CAGESIDE CHRONICLE: LEARNING TO LOVE THIS MOST UNLIKELY OF A SPORT
8.31.23
Growing up a multi-sport athlete, the love of the game and competition is in my blood.
No MBA or PhD can teach that.
To know me, nothing in my appearance says Mixed Martial Arts. Nada. As a Connecticut, suburban driving mom of three with a penchant to be caught wearing Vineyard Vines and Lululemon, I can’t be further from what a stereotypical MMA fan might be… or so I thought.
I was perplexed when invited to interview for a marketing position with a new MMA. league. My first thought was, why would anyone, knowing me personally or my career in Marketing, think I'd be a good fit to market such a sport?
Aside from my Super Bowl spot for truTV/NFL Network with Troy Palumalu, most of my 20+ year career was advertising/marketing for telecommunications and television networks. The resume spoke; I wasn't a fit.
I accepted the interview figuring it would make for good table conversation with the neighbors.
What should’ve been the most ill-fated, colossal fail in the history of interviews, turned out to be a blessing that I never imagined I needed.
Maybe it was my brutal honesty admitting I knew virtually nothing about the sport. Or, maybe the executives were so desperate to fill the position gambling on a rookie to the sport was worth the risk. Either answer, I will forever be indebted for the opportunity.
A few friends gasped, and one choked on the news at the block party, but before the weekend was over, I was the VP of Marketing for a new MMA league.
When revealing your career is in MMA, especially as a female, eye rolls cometh, laughs precede sharp comments; the full gamut of disrespect. (I’ll expound further "a female executive's experience in a male-dominated sport" in a future post)
Like all seasoned marketers do, I dove into research about the sport to support my preconceived unfavorable impressions of Tabun Cave living Neanderthals beating each other senseless for a bucket of gold and a gaudy belt. That’s where my head was at.
Now, to be clear, this entry is about my journey into the sport and debunking the stereotypes around it and not the business itself. That’s another story altogether.
THE MARKETING CHALLENGE, EVENT PROMOTION FOR A SPORT I BARELY UNDERSTOOD
Terrifying. In a nutshell. From what little I knew about the fans, I sensed passion and loyalty. They often took to social media to debunk anything false, forced, or twisted about the sport.
And since just about everyone, from the company executives, my Agency partners and my pediatrician, knew more about MMA, how was I going to lead the go-to-market plan with any ounce of authority or street cred?
Disruption; Home Sweet Home
The Cannes Gold Lion, the most coveted creative award in advertising. I won it. That's right, for a campaign 100% lathered in disruption. Ridiculously simple and attention-getting.
CourtTV: Steven/Emily Billboard: https://vimeo.com/122501485
Confucius offered, “To know what you know, and what you do not know, that is true knowledge." Returning to my roots, I understood to launch something new it had to be distinguishable from the rest. A zig while the crowd was zagging. Be bold and unapologetically own it was the vision.
Viewing ads from other organizations, a repetitive playbook was in use; fonts, tune-in treatments, folors, formats, fighter shots, etc.
My brief to the Agency was simple: Look at these examples and do something different. Change the game.
Borrowed Interest:
If another company or industry has a formidable strength, leverage it… while adding in your own spin. I highlighted campaigns from other sectors, including Hollywood. Movie teasers are a proven way to build excitement, anticipation and communicate disruption is coming.
I conceptualized the format while drawing from my counterparts knowledge of the sport filling in the rest to create a Teaser Campaign with a look and feel unlike any other.
My TV Network experience taught me how to drive tune-in. The team would often laugh (and still does) but Day/Date/Time, or DDT, was stamped on every form of communication sent.
I’ll spare you a full marketing case study. There are many other trade secrets to what made this campaign and the others that followed successful, but for those you have to hire me.
Results:
For a start-up with a conservative marketing budget, we performed effectively.
U.S. Event Ave Event Viewership: 450k - Higher than Bellator (200k) and PFL (150k)
Social Media Milestones: +120k followers on YouTube; +270k followers on IG; 35M Organic Impressions Twitter
And More…
Shoutout to my incredibly talented Agency partners:
Six Plus One: https://sixplusone.com/home/
SocialDR: https://www.socialdr.co.uk/
THE CAGESIDE CLASSROOM
Articles and statistics only teach so much. Not until cageside did I truly foster an understanding and appreciation for the sport and the athletes who excel at it.
First Event:
I was immensely impressed by the World-class event production my counterparts coordinated. My countless multi-million dollar TV commercial shoots and TV set experiences couldn't hold a candle to this live MMA event production. The pace, the stress, and the skill needed to pull it off. Just wow!
Secondly, the sound ignited the sensory nodes. Something about hearing skin slapping skin live, 5 feet from your face that will remain with me forever. It's unexplainable, so I won’t try.
The excitement is palpable. We were all fans at the event's start. Each staff member couldn’t resist a giddiness (or maybe it was the 3 shots of Cuban coffee the group downed just before). The fans were fiercely passionate and their reverence for the entering fighters was awe-inspiring.
