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Furthermore, the challenge is made harder by the fact that players regularly come and go, meaning that clubs need to ensure that whatever tactics they do, that it happens constantly.With this in mind, we look at the options open to football clubs in dealing with the issue of problematic players on Social Media:1. Ban Social MediaPerhaps not as popular as it was several years ago, banning Social Media is undoubtedly the boldest of options available to clubs and usually stems from the manager’s reluctance to understand the value in Social.Whilst simply banning players from Social Media sounds like a logical solution for stopping players saying stupid tweets (or anything at all), it’s turned out to be unenforceable and present the club in bad light with their fans. The temptation to ban Social Media might solve the problem in the short term but it never works in the long.2. 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This year, 108 million people watched the Super Bowl, while 3.2 billion watched the last World Cup, 715 million for the finals alone. It attracts a fully engaged, globally diverse audience for a month of action both preceded and followed by four years of anticipation.In short, it’s a marketer’s dream—and potential nightmare as well.Let’s start with the challenges. First, soccer is played in 45-minute continuous halves with the only commercial breaks coming at halftime, so broadcast opportunities are limited. Second, the space available for purchase is hyper-inflated, with eight-figure commercial partnerships and global sponsorship packages sold out years in advance. Third, brands are competing for share of voice against each other and the personalities of the most idolized athletes in the world. Marketing cost and competition have never been so high.And Brazil’s World Cup will be the most cluttered social conversation ever. According to Twitter, three separate soccer matches have already achieved higher tweets-per-second peaks than the 2012 London Olympics. The 2012 Euro Cup final alone generated 16.5 million total tweets from a viewing audience of just under 300 million. The last World Cup final drew more than twice as many viewers, and that’s just one game. There will be 64 matches next summer generating hundreds of millions of social mentions. 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Of course, not all markets are large, times aren't always good and revenue streams are often fickle.<p>Fan attendance is actually most critical when times are tough, financially abandoning a team usually isn't the best way to get them over the hump. But you can't really blame people for not wanting to pony up the cash to watch a subpar team lose.<p>Which is where marketing comes into play. Fan promotions and changes aimed at making the live experience more appealing are two ways in which ownership attempt to overcompensate for their poor product. Some are clever and inventive, while others are just plain desperate.<p>Here are some of the latter.<p>Despite being more or less a fixture in postseason play, the Tampa Bay Rays have been struggling with the worst—or damn near the worst—attendance in MLB for years.<p>They've been dead last the last two seasons, but even when they were ninth from the bottom in 2010 they were still desperate to put asses in the seats.<p>In late September of that season, several Rays players pressured team president Matt Silverman to give away tickets, so they wouldn't be playing to clinch a playoff berth in a pathetically empty stadium.<p>The team made the decision to give away 20,000 free tickets to a single game, in order to create a \"full-house atmosphere.\"<p>Trying to lure in a star player from the NFL or NBA is one way for a very obscure team to attract national—and sometimes <i>international</i>—attention. It doesn't even matter if he or she is receptive to their overtures, just making the overture is usually enough to create a temporary media frenzy, the likes of which they've never seen. It's truly a win-win situation for them.<p>In February 2012 the Indoor Football League's Allen Wranglers signed infamously troublesome wide receiver Terrell Owens to a six-figure contract, which reportedly included an ownership stake in the team. Before landing T.O. most people didn't even know the IFL existed. After his debut was widely covered by the national sports media—including being featured on <i>SportsCenter</i>—its existence was recognized by substantially more people.<p>But still not a who …","sourceURL":"http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1797825-the-most-desperate-ways-teams-have-tried-to-get-fans-through-door","allowFullscreenImage":true,"inlineImage":{"mediumURL":"http://cdn.flipboard.com/bleacherreport.net/08a40e75ec239aee75883148c82f3d93a7a3d392/original.jpg","smallURL":"http://cdn.flipboard.com/bleacherreport.net/08a40e75ec239aee75883148c82f3d93a7a3d392/thumbnail.jpg","original_width":450,"original_height":300,"original_hints":"color,light,photo,rgb-241-126-90,still"},"readButtonCaption":"Read Article","sourceMagazineURL":"http://cdn.flipboard.com/flipmag?