for the Lightning following the NHL’s 2012 lockout (Wuco, 2013). In looking at fan loyalty programs, it is imperative that the organization goes straight to its top paying customers, i.e.- the season ticket holder. Loyalty programs in the four major sport platforms focus on season tickets, because they account for the majority of a franchise’s revenue. Loyalty and reward programs are created for constant customers who remain faithful regardless of their team’s current state or position in rankings.

Fan loyalty is crucial for the success of a team. Like any business, the sports industry depends on its consumers. Researchers define fan loyalty as the level of interest, involvement and passion a fan exhibits to their particular favorite league, organization, and athlete (Desarbo, 2009). These sports fans are the target customers because they are eager consumers of various products associated with the sport. Passionate fans are notorious for spending considerable money, time, and effort on sports-related activities and goods for their particular team of interest.

Currently, teams are offering benefits, and pricing discounts for buying tickets in advance to show fan loyalty. An example of fan Loyalty is the Miami Dolphins support group named the ‘Fin Club’. The concept is for the club to assign fan points for any Dolphins-related activity, such as following the team on Facebook and Twitter, visiting the team website and/or purchasing tickets and merchandise before the casual local fan. Points for special perks then can be redeemed that would not be available for general purchase. Examples are included but not limited to interviewing a player, a chance to run out the Dolphin flag during player introductions at a home game, or hosting a business meeting in the team’s locker room (Fisher, 2012).

I found the Pittsburgh Penguins reward program, PensPoints, to be a unique and entertaining system to offer fans, in terms of rewards and loyalty. PensPoints provides Penguin fans and attendees of all types the opportunity to accumulate points that can be redeemed for rewards. A participant does not need to be a season-ticket holder, but attending Penguins games is what counts to receive accolades (http://fansof.com/earn-penspoints, 2013).

Schools and Universities have lead the revolution of loyalty by engaging fans for live and post game events. When Oklahoma University scans basketball tickets at home games, the ticket holder will be transferred from the Paciolan ticketing software to Row27 and added to the fan’s rewards points. The team encourages fans to show up an hour before tipoff to receive bonus points (Smith, 2013). In return, credits can be redeemed for rewards that include experiences, such as team run outs, dinner with a coach, or concession credits.

Boston College rewards students for their attendance record at games and pep rallies. Students that have a solid attendance record for these events are rewarded with better access to high-demand games in their area of fan interest (Smith, 2013).

Thanks to social media, teams are finding a way to reward their fans appropriately through the digital environment. The communication barrier between fans and athletes has been dismantled, due to fan communities and tweet-ups hosted by organizations and athletes. The concept of fan loyalty and involvement is a lucrative and positive element that has been added to professional and amateur sports that must be recognized.