San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo Blogs

Every rodeo committee strives to fill seats.  The need to come up with something “different” year after year to sell tickets is on your mind constantly.  The crowd that we cater to is changing over time.  Granted, we will always have the wannbe cowboys and buckle bunnies that show up to every event no matter what kind of show you produce.  But you know as well as I that bringing other demographics into your barn is the key to survival.

One population set I believe we are missing are the “young professionals” who view rodeo as a static event that happens in their hometown once a year.  By static I mean an activity that is not interactive.  Watching rodeo in person is not much different than watching it on TV.  Rodeo is typically a unilateral monologue by the announcer or a scripted dialogue with a clown soliciting a canned reaction by the audience.  There are no cheerleaders to bring the crowd to their feet and I’ve never seen the wave done in my arena.  We don’t even have a seventh inning stretch unless you count a bathroom break on the way to the beer stand after tie down.  This is in no way the fault of the announcer, clown, or anyone else for that matter; it is simply the nature of the beast.  Let’s take a closer look at this group we are talking about.

This community of young professionals buy tickets to a rodeo performance to get out, do something different, and have a few drinks.  They are likely to view your rodeo as an excuse to socialize.  Unless they feel connected in a recurring manner we are not winning them over as “rodeo fans”.  Remember most people will not be attending a performance by themselves.  For every true fan created we are likely to sell an extra ticket.

This generation I’m targeting can be referred to by any number of coined terms:  Generation Y, the Millennials, and the Digital Natives.  One major difference between them and previous generations is always having readily accessible technology, specifically the internet.  They use, experience, and live life online.  Their minds are shaped by high technology whereas older generations have to retrofit their thinking.  Gen Y’s mantra is instant gratification.  This is best exhibited by their extensive use of communications tools like cell phones, instant messaging, and blogs.  Being able to create content, provide feedback, and find information on any topic at a moments notice is imperative to their happiness.

This culture has created the 25 hour day; they thrive on access to multitudes of information.  Their lives are multi-tasked to make efficient use of every second their eyes are open.  They like to work in front of the television or while carrying on a conversation.  They can eat lunch, play a video game, and listen to a podcast at the same time without missing a beat.  Reading a book is no longer acceptable because the information is outdated to quickly and there is no easy method to give the author feedback.  Instead of getting the opinion of one book author the opinions’ of many pseudo expert bloggers is more accepted.  They check MySpace to see what their friends are doing.  They expect instant access to up-to-the-minute information in a form that takes the least amount of effort.  Do you remember a time before CNN had a news ticker at the bottom of the screen?  You only have to go back to September 11, 2001.  Tickers had been used prior for specific reasons but that was the first time they were used constantly.  News executives never looked back.  It was a sign of times to come.  The news ticker is a lazy multi-tasker’s dream come true.

Why is any of this important?  Alan Jackson says “old ones died and new were born“.  Your current season ticket holders will one day be replaced with this generation.  The sooner they become fans instead of simply spectators the faster those seats will sell.  All the pieces seem to fall in place to court Gen Y.  They are looking for something to do, have dispensable income, and travel in packs.  We have a good show, love to accept money, and have enough seats for everyone.  So the hard part begins… figuring out how to draw them to rodeo and more importantly keep them.  At this point you are wishing there was a psychologist on your committee to sort all this out right?  The most important thing to realize is this generation does not want to conform to antiquated standards.  They expect societal views to change to meet their expectations.  This changing trend is beginning to impact the workplace as well (CBS).  We need to recognize and embrace these changes to win them over.  It is our job to reach them by putting their tools in our bag of tricks.  These tools revolve around their need for instant access to media.  Think I’m crazy and this isn’t happening everywhere?  Do you believe the Pope (more likely his staff) would use these tools to reach his audience?  Read this article… “Pope goes digital to better connect with youth“.

Parent organizations, like the NBA/NFL/PRCA, can help drive interest but the majority of responsibility falls on the local associations.  Your local area is going to dictate how you specifically target this audience.  In many markets you will be fighting for their attention with other sporting/entertainment options.  Start by looking at what those successful organizations are doing and not doing.  Put your own twist on ideas that fit.  Here are some ideas on how technology might work for you.  Some we will discuss further in future articles.  I am working hard to implement many myself.

• If you don’t already have a website get one.  Start small if you must and constantly improve.
• Keep your website updated.  Many visitors will not return if information does not look fresh.
• Publish content with RSS feeds.  Allow users to pull your articles into their favorite news reader.  They will link back to your site to read the text.
• Websites designed for mobile devices (i.e. cell phones) are very popular.  These sites are typically scaled down versions that focus more on information versus glitz and glamour.  They augment instead of replace your current site by running in parallel.
• Create a social networking presence on a service like MySpace.  Again by using it to augment your services you are hoping to drive traffic to your real website.
• Create an option for visitors to subscribe to e-mail lists for alerts, news, and special offers.  Be sure you give them opt out instructions on all bulk mail messages to make it simple to unsubscribe anytime they wish.
• Develop online voting or polls that are simple to implement.  Use them anytime you want to gauge support for new ideas, formats, etc.
• Use online video feeds to broadcast live or highlight reels.
• Create or use a partner to allow fans to purchase tickets online.
• Ask key personnel in your organization to write blog articles.  It you write it they will read it.
• Send text messages with updates on scores, leaders, event times, etc.  Think about using mass text messages to coordinate committee activities as well.  Many free sites now offer social networking via text messages.
• Create podcasts or audio interviews with relevant information or a regular basis.
• Develop wallpaper, ringtones, screensavers, and other downloadable multimedia.  When you think of advertising you think in terms of impressions made.  If they view a well designed wallpaper eight hours a day when kind of impression does that make?
• Give your fans behind the scenes information whenever possible.  The more information you provide them the more they will want.
• Create an online merchandising outlet.  Give them year round access to purchase that rodeo t-shirt instead of just at the performances.  Constantly highlight merchandise on a rotating basis.  Plan special sales to drive interest and repeat visits.
• Host online discussion forums, community centers, and/or chat rooms.  You want them to spend as much time on your site as possible.  Make sure you develop solid rules for users and have moderators to ensure the rules are followed.
• Post fan guides and tutorials for rodeo events.  This is an important aspect when trying to convert a spectator to a fan.  They must understand the sport to enjoy it.  We sometimes take it for granted but not everyone knows what breaking the barrier means.  It is true that they can search the internet and find this information on another site but what good does that do you?  You want them on your website.
• Create a few website template designs and have them waiting in the wings.  Change your template every six months or for special occasions.  For example, use a modified pink theme a couple days before/after you host a TETWP night.