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.flipboard.com%2Fbleacherreport.com%2Fe1c7a3ca0834da2a64a858356b036b183d3bd189%2F8add466d87e605b822d668697ec49ef05c2af99f%2Farticle.html&partner=bleacher&tml§ion=flipboard%2Fcurator%252Fmagazine%252Fv4cP-0RZQpmg4ja7xg_vNQ%253Am%253A9627614&fallbackTml","language":"en","article":{"sectionID":"flipboard/curator%2Fmagazine%2Fv4cP-0RZQpmg4ja7xg_vNQ%3Am%3A9627614","partnerID":"bleacher","url":"http://cdn.flipboard.com/bleacherreport.com/e1c7a3ca0834da2a64a858356b036b183d3bd189/8add466d87e605b822d668697ec49ef05c2af99f/article.html"},"referredByItems":[{"type":"status","authorDisplayName":"Shane Harmon","authorUsername":"shane_harmon","userid":"9627614","authorDescription":"#Sportsbiz & Major Events professional. 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Here is a sampling of the email creative being used to help d …","sourceURL":"http://www.thebusinessofsports.com/2013/10/07/nba-ticket-presales/","hideOnCover":true,"inlineImage":{"mediumURL":"http://image.tmclient.ticketmaster.com/lib/fe9615707d67067f7c/m/1/Spurs_PreSale_Onsale44.jpg","smallURL":"http://cdn.flipboard.com/ticketmaster.com/193953c6d8542016e2413b7c670408445051a5b8/thumbnail.jpg","original_width":600,"original_height":800,"original_hints":"color,dark,face-510-283-41,focus-510-283,photo,rgb-15-15-15,still"},"language":"en","authorDisplayName":"Posted by Russell Scibetti","referredByItems":[{"type":"status","authorDisplayName":"Shane Harmon","authorUsername":"shane_harmon","userid":"9627614","authorDescription":"#Sportsbiz & Major Events professional. Lover of all sports, master of none. Interested in digital, social, marketing, fan engagement. 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My father’s company had season tickets, and if a prospective client had a kid who wanted to go, I got to tag along. Whether the Bengals won or lost, I always had a great time at those games because I was there with my dad. I just remember the smile on his face. If I ever had a son, I knew I would want to share this same experience with him.Flash forward to 2000. My wife and I have moved to Alexandria, Va., for my job. A co-worker asks me if I’d like to attend Washington Redskins’ training camp. Sure—why not? I still love the NFL. At the camp they have a table promoting their season-ticket waitlist, so I sign up.Years pass. In October 2006 our son, Brandish, is born. Ten months later I get the phone call I’d hoped to receive one day: “Mr. Fowler, your wait is over! We have general admission seating for you.”Dad and son, preparing for their first game.Since signing up, I had started to dread the sight of the Redskins’ ticket-office number on my caller ID, fearing that they would only be offering the über-expensiv …","rssText":"<script>var flip_images = {\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/brandish-360.jpg?w=360&h=526\":{\"width\":360,\"height\":526},\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/fedex-full-2-800.jpg?w=800&h=455\":{\"width\":800,\"height\":455},\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/wizards-game-360.jpg?w=360&h=454\":{\"width\":360,\"height\":454},\"http://cdn.flipboard.com/wordpress.com/2011d53a6a15c9605b54e1ff4a4ac12fdd447e19/thumbnail.jpg\":{\"width\":164,\"height\":240},\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/joel-and-son-1.jpg?w=800&h=376\":{\"width\":800,\"height\":376},\"http://cdn.flipboard.com/wordpress.com/47b471bd201f8010dd291b1660f68fce1f19a849/thumbnail.jpg\":{\"width\":190,\"height\":240},\"http://cdn.flipboard.com/wordpress.com/afa4d0b6efc1fb114b7acfd44f6b8546c2b0b9b1/thumbnail.jpg\":{\"width\":240,\"height\":136},\"http://cdn.flipboard.com/wordpress.com/4a86681a992d54965b33d749f24ae58979547378/thumbnail.jpg\":{\"width\":240,\"height\":112}};</script>\n<div id=\"flip_rss_body\"> <div class=\"json_content\">\n <div id=\"attachment_4458\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n <div fl:hint-main-image=\"true\" class=\"still rgb-72-78-38 photo imgnsfw-0 color img\">\n <img src=\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/fedex-full-2-800.jpg?w=800&h=455\" data-size=\"medium\" width=\"500\" height=\"284\" hints=\"color,imgnsfw-0,photo,rgb-72-78-38,still,\"/>\n </div>\n <p>\n ( Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)\n </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n <strong>By Joel Fowler</strong>\n </p>\n <p>\n It’s a question that haunts me to this day: “So, Mr. Fowler, how can the Washington Redskins retain you as a season-ticket holder?”\n </p>\n <p>\n I had missed the renewal deadline following the end of the 2010 NFL season, but I didn’t think anything of it. I made my decision based on my game-day experiences over the previous four seasons. How do I summarize to this ticket agent that the NFL I assumed I was going to experience compared miserably to the product I actually received?