Err...Fan Loyalty, did you say?
...Sure, it's early days but one stark fact has already emerged: the IPL's first week has revealed a flaw that could prove fatal, an identity crisis that looks like it will need the last million dollars of the marketing men to be resolved. There is so much money to be lost if the whole gamble fails that it's become a war to keep the fans hooked—India's own Opium War...
And what of the cult of celebrity? People will come in to watch Tendulkar or Dhoni, irrespective of whether they're playing for or against their team. So even the minuscule paying public cannot be assumed to be die-hard followers of one team. These initial trends underline the problems of building loyalties around city teams, each of which will spend around Rs 10 crore on marketing and entertainment. But identity is not a function of economics; loyalty can't be thrust on people who don't even know all the players they're supposedly rooting for...
- Rohit Mahajan; 'Flipper on a Flat Track'.
And what of the cult of celebrity? People will come in to watch Tendulkar or Dhoni, irrespective of whether they're playing for or against their team. So even the minuscule paying public cannot be assumed to be die-hard followers of one team. These initial trends underline the problems of building loyalties around city teams, each of which will spend around Rs 10 crore on marketing and entertainment. But identity is not a function of economics; loyalty can't be thrust on people who don't even know all the players they're supposedly rooting for...
- Rohit Mahajan; 'Flipper on a Flat Track'.
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