In the last few weeks I've been doing some research on Fantasy Football and it occurred to me that Fantasy Football can easily be classified as an Alternate Reality Game (ARG). Rarely do I hear about Fantasy Football being associated with ARG's, particularly as a marketing tactic for the networks that have signed huge contracts with the NFL to broadcast the games. These networks have found that Fantasy Football players watch 55 percent more football because they now have a vested interest in games that in the past they would not care to watch.
This is a passage from the Fantasy Football Wiki, "The explosive popularity of fantasy sports, coupled with the availability of venues showcasing numerous live football games via satellite, has had significant effects on football viewing and rooting habits among participants. Fantasy sports players watch more game telecasts, buy more tickets and spend money at stadiums at a much higher rate than general sports fans. For example, 55 percent of fantasy sports players report watching more sports on television since they started playing fantasy sports."
Imagine you worked for one of the NFL networks like ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, or the NFL Network itself. When you saw that you could increase your viewership by 55 percent just by offering free Fantasy Football, it seems like a "no duh" to get involved. They use Fantasy Football as a Propagation Tool, marketing to potential viewers of NFL Football season to get them excited about the draft and forming their alternate reality leagues when they become the owners of teams populated with real NFL players. When the season starts these viewers are hungry to watch whatever the networks serve up if it showcases the greatness of the players in their alternate reality teams.
I want to see more ARG's used as successful marketing campaigns and this is a great example of one.
Comments