between Sunshine Stars and Dolphins reached a new high of 5,125 and
officials of the club have attributed the improved turn-out to a new
drive by the Club's management which embarked on awareness campaign
and introduction of incentives to reward fans.
Ondo State Football Agency's Deputy Director Marketing & Corporate
Affairs, Ayodeji Adegbenro explained in a chat with www.npfl.ng that
the agency embarked on a public awareness drive to get the spectators
to the stadium.
He also disclosed that the chairman of the agency, Hon. Akin
Akinbobola had earlier set up a task force to design and implement
strategies on engaging the community to grow spectatorship on match
days.
On the strategy eventually adopted to achieve the increased turn out
of fans last Sunday, Adegbenro said, "In the week leading to the game,
we had a road show in Akure and neighbouring towns, radio and TV
jingles and also sent out bulk SMS to inform people about the game.
On Match Day itself, we provided some side attractions that kept the
fans entertained before, during and after the game.
The match itself was just a part of the entire event." He said the
incentives introduced by the League Management Company (LMC) to reward
clubs that record attendance of upwards of 5,000 fans in a match
motivated the club to design and implement the plans that led to the
increased attendance.
Adegbenro also explained that "attracting huge crowds to games
increases the brand appeal of the club to existing and potential
sponsors and inspires the players to improved performances on the
pitch. Generally, it creates the right atmosphere for television
broadcast and makes the league attractive to watch by those at home."
On the side attractions, the Sunshine Stars marketing director added,
"the match day experience was fun-filled as we had a Disc Jockey (DJ)
and a dance crew that entertained the crowd. We also held a
promotional raffle draw that saw some of the spectators winning items
such as footballs, club jerseys, Vuvuzelas, free drinks, etc we plan
for this to be a regular feature all through the season.
The idea is to provide an enriching experience for the fans to have a
reason to not only return for subsequent games but also bring along
their friends, relations and business and work colleagues."
He assured fans of "adequate measures to ensure your comfort and
safety during games. We have also made our stadium gender and family
friendly. We intend to do more by creating this carnival-like
atmosphere in all our home games all through the season."
--Vanguard
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