Church of the Customer Blog
« Football widows no more | Main | Fakers are bad for business »
October 22, 2007
Football widows no more
My Pittsburgh Steelers may have the most women fans in the NFL, but it's our division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, who have the better play to embrace them.
At the beginning of the 2007 season, the Ravens launched a woman-only fan club called Purple. Free to join, Purple already has 3,500 members who get inside information about the team, special offers for a new line of women's team apparel and jewelry, a monthly newsletter, and invitations to special annual events.
For super-fans, Purple offers a $250 VIP level called the Lavender Ladies; they get special access at training camp, private autograph sessions with players and naturally, access to limited-edition merchandise.
"Purple allows women to feel like they're part of something other than just tickets to the game, tailgating, the standard norm that's offered to them on a daily basis," says Gabrielle Dow, a Ravens marketing director.
Sure, the Steelers and other teams host popular Football 101 events for women which teach them the X's and O's of the game, but the Ravens have seen the light: loyalty, word of mouth and evangelism naturally expand when fans have a community to join.
The most passionate of the passionate want to meet others like themselves. Then they'll have an outlet to share their crazy love with others who get it, whether it's a crazy love for football, scrapbooking or t-shirts.
So c'mon Steelers, we can't let the Ravens beat us on this field! I would join a women-only Pittsburgh fan club in a second, and I have the perfect name for it:
Other blogs that reference Football widows no more:
» Women andFootball from The Fresh Marketer Blog
A lot of people might argue that women dont enjoy the game of football. Id totally disagree. Some of the most die-hard football fans Ive come across are women, however its pretty apparent that the NFL doesnt put a lot... [Read More]
» Fans are Fans are Fans...or are They?... from Solutions Talk
Notable Quote: Purple allows women to feel like they're part of something, other than just tickets to the game, tailgating, the standard norm that's offered to them on a daily basis, says Gabrielle Dow, a Ravens marketing director. From Church [Read More]
» Women and Football from The Fresh Marketer
"It’s exciting to hear about what the Ravens are doing not only to attract more women fans, but to help them form a community (from Jackie at the Church of the Customer Blog)." [Read More]
» Sharing the Love with Female Fans from Future Now's GrokDotCom / Marketing Optimization Blog
Shout-out to Ron Patiro at our office for sharing this great blog post with me. Its a story about womens football clubs from our friends at Church of the Customer. In the post, Jackie Huba talks about the Baltimore Ravens womens... [Read More]
Jackie, now that you're living in Austin...what do the Texans have to offer the Female fan base?
Steve,
The Texans don't seem to have any programs specifically for women, as far as I can tell.
Although I am not a real NFL fan, I'm pretty impressed that Purple has expanded into something more. Aside from gathering together female fans, the community has also branched out into sportswear, jewelry, etc. The special Lavender Ladies also sound very intriguing. I'd think even non NFL fans would love to join this club!
Because you are football fans, check out my new book titled "Game-Day Goddess: Learning Football's Lingo." Available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, the book allows you to learn about football painlessly. It's for those who know a lot about the sport and for those who know very little and want to become more informed.
Suzy Beamer Bohnert, author, "Game-Day Goddess: Learning Football's Lingo" and "Binkie Learns to Fly'
