IDENTIFICATION Boosting Identity salience

Identity salience can be a useful segmentation variable for sports marketers. People whose "fan" identity is salient to them may provide a steady stream of revenue. That is, they will attend games and support their team regardless of the success of the team. As a result, it may be beneficial for marketers to provide special promotions for these fans; promotions that provide fans with a means of maintaining their “fan-identities”.

For example competitions could be conducted to find the most avid fan, or the fan with the best knowledge of the club. Winners of competitions such as these could collect prizes aimed at furthering their sense of fan identity such as a VIP pass for one of the season’s matches or some form of club paraphernalia.

A further method that could be used to boost fan identity is to stimulate contact between the clubs management/ players and the teams support base. Fans are likely to deem themselves more identified and involved with a club if the club makes them feel appreciated and a vital component in the club network.

While it is unrealistic to expect team coaches and players to interact regularly with the clubs support it is important that some dialogue and contact is kept up between the team representatives and the team support. Currently AGF’s supporters club provides this link by inviting players to club meetings and ensuring the players are made aware of supporter opinions and concerns. In order to strengthen the club/ supporter relationship one method that could be used is to run player/

supporter days. Days such as these could be run during the summer, when playing commitments are minimal, and involve small sided matches involving both the clubs professionals and fans.

The research conducted in this study also looked at a number of variables which were thought to be influential in the development of fan identity and hence fan loyalty.

In this area evidence was found to support the role of childhood socialization towards the club, the key implication of this being that an effort should be made to involve children with the club as early as possible.

Socialisation Involving Children

Clearly the building of a loyal support base is a task which cannot be achieved overnight, and may take generations to achieve. Placing an emphasis on childhood involvement is very much a long- term strategy, however the results of this and other studies would suggest that it is one which is worth pursuing in the hope that a number of children attracted to the team will as adults evolve into loyalist and profitable fans.

There are a number of methods that sporting clubs can use to entice greater numbers of children to their sporting events

One particularly common method is subsidising the cost of admission for children.

While this tactic is frequently used, some clubs have taken this a step further. English Rugby League Club Keighley Cougars managed to build up a loyal base of customers over a number of years by allowing children free admission to their matches. The result was a whole cadre of local youngsters who had been as the club put it “cougarised”. The club may not have the best team but it has a good crowd for home matches and this has allowed the club to firstly survive and latterly thrive( Bristow et al 2001)

Another effective method for gaining childhood interest is to initiate direct contact between a teams athletes and the target group. This can be achieved by sending athletes to schools or other large gathering of youths. Children are much more likely to take an interest in a team or player if they have had personal contact with this team member, rather than just viewing them on television or from the distance of the stands.

AGF coaches or players could also make visits to the training sessions of young players where they could display some of their skills while further promoting the clubs next match.

Any of these methods or a host of others could be used to ensure a greater interest from the younger generation towards the AGF club.

In-game Entertainment

Providing alternative forms of entertainment both before and during matches is also vital in

keeping children with short attention spans interested. AGF currently has a specific area of Aarhus stadium set up as a children’s area where a number of alternative forms of entertainment are made available for younger children. While providing alternative forms of entertainment may ensure a child with a short attention span is kept amused during the course of the game, a more rewarding technique may be to focus the child’s attention on events taking place on the pitch. For example youngsters in the family enclosure could draw the name of a player before the match and receive a prize if the player scores, or is nominated player of the day.

Another further method that could be used to keep children interested is to somehow directly involve the child with the match experience, not only will involving the child keep the child’s interest it may also be beneficial in imparting a sense of club identity and association into the youngster. One very popular method currently used in order to achieve this objective is to have children escort the players of both teams onto the pitch. This allows the child some first hand experience with the players and over the course of the season a number of children can partake in this activity.

Small sided games could also be set up on the pitch during the half-time break for the younger children. Allowing the child to take part in some action on the pitch in front of several thousand spectators is likely to give the child a sense of importance and achievement.

