How Soccer Explains Successful Marketing
It was the Summer of 2006 and I decided to take my wife, newly married, on a new adventure. At 5 in the morning. To a pub.
It was the World Cup, and I wanted (nay, NEEDED) to show her there was so much more to soccer than just a bunch of guys rolling around on the ground pleading for mercy. It was important that she see the beauty of the game. Not in goals or wins or defeats. But the little things that make up the final score.
The games within the games.
I think of this story when I talk with folks about marketing and what it means to be successful with your brand.
We're wired to think about the end results - the final score - to determine how we gauge an event, sometimes forgetting to revel in the amazing intricacies that play an incredibly important piece.
The beauty, and enjoyment, of marketing is the game within the game. The tactical pieces that make up the campaign and overall success.
It's not enough to drive millions of page views to our sites. That can't be the end result that gets us off our bar stools to cheer.
We want quality visitors - we need quality visitors. A quality visitor is someone who keeps coming back and contributes to the story, becoming a brand evangelist (either through sales or / and word of mouth).
Now, how do we get these quality visitors? It's easy. And hard.
We define a long-term objective, then break up that time-frame into smaller chunks with measurable and definable points. We design, test, implement, test, review, update.
In soccer terms, if you're Arsene Wenger, you review the competition, think about the upcoming 90+ minutes, and then break it down into 15 minute chunks. Map out your starting eleven, your formation, follow the pace of the match. Change players as needed.
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