\n </p>\n <p>\n I have loved professional football for as long as I can remember. Growing up in central Kentucky in the 1980s, I developed a bond with the Cincinnati Bengals. My father’s company had season tickets, and if a prospective client had a kid who wanted to go, I got to tag along. Whether the Bengals won or lost, I always had a great time at those games because I was there with my dad. I just remember the smile on his face. If I ever had a son, I knew I would want to share this same experience with him.\n </p>\n <p>\n Flash forward to 2000. My wife and I have moved to Alexandria, Va., for my job. A co-worker asks me if I’d like to attend Washington Redskins’ training camp. Sure—why not? I still love the NFL. At the camp they have a table promoting their season-ticket waitlist, so I sign up.\n </p>\n <p>\n Years pass. In October 2006 our son, Brandish, is born. Ten months later I get the phone call I’d hoped to receive one day: “Mr. Fowler, your wait is over! We have general admission seating for you.”\n </p>\n <div id=\"attachment_4320\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n <div class=\"still wide rgb-1-65-106 photo imgnsfw-7 focus-620-113 face-620-113-68 color img\">\n <img src=\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/joel-and-son-1.jpg?w=800&h=376\" data-size=\"medium\" width=\"500\" height=\"235\" hints=\"color,face-620-113-68,focus-620-113,imgnsfw-7,photo,rgb-1-65-106,wide,still,\"/>\n </div>\n <p>\n Dad and son, preparing for their first game.\n </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n Since signing up, I had started to dread the sight of the Redskins’ ticket-office number on my caller ID, fearing that they would only be offering the über-expensive club-level seating that we simply could not afford. But that was not the case. In fact, the agent wasn’t even offering nose-bleed end zone seats. This pair of tickets was located in Section 424, on the 20-yard-line. I can only sum up my feelings at that moment in one word. <i>Perfect.</i>\n </p>\n <p>\n My son is born in the middle of a NFL season—during the Redskins’ bye week no less—and the very next season I get the tickets I’d always wanted to have for him? It was kismet.\n </p>\n <p>\n * * *\n </p>\n <p>\n Unfortunately, our actual game-day experiences were far from perfect. In that first year things were fun and exciting, but we faced two sunk costs that no NFL fan can escape: time and money.\n </p>\n <p>\n With attendance creeping over 80,000, our drive to Landover, Md., normally a half-hour, could take between two and three hours before we got to a parking spot. The Metro train would be quicker, but hauling an infant and all of his necessities the one mile from the closest station to the upper-deck seats was impractical. (Side note: When informed of the league’s new “clear bags only” policy for this season, my wife’s reaction was, “Well, that stops new moms from going to games. How are you gonna fit all the stuff you need for your baby in that small bag?”)\n </p>\n <p>\n The tickets were not cheap, with a pair of upper-level seats running me more than $1,500 for the season. While that can be a manageable cost for a family with two incomes, the Redskins don’t make it easy, offering payment plans only for their premium tickets. If you don’t have the extra cash lying around, your credit card company will get that interest.\n </p>\n <p>\n Game-day expenses can add up too: $30 for parking, $10 for a small pizza, $5 for a soda. But for parents like me, the real expense comes with late games, when you need to hire a babysitter at $15 an hour. Not only do these Sunday, Monday, and now Thursday nighters rob my son of the chance to attend the game, but they take an extra $100 from my wallet. Numerous times, my wife and I decided that we would be more fiscally responsible by skipping the fourth quarter than by waiting until end of the game, then sitting in three hours of traffic as the babysitting meter ticked.\n </p>\n <div id=\"attachment_4319\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n <div class=\"still rgb-176-107-97 photo imgnsfw-50 focus-184-256 face-184-256-95 color img\">\n <img src=\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/brandish-360.jpg?w=360&h=526\" data-size=\"medium\" width=\"360\" height=\"526\" hints=\"color,face-184-256-95,focus-184-256,imgnsfw-50,photo,rgb-176-107-97,still,\"/>\n </div>\n <p>\n In the 400 section.\n </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n Still, I expected sacrifices of time and money when signing up for season tickets, and was willing to live with them. What I did not plan for was the lack of civility in my upper-deck section.\n </p>\n <p>\n For me, the problem began to get serious in Week 3 of the 2008 season. The Arizona Cardinals came to town, and with them a small group of Cardinals fans for whom I’m guessing over-intoxication was a competition. They were loud and obnoxious the entire time. Thankfully my wife and son could not attend this game. I just remember the grimace that crossed the face of the father whose season tickets were next to mine with every vulgarity that his eight-year-old son had to hear. Would that be the look on my face when my son was that old?