What do the sports of Association Football, Basketball, Rugby and American Football all have in common?They understand there is a younger demographic to market towards.
This is something that Australian rules football still hasn't realised, and the gears within the AFL marketing machine are well and truly behind the times.
With old fashioned military songs making up the majority of theme tunes for the clubs as well as tradition and history taking favour over progressive changes, the AFL is going to begin fast losing supporters, particularly those whom are under 20.Although a number of changes have taken place over the past decade in order to appeal to a younger crowd and to 'move with the times', these changes have been less than compensating for the dramatic changes in society over that period, particularly in regards to youth culture.
The AFL thinks that by gearing the 'Aussie' values of mateship and toughness are enough to get by with. This isn't the case as more younger people in this country are in fact void of those traditional values and take a lot more to the culture across the Pacific - Americana.The NFL for example, uses up to date thrash metal, hip hop and rock music to market its game. Teams in the US have realised that they must move with the times in order to keep a share of the market. The NBA and subsequently the NBL, have both built a cult following in Australia by employing hardcore underground hip hop beats and street culture to gear their marketing towards the younger followers.Even the A-League has progressed from its grubby roots as the NSL by using the Scribe song, 'Not Many' back in 2005 as part of their launch campaign. And it worked quite successfully.When will the AFL catch up?
It appears that the number one sport in this country is locked in a time warp and seems determined to remain that way.It's all well and good to hear 'Holy Grail' by Hunters and Collectors played every so often, yet when it's the 50,000th time you've heard it before a game of footy, then it becomes pretty monotonous and can really put you off the song all together.I was at an Eagles game a couple of weeks ago and was pretty ashamed to be a part of the crowd after seeing a very lame promo for the club and then hearing the very lame theme songs for both the Sydney Swans and then the West Coast Eagles. It really annoys me how lame the culture of most AFL clubs actually is.At the moment, Andrew Demetriou wants a family culture to be a part of the game. I say that this is a load of crap. For starters, how many actually families do you see attend a game? I'm sure that at Premier League matches in England, most of the attendance is made up of male fans having a few pints.The rule changes that have plagued the game lately have also been a cross to bear for clubs and players alike and soon it will be the games own undoing: A slight touch in the back will give away a free kick, you can't throw anyone to the ground anymore, so much as talk back to the umpire and you'll concede a 50 metre penalty or worse.The game has become so ridden with rules and confusing penalties that it's no wonder that kids are tuning off and turning to other sports.
It's no wonder that the AFL is frightened about the prospect of becoming number 2 when sports such as Rugby are much more physical and exciting and Association Football is becoming more skillful in Australia.AFL needs a huge shake-up. It needs to change its marketing plans all over. Take a lesson from the NFL and other American sporting leagues and gear the marketing towards younger fans. Throw in some hardcore metal or hip hop, young people, like myself, take to this music especially when it is associated with sports. There's no harm in becoming a little wild either. Forget the families, Demetriou. If something seems controversial run with it, that's the best way to get publicity and the best way to get in the younger fans.
It's about time that the AFL grew up and realised that it is behind the times. It is stuck in the past and doesn't seem to know what year it is, doesn't seem to know that things have changed. The whole idea of marketing towards families is a complete waste of time and pathetic, it is lame.I know for sure that I don't want to be associated with a game that ignores the younger fans and what they really want.
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