They knew something I didn’t yet; not just their names but their stories along with the training, skill, and strategy the sport demanded.
MMA AND STEREOTYPES
Mixed Martial Arts garners more negative stereotypes than most sports. The abundance of unflattering articles lay credence to my mistakenly believing it… at first. Here's how this newbie debunked those myths.
Myth #1: Violence/Blood Sport
Blood was inevitable. Stereotypes 1, MMA 0
Squeamish around blood and possible bodily injuries is describing it lightly. Before the fight, I asked an onsite medic for clarity on what to expect. Bad idea. After realizing this was the Head of Marketing's first fight followed by a chuckle, he described everything I didn't want to hear. There were times I involuntarily turned my head; a shoulder separation or choke, but you either handle it or not. The jury is still out on me.
Not being naïve, the sport is dangerous, but not to the level of risk many people imagine. MMA is currently regulated by various Athletic Commissions.
The fighters actually describe the martial arts aspect versus simple fighting is what draws their love.
The sport can be violent with the visible injuries, but there is more to it. Other organizations promoting only the violence for marketing drives me insane. It's a disservice to the sport, athletes and fans while playing into the dreaded stereotypes.
The all-out-battle of human strength to submission can be effectively positioned as not to diminish the sport.
Myth #2: MMA Fans Have Less Teeth Than The Fighters
I am an MMA fan with a perfect smile. Enough said. Similar to most sports, MMA fans are from all ethnicities and demographics. My marketing due diligence revealed the hardcore MMA fan was not “white trash."
This stereotype hinders many fans from openly sharing their love of the competition. The accountant in the windowed office, could be a fan.
Myth #3: MMA Fighters Are Bar-Brawling Barbarian Meatheads
Would you call a school teacher a meathead? A firefighter? Or, a waitress?
Many of the athletes have second jobs to keep their fighting dreams alive. It’s well documented that MMA fighters are low on the pay scale. Imagine being a top athlete competing on an elite level while holding down a full-time job?
Many train before dawn, go to work, only to return to the gym to train again at night. It's a difficult lifestyle. Many of the athletes attended college on wrestling and football scholarships while earning their degrees. So, anything but “meatheads."
Myth #4: It's Human Cockfighting
I thought this a fair assessment before I set foot at the MMA offices.
It has all the ingredients; a cage, cameras, fans on the edge of their seat reveling in men and women trying to beat the other into submission. Cataloging it as an immoral spectacle wouldn't be absurd.
But, MMA has evolved over the years. Athletes are afforded greater protections to ensure safe and fair competition. Medical staff is cageside. And at the end of the day, it's a sport, not a forced-to-fight.
The way an organization promotes its events can either play into this misconception of abject violence or disabuse it.
LEARNING TO LOVE THIS MOST UNLIKELY OF A SPORT
The true way to debunk negative perceptions about anything is to educate oneself. I’ll admit I'm not an MMA expert and for that, there are details I am overlooking. But what I do know, this suburban driving mom has become an MMA fan.
Their Stories:
Hearing firsthand stories about the challenges each athlete had to overcome in order to participate in the sport they love was an eye opener. Not just working day jobs, but the emotional, physical, and mental sacrifices.
Training:
Of all combat sports, MMA is the hardest to train for. Technical and physical training sessions require a high level of physical competition. Sparring, grappling, striking, strength and conditioning sessions equate to hours a day and an average fight camp is 6-8 weeks. Not to mention cutting weight, sauna suits, and restricted diets.
Athletes vs Fighters:
These men and women are superior athletes; focused and dedicated. For this reason, I try to avoid using the term “fighters." To change the perception, a simple change in verbiage can go a long way.
Respect:
The first time I witnessed two athletes hug in the cage after an event, my jaw dropped. What is happening? Two minutes ago, they were pummeling one another! That’s when I learned about the importance of respect in the sport. MMA events end with an acknowledgement of a battle well fought and a handshake or a hug. It’s an MMA thing and it’s expected.
Sometimes, “it’s a job”. One athlete interview revealed it's not anger or hateful rage that fuels him. It’s his job to fight his opponent. Maybe it sounds odd but it can change the perception of the athletes and the event. It’s mind blowing to see the athletes talking, even laughing, before they enter the cage.
Strategy:
True to my athletic spirit, once I learned about the strategic aspect of the sport, I was hooked. MMA is 90% mental and 10% physical. What you can't see is the athlete reading body language and anticipating the next move. It's similar to other sports, but the stakes are higher. No wonder chess is a preferred game among MMA athletes. Chess! How many Neanderthals do you know that can move rook to B8 for checkmate?!
If this mom can love the sport, the opportunities are endless. With the right positioning, research supports that general sports fans can become MMA fans. And as a fan and a marketer, that’s worth fighting for.
Thank you to Griffin Handley “(Ed.)”