\n </p>\n <p>\n The ensuing games were often just as bad. Home and visiting fans alike made my seats more like prime viewing at a keg party than the NFL experience of my youth. There was absolutely no filter to the profanity they were using. Believe me, I’m no prude, but around my children and other people’s kids, I strive to be. It’s my belief that children should learn cursing the old-fashioned way—on the playground from their friends.\n </p>\n <p>\n Fans of divisional opponents were often the worst offenders, to the point where I didn’t even <em>want</em> to attend games against the Eagles, Cowboys and Giants. With the advent of StubHub, Craigslist and other resale sites, season ticketholders could easily double their money from visiting NFC East fans, and many in the cost-conscious upper sections took advantage of the opportunity.\n </p>\n <p>\n The tipping point for my decision not to renew came in the opener of the 2010 season, a Sunday night game against the Cowboys. In the middle of the second quarter, nature called and I needed to visit the restroom. As I was walking down from my 15th row seat, a young lady pointing to her pink Tony Romo jersey was blocking the row as her team was driving down the field. I asked her nicely if I could get by, but that just made her clutch the jersey harder and push it toward my face. As I raised my voice in an effort to make her understand my situation, an extra from the cast of <i>Swamp People </i>in a Jason Witten jersey popped up.\n </p>\n <p>\n “Hey, you gotta problem, buddy?” asked Mr. Bleary Eyes.\n </p>\n <p>\n “Um… yeah… I want to get out.”\n </p>\n <p>\n [pullquote]Home and visiting fans alike made my seats more like prime viewing at a keg party than the NFL experience of my youth.[/pullquote]\n </p>\n <p>\n Apparently to him, them’s fightin’ words. As he approached me in my burgundy LaRon Landry jersey, Ms. Pink Romo finally got out of the row to try to settle her man down, and I passed by.\n </p>\n <p>\n “Stop! It’s not worth it!” I heard her say as I walked away.\n </p>\n <p>\n But Swamp Witten kept following me. As I reached the mezzanine, his girlfriends’ clutching arms and desperate words finally registered in his addled brain, and they returned to their seats.\n </p>\n <p>\n Now, I was not afraid. I stand over six feet and weigh 280 pounds. The guy was drunk, and a strong wind could have knocked him over. But I’m a 35-year-old adult, and this was ridiculous. I’ve never had to deal with a drunken fan harassing me in my own living room.\n </p>\n <p>\n The images from that night flashed in my mind as the Redskins ticket agent asked what it would take for me to keep my season tickets.\n </p>\n <p>\n “Do you have a family-only or alcohol-free section?” I asked.\n </p>\n <p>\n “Umm… no.”\n </p>\n <p>\n “Then I guess you don’t have what it takes.”\n </p>\n <p>\n Click.\n </p>\n <p>\n * * *\n </p>\n <div id=\"attachment_4321\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\">\n <div class=\"still rgb-122-119-126 photo imgnsfw-22 focus-111-221 face-267-170-66 face-111-221-75 color img\">\n <img src=\"http://simmqb.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/wizards-game-360.jpg?w=360&h=454\" data-size=\"medium\" width=\"360\" height=\"454\" hints=\"color,face-111-221-75,face-267-170-66,focus-111-221,imgnsfw-22,photo,rgb-122-119-126,still,\"/>\n </div>\n <p>\n Older, and wiser, at the Wizards.\n </p>\n </div>\n <p>\n I wondered how many other NFL-loving fathers have to deal with this problem, so I recently called or web-chatted with the ticket offices of all 32 teams to find out. As with many issues in the NFL, this one revolves squarely around money. A vast majority (71%) of NFL teams that have above-average attendance (like the Redskins) do not have family seating sections. A vast majority (73%) of NFL teams with below-average attendance have such sections—presumably to help boost ticket sales.\n </p>\n <p>\n There are some friends who question my reason for not renewing my tickets. They point out that the Redskins weren’t very good at the time, finishing fourth in the NFC East in each of the final three seasons I had my tickets.\n </p>\n <p>\n My reply is direct and persuasive: I have also been a loyal season-ticket holder of the Washington Wizards for the past three years. In that time the Wiz went 72-158, a winning percentage of .313, and my son and I couldn’t be happier. Our half-hour Metro ride stops right at the Verizon Center. I pay for our general admission tickets over 10 interest-free months. This coming season the team will host more than 20 games on Friday and Saturday nights, allowing a first-grader to stay up a little past his bedtime while not disrupting school the next day. Most importantly, we’re in a good section with other polite but passionate fans, many of whom consume alcohol but not to excess.\n </p>\n <p>\n My family still loves the Redskins, and we’re following them through their ups and downs this season. But as far as sporting events go, we give our game-day experiences to the Washington Wizards, and our NFL experience to Panasonic.\n </p>\n <p>\n <i>Joel Fowler and his wife, Casandra, have three children—Brandish, age 6, Veronica, age 3, and Dax, who was introduced to Redskins Nation on Sept. 16. 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