Suitable Environment

Of course attracting children’s interest is only half the battle. Another key element for sporting clubs, wishing to attract more youthful supporters, is to ensure that match days are the type of environment mothers and fathers deem suitable for their sons and daughters. Ultimately it is an adult figure that is likely to escort and pay admission for their child/children and as such it is important that parents /caregivers hold a positive view of the club whose matches they wish to accompany a child to.

The introduction of family enclosures at most large sized stadiums is one of the methods that clubs have used to separate families from the more aggressive crowd segments.

During AGF match-days a section of the stadium, situated a significant distance from the Fan Club, is used as a family enclosure. This section includes various forms of entertainment for younger spectators.

The results of the study indicate that in the main AGF supporters do not conform to the trouble making image that has been bestowed on this group.

However, it is indisputable that the links between AGF and the white-pride movement coupled with occasional well publicised flair–ups have damaged the clubs reputation and ability to purvey the clubs matches as good wholesome family entertainment. While this may be the case, as has been previously mentioned, the majority of disturbances involving the UWP group have occurred away from Aarhus Stadium, thus while the club may have a link to this group the problems that they create have as yet to impact on the atmosphere or safety of persons attending AGF games. A key motive for AGF should therefore be to dispel image that Aarhus stadium is an inappropriate venue for children and work on attracting new consumers to the ground.

While it may be possible to improve this image through the use of a mass media advertising campaign (television, radio, news paper commercials), this method is highly costly and may prove ineffective especially if countered by further negative publicity.

The club may be much better served by devising methods aimed towards enticing new family groups to the stadium, in the hope that a visit for a match may prove a pleasant experience and dispel any negative preconceptions that had been previously formed. One method that could be used in the aim of meeting this objective is to offer one-off discounts to family groups: A promotion such as this could be run through schools where children are given a voucher or likewise permitting entrance for 2 adults and two children for a substantially discounted price (100-150kr). A greatly discounted price such as this, coupled with a pestering child, may be enough to convince a sceptical parent to take in an AGF match. If this first experience can be initiated by such an offer, it is of course important that the club and its support ensure a positive first encounter for the new consumers, to ensure repeat visits.

While providing an offer such as the above requires AGF to greatly discount their price, the risk is worth taking in the hope of a further attendance from new consumers.

Habit and History

Closely linked to the concept of socialising individuals towards fan-ship, habit and history were also found to play a significant role in the loyalty of AGF fans.

The most obvious method that could be used to achieve this aim is to devise methods aimed at locking consumers into prolonged support. Discounted prices (as compared to purchasing single tickets for each match) for season tickets are a method used by the majority of professional clubs including AGF. This technique is used to increase attendance over the course of the season, and to lock in consumers over the course of the season. A further method that could be used to increase attendance and thus habitual behaviour is to offer modified packages of the season ticketing scheme. The committed fan is likely to attend all home games thus focusing on attendance at away games would seem the next logical step in increasing attendance and loyalty. Fans could be

enticed to increase their attendance by the offering of packages for away matches. For example an away season ticket could be devised which included transport and ticketing for all away matches of the club, a package that would appeal to the truly hard core fan. For the slightly less committed fan a mini package for away games could be devised, this package could entail ticketing and transport to matches with the “big” clubs for example Brondby, FCK; OB and AaB and FC MidtJylland. Similarly a scheme involving ticketing to matches involving the “big “ clubs could be run for the less loyal aspect of the clubs support with regard to home matches.

As discussed previously one further method, taken from other consumer settings, is to adopt reward or loyalty based schemes to solidify and strengthen relationships with customers. At present AGF have as yet to make use of any form of rewards or loyalty system and while it may not be plausible for a club of AGF’s size to run a Loyalty based program as advanced as those used by major American and English based sporting brands, a smaller scale program may be a viable option.

A simple program could be run at AGF where supporters are eligible for a free or discounted ticket after attending 10 matches, or for season ticket holders attendance at 10 matches could entitle the supporter a 100kr voucher for AGF merchandise. Programs such as these could be run relatively easily using stamps upon entrance, or a klippekort system similar to that used in Danish buses.