On Sidedness
by Alex
The fan bases of the Indians, Browns, and Cavaliers largely overlap. While you have varying degrees of fanaticism among Clevelanders, it's rare to find a person who, for example, is a die-hard member of the Dawg Pound but is indifferent to the LeBrons. Yes, they're out there, but they're few in number. With largely the same group of people attending all three teams' games, it's strange that seemingly, each team caters itself to a different market.
The Indians, it seems to me, try to appeal to a wealthier "hip" audience. Their in-game music selections are pretty eclectic (for a sports team), and recent additions to the Jacobs Field culinary options like Johnny Applestix and Ballpark Sushi are a clear venture into uncharted waters, Cleveland-wise. Also, the Tribe is now focusing on cornering the family-friendly market with "Kids Day", "Mother's Fun Day", "Summer Camp Day", and of course, Slider.
The Browns try more to appeal to the "working class" constituent of Greater Cleveland. I think this is pretty ironic, considering Browns tickets are the most expensive of the three teams. Popular music at Cleveland Browns Stadium includes AC/DC, Metallica, and, um... AC/DC. Hey man, "Thunderstruck" rocks. Also, the team's flagship station is WMMS, our very own hard rockin' radio station. If memory serves me, a lot of Browns giveaways involve orange pick-up trucks, rather than say, orange hybrids.
The Cavaliers try to appeal to, well, no one particularly. During the short Gilbert Era we've seen a shift towards a more "urban" game experience, with Ronnie Duncan, non-stop music, and the Scream Team. Personally, I think this is stupid for two (related) reasons: (1) how many urban families do you think can afford to drop upwards of $300 for one basketball game at Quicken Loans Arena? and (2) with the smallest capacity of the three major venues, Quicken Loans Arena still has a sizable portion of seating dedicated to loges, baseline boxes, courtside seats, club seats... basically stuff for rich people. Alienating this big part of your crowd isn't advisable.
I am far from an expert on the differences between the East and West Sides, but given the target audiences of the three teams, I wonder whether the West Side fans skew towards the Indians and Browns while the East Side would skew to the Indians and Cavaliers. My own expectation is for this to be a half-truth, at best. I find it hard to believe anyone in Cleveland less interested in the Browns—-we loves the football. Personally, I was Born and Raised on the Cleveland Browns, but more importantly, that birthing and raising was done on the East Side. And, predictably, I like the Indians marketing efforts the best.
Is either Side's fan base distorted? What kind of effects do the Indians', Browns', and Cavaliers' efforts to target certain groups have? To those of you experienced with Cleveland's bisideual culture, drop some knowledge, son.
The Indians, it seems to me, try to appeal to a wealthier "hip" audience. Their in-game music selections are pretty eclectic (for a sports team), and recent additions to the Jacobs Field culinary options like Johnny Applestix and Ballpark Sushi are a clear venture into uncharted waters, Cleveland-wise. Also, the Tribe is now focusing on cornering the family-friendly market with "Kids Day", "Mother's Fun Day", "Summer Camp Day", and of course, Slider.
The Browns try more to appeal to the "working class" constituent of Greater Cleveland. I think this is pretty ironic, considering Browns tickets are the most expensive of the three teams. Popular music at Cleveland Browns Stadium includes AC/DC, Metallica, and, um... AC/DC. Hey man, "Thunderstruck" rocks. Also, the team's flagship station is WMMS, our very own hard rockin' radio station. If memory serves me, a lot of Browns giveaways involve orange pick-up trucks, rather than say, orange hybrids.
The Cavaliers try to appeal to, well, no one particularly. During the short Gilbert Era we've seen a shift towards a more "urban" game experience, with Ronnie Duncan, non-stop music, and the Scream Team. Personally, I think this is stupid for two (related) reasons: (1) how many urban families do you think can afford to drop upwards of $300 for one basketball game at Quicken Loans Arena? and (2) with the smallest capacity of the three major venues, Quicken Loans Arena still has a sizable portion of seating dedicated to loges, baseline boxes, courtside seats, club seats... basically stuff for rich people. Alienating this big part of your crowd isn't advisable.
