Double Down on your market

Recently I sat down and watched the sport/entertainment product that is called UFC or Ultimate Fighting Championship. Its interesting because my guess is I’m not their target market being that I don’t fight, until recently didn’t spend a time in the gym, and generally am not a fan of violence.

The show I was watching is called UFC Unleashed which is a combination of matches from throughout the history of UFC. Me being obsessed with how products are sold, and marketed I noticed a strange trend.

In the Beginning

The older UFC fights had a feel closer to boxing, with a lot of commentary around strategy and tactics of fighters. In addition to this the commentary lean heavily on the use of words to legitimize this product as a “sport” with descriptions of fighting styles given in a calm almost detached way. UFC was being positioned as an alternative to boxing, one with fewer rounds, and more techniques than 2 guys slugging it out.

The Catalyst

I’ve spent a lot of time talking to my brother and others who enjoy UFC and found the defining moment when this product popped was during a reality TV show called “The Ultimate Fighter”. Ultimate Fighter took all the drama and suspense of a reality TV show and interjected the harsh realities of rigorous training for this sport. In a lot of ways it legitimized the 15 minutes of beatings these guys took, it was no longer about 2 guys who might as well be in a back alley, now we were seeing trained professional athletes compete and seeing their passion for this sport.

Going Large

So after “The Ultimate Fighter” you now have a following, and a sense of legitimacy you’ve worked for so long to build, what do you do now?

You get edgier and focus back in on your core audience guys who want to see action and the extent two human beings can go to in a controlled environment. They still kept the weigh-ins and the tale of the tape stuff and other pieces appropriated from boxing, but the commentary turned to how nasty a guys punches were or how this guy once he gets you on the ground he’ll “choke you out”. Where before the commentary was placid and monotone now there was this fanatic excitement in the judges.

The product also changed with fewer martial arts matches and more stand-up boxing with wicked kicks. Bonuses for being the “fight of the night” basically the fight that was so amazing both combatants receive a purse. You would hear it in the pre-match commentary that this fighter was going to go away from his ground submission strategies and stand up and deliver a beating because he wanted that honor.

Take-aways: Its really important to be able to comprehend what your product is and how to move forward. Sometimes by moving further towards a “niche” you revitalize the brand and create a better relationship with your customers. Additionally sometimes you have to move your messaging and positioning away from your niche in order to address threats to your business, or remove negative perception of your product.

Right now UFC is an extremely hot ticket with Pay-Per-View revenues of $200+ million (as of 2008). While no one can argue with that success there are many that argue about their product. Their product is polarizing and is dependent largely on men as the primary customer, but the moves they’ve made (such as being on Spike TV) show they get their audience.