Course Outcomes

This fan-management course will:

  • Help athletes and others associated with a team to align their behavior with the team’s desired image.
  • Explain the process fans go through when forming their impressions of a brand.
  • Identify behaviors that create fans for life and those that destroy loyalty.
  • Outline a process for responding to questions in a positive light, no matter the circumstances.
  • Provide guidance for looking good and sounding good on camera.

Program Overview

“The player was totally rude to that family.”  “The cheerleader completely ignored the awkward guy.”  “That creep just threw other members of his team under the bus.”  None of those is a good situation, yet they can happen in the blink of an eye.  This specialized training course targets athletes and others directly associated with a team’s brand.  The program is fast paced, interactive, and full of practical information participants can immediately apply following the workshop.

Program Objectives

By the end of this session, participants should be able to:

  • Explain their role in the brand-building and brand-representation process.
  • Articulate the feelings and beliefs they want their fans to hold about them and the teams they represent.
  • Describe the actions they control that create positive (or negative) fan equity in their brand.
  • Quickly zero in on what is important to fans and respond in the most positive way.
  • Handle a variety of typical interactions with ease.
  • Work through a proven process for navigating difficult situations.
  • Respond positively to confrontational questions or comments.
  • Handle formal interviews and media appearances.

Workshop Outline

Understanding the Field: Examining the Soft Side of the Job

During our opening discussion, we will talk about brand equity, brand image, brand management, and how individual actions affect a brand’s value. Participants will identify the types of interactions they enjoy and those they find challenging or difficult.  From there, we will tighten our agenda and choose a series of situations to use as case studies later in the workshop.

Go Team or Go Away: Understanding How Fans Feel

This program continues with a frank discussion about what influences how fans feel about their teams and how they develop a relationship with a franchise.  We will explore positive and negative experiences and the factors that influenced how fans evaluate interactions. Next, we will create a list of dos and don’ts to guide our discussion during the next part of the course.

The Fan’s Experience: What Should Happen

Consistently great interactions do not happen by accident.  In this workshop segment, participants will explore common scenarios where fan interactions occur and identify specific touchpoints where they can influence how they and their teams are perceived. Once we have “what” and “when” established, we’ll talk about the “how” of the interaction process.  Using our work from the last section’s exercise, we’ll focus specifically on what to say and what not to say, body language to use and language to avoid, and listening techniques to show others they matter.

Avoiding Fumbles and Stumbles: Handling Tough Situations

Fans aren’t perfect.  Some are hostile, some are inebriated, and some simply lack social skills. Too bad, they’re still fans.  During this part of the course, we’ll discuss tactics for handling awkward interactions in a way that avoids or minimizes hurt feelings, negativity, or damage to the brand.

Smile, You’re on Camera: Planned and Unplanned Recording

In the age of ubiquitous smartphones, everyone is a potential reporter. In this part of the workshop, we’ll talk about best practices for looking and sounding good on camera.  We’ll also spend time on the importance of maintaining a camera-ready image and demonstrating camera-ready behavior regardless of whether cameras are immediately visible.

By the conclusion of this training program, participants should understand what it takes to provide fans with positive memories that can last a lifetime.