4 Things I'd Try if I Ran An MMA Organization
MMA used to be a sport that didn’t get much attention from the general public, but that has all changed in recent years. ESPN has now made deals with the UFC and PFL which allows them to televise events. However, just a few years back ESPN barely acknowledged the existence of the sport and it looked as if they never would. The popularity of the sport has resulted in ESPN being heavily involved in the MMA world and is finally giving MMA the attention it deserves.
Multitudes of new MMA organizations have been popping up due to this increase in popularity. Many of these leagues are struggling to find a foothold in the market because it’s difficult to compete with larger already established organizations. The struggle to obtain a share of the market has me thinking of ideas that could help a smaller organization capture the attention of MMA fans and possibly even create new fans of the sport. Here are some of the ideas that I’d test out if I ran an MMA league:
Accessibility: I would do everything I could to make my product viewable almost anywhere. I’d broadcast the events for free live to any place that I possibly could. A list of places I’d look to post the event to would include Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, the brands website, Twitch, Instagram, TikTok, and anywhere else that’d allow you to post a live feed of your event. I’d aim to have wide accessibility like this because of the potential it’d have to capture the attention of a large audience. I’d also make sure the events were available on platforms afterwards too just incase somebody missed the live stream.
From my perspective it’s a matter of long term vs short term thinking. You could make a deal and sell exclusive rights to your events for a quick way to establish a revenue stream. However, if your events are widely accessible then you would have a much higher chance of getting millions of viewers. Having the attention of a large audience will attract multitudes of advertisers to your product and allow you to make massive amounts of money making advertising deals. The large amounts of revenue from advertising deals could never happen if you sell off exclusive rights to the product for short term profits.
A Heavy Presence On Social Media: Every single finish that happens in my MMA league would be posted on social media. I’d establish a podcast associated with the brand that’d have in depth interviews with fighters who are scheduled to appear on upcoming cards. Events would be posted to every social media platform possible and easily accessible for anyone wanting to watch them. Engaging with fans and answering any questions they have would be an essential practice at my organization. Overall, social media would be heavily used as a tool to garner more attention.
Extensive Public Relations Kits: For many media organizations including this one images are something that are hard to come by. Copyright laws are extremely complicated and no respectable organization ever wants to get ahead by wrongfully stealing someone else’s content. Having extensive PR kits filled with images of fighters, logos, the location of the event, and anything else journalists may use could have many benefits. These PR kits would be clearly labelled and would ensure journalists that they’re allowed to commercially use everything in the kit. Also, if you’re a fighter or work for an MMA league and have access to images we could use at MMAdissect then please send them our way. Finding images especially in a Covid ridden world is extremely difficult and we will heavily promote you on all our content distribution channels.
Test Out Obscure Advertising Methods: I’d attempt to think of out of the box ways to advertise that other organizations would never even consider. For example if you run an MMA league your target market is watching pornography like most people do. Advertising on pornographic websites is cheap for the potential attention and they tend to love working with legitimate brands. Film legend Kevin Smith and musician Wheeler Walker JR have found a lot of success by advertising their products on pornographic websites. Other types of sporting events may be good places to advertise and sex always sells especially when your target market consists of 18-40 men. The best way to get ahead of your competition is by doing things that they’d never dream of trying.
Competing with giants like PFL, Bellator, and the UFC for a share of the market is no easy task since all of their products are amazing. However, out of the box thinking and ideas like these have the potential to take a much smaller competitor to big places. Let me know what you think in the comments below or on social media. Always open to engaging with people and would love to hear what you think.