I am far from an expert on the differences between the East and West Sides, but given the target audiences of the three teams, I wonder whether the West Side fans skew towards the Indians and Browns while the East Side would skew to the Indians and Cavaliers. My own expectation is for this to be a half-truth, at best. I find it hard to believe anyone in Cleveland less interested in the Browns—-we loves the football. Personally, I was Born and Raised on the Cleveland Browns, but more importantly, that birthing and raising was done on the East Side. And, predictably, I like the Indians marketing efforts the best.
Is either Side's fan base distorted? What kind of effects do the Indians', Browns', and Cavaliers' efforts to target certain groups have? To those of you experienced with Cleveland's bisideual culture, drop some knowledge, son.
11 Comments:
Sure, we'll support the Cavs, but don't expect the kind of devotion we reserve for the original Browns or the Indians.
Strangely, I still love college football and will watch it every chance I get.
Even though I was young, I remember clearly the old Browns and the passion that went with them. I still watch every Browns game with my Jersey on, but I don't get as passionate anymore. Except for the games that I go to and I get pumped up everytime I see a bandwagon Bungle fan (I live in Cincy now). Nothing beats a live pro-football experience for a sports fan.
I've always been a Cavs fan, but hated the NBA in general since the late 90's when I was convinced it was a conspiracy that the Lakers won the West over the Trail Blazers. I still go to a couple games a year and watch every Cavs game that I get down here (which is all the national games and the ones on FSN when there is no conflict, i.e. Bluejackets or Xavier BBall). LeBron has put life back into the NBA for me, but I still don't like the league, I really think Basketball is the greatest game with the greatest athletes and the most strategy, but the NBA screws it up.
Friends that I've met that are my age that grew up in the Akron area tend to be more dedicated to the Cavs, largely because they probably went to more games with the Collesium being so close to them.
Again, I think its largely a generational thing (rather than which side of Cleveland you grew up on or how much money you make).
I disagree with your view that a more urban marketing style for the Cavs will alienate corporate or white audiences. Since basketball is viewed as an urban game, with mostly black athletes, it's simply an extension of the identity of the brand. Furthermore, done right, "urban" marketing will be thought of as more "hip" and "street" which is well within the mainstream of markeitng styles that all Americans, white or not, will respond to. See "Sprite," "Adidas," Puffy Combs. Also, attendance for the Cavs has not suffered with the new marketing focus, so it's not like it is hurting.
I also disagree that the three Cleveland sports are followed closely by all Clevanders. I think it is fairly common for people to only follow a couple. I cannot name two Browns, but know the Cavs and Indians inside and out. And I am a Westside guy. I think a lot of people ar esimilar, and don't follow one or two fo the major sports.
1. They had some success and some memorable players
2. I enjoyed playing basketball
The Indians were a distant third because they were not good, but we still attended at least one game a season.
Everything changed when the Browns left. The Indians became great and (not so coincidentally) I became a diehard Tribe fan. I stopped playing basketball and the Cavs fell completely off my radar. Once the Browns returned, it had been so long since I watched or cared about the NFL that I found it hard to get back into them, and them sucking every year has not helped.
As it currently stands, I'm still a diehard Tribe fan and everything else is a distant second. I watch the Browns every week but have a hard time getting excited about them. I pay attention to how the Cavs are doing but I never watch a complete game and it's my guess that even if they made the finals, I wouldn't watch until the fourth quarter of Game 7. And that's not because I'm a fair-weather fan. I just no longer care about basketball.
To me, marketing has nothing to do with my interest in Cleveland teams. It's based on my level of love for each sport as well as, to a lesser degree, the success (or lack thereof) of the team in question.
I'm also a West Sider, but one of those West Siders who was on the East Side a lot. I was the only West Sider I knew who could tame Carnegie.
I don't perceive any cleavages in team love between the Sides.
Although I do think the Browns' departure opened the door for the Indians to capture a LOT more fans. I'd guess they're as popular as the Browns are now, with the Cavs running third due in part to the kind of willful ignorance that holds that NBA players are spoiled and mail it in.
Funny, the people who say things like that also like to brag about how they never watch NBA games.
Funny, sometimes these are often the same people who stomped their feet and denounced the Bartolo Colon trade, among other Indians moves.
Post a Comment
« Home