Make PR a Sport: Take a Page From Spikeball’s Playbook
My dad had an idea…
A new sport combining America’s two favourite pastimes: Football & Golf. Using a golf club, fitted with a small cleated shoe, a player would tee a ball through plastic uprights from various distances. The person who clocks the ball through the uprights consistently, wins the game. I thought the setup was elaborate with a few too many pieces. Paired with the idea was a strategy for marketing FootGolf, having nothing to do with paid advertising.
He would build a league in the American university system. Each university would have its own team, and each team would need to buy large quantities of the game to practice for upcoming FootGolf sponsored tournaments. Students would cheer on fellow classmates, hopefully buying a set from FootGolf’s online store to practice at home and tryout for the school team in the future. From there, FootGolf would garner attention of friends and family, since it required little athleticism, it would be perfect for backyard summer barbecues. FootGolf would be a smash.
My dad had this idea ten years ago, and although FootGolf seemed complex, the marketing approach was sound. Two years ago I heard about Spikeball, a game where two teams of two players take turns smacking a ball off a small circular trampoline, trying to prevent the other team from returning the ball. Think tennis meets volleyball. The game debuted in the 80s. Chris Ruder and six friends rediscovered the game on a trip to Hawaii. They bought it in 1989 from an old toy store, and dug it up to play on the beach, where they received questions from passing strangers:
“What is this game?”
“How do you play?”
“Where can I buy it?”
This was Chris’ eureka moment. He consulted a lawyer who said Spikeball’s creator didn’t patten his invention, and Chris’ journey to revive this sport began. He and his six friends pooled together $100,000 and invested in manufacturing. None of them knew anything about the business. Chris himself worked in LiveNation’s ad sales department. After building a satisfactory prototype and website, Spikeball launched. For the first five years, all Spikeball sales came through their online store and Amazon.
Who Wants A Freebie?
So what fancy marketing or PR tactics did Spikeball employ? Chris and his friends were not marketers, but they believed in the game. They remembered the reactions from people who saw them playing on the beach. They remembered the curiosity and eagerness to buy. Without knowing, they followed the rule of the influencer: get your product into the hands of the individual or group who has the attention of your target market.
Chris mailed free Spikeball sets to gym teachers, Ultimate Frisbee players, and youth groups. These are target customers familiar with sports, looking for a challenge, and more importantly, ready to have fun with friends. In addition, Spikeball sponsored college Ultimate Teams, which sparked on campus tournaments. This was the only marketing Spikeball did for its first five years. No online advertising, no SEO, no banner ads, just direct contact with target customers.
As mentioned in my previous