FAN ARTICLES

Man of the Match... by the fans

By Alan Kirwin : 04/02/2011 :

Comments (7) :

Evertonians, as with all fans, have opinions on everything concerning our club. In keeping with this fact, and acknowledging the unstoppable growth of audience participation & voting (Xfactor, Strictly, Amazon, iTunes etc) I wondered how fans would feel about the chance to officially select Man of the Match at every game?

We're talking about 10 seconds to send a tiny (standard/free) SMS to a short code, or using a smartphone, when invited to do so at the match. The MotM promotion & annnouncement would be done via big screen & perimeter advertising and in conjunction with a key sponsor.

The smartphone option would allow more extensive game assessment for team/players/manager. The idea is the first of a number of ways to increase the empowerment of fans. The potential benefit is two-fold: firstly to satisfy the fans' desire to have their say (MotM is just the start); and secondly to create a new potential revenue stream for the club.

We have occasionally had votes on TW for things like Player of the Month etc. I wondered if we could set up a similar simple poll to ask TW followers the following:

If Everton set up a system to allow fans at the game to choose Man of the Match via standard or free SMS or smartphone, and used the big screen and perimeter boards to promote/announce it, would you participate? Yes/No/Unsure

The reason for the posting is that we are doing precisely this as we speak & expect to have this in play at clubs across Europe for next season. It goes without saying that I want EFC quick off the blocks & we have already had dialogue therein. We think democratising & empowering fans on all manner of things, quickly & simply, offers benefit for everyone. MotM is just the beginning.

Reader Comments (7)

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Brian Lloyd
1 Posted 04/02/2011 at 14:33:29

If it raises revenue it's a good idea. If it gets rid of those stupid elephants taking penalties I will pay double!

Andrew Ellams
2 Posted 04/02/2011 at 14:35:00

I work for a company that would provide the technical support and billing for this sort of idea. SMS is taking over the world and this would be easy to do.

To be honest, even if everybody voted every week, the profit margins wouldn't be that spectacular.

Nelaj Behajiha
3 Posted 04/02/2011 at 15:01:47

Maybe we should just pass the collection plate around the ground to gain some revenue.

Dave Wilson
4 Posted 04/02/2011 at 15:04:09

Yep, I like it.

Howard Don
5 Posted 04/02/2011 at 15:18:01

Yes and I'm with Brian (1) on the elephants!

Liam Reilly
7 Posted 04/02/2011 at 17:36:48

Innovative, but unfortunately even if everyone voted, it wouldn?t even pay for a fringe members weekly wage.

Alan Kirwin
8 Posted 05/02/2011 at 01:56:59

Just to clarify, the extra revenue opportunity is not from the texts (they are free/standard price). It comes from the differentiated sponsorship opportunity of multiple ad slots on the big screens & digital perimeter boards for MotM. This would involve a unique sponsorship opportunity & it is even likely that it may be done strategically at EPL rather than club level (which has already been proposed to us by the biggest media rights buyer in football).

EFC are quoting up to £20,000 per minute for digital perimeter ads next season. The MotM distinction raises the bar further & has plenty of add-on possibilities for club, fans & sponsor, with annual awards, lottery/reward & much more. But it's the sponsor, not the fans, who'll be contributing.

All will be revealed very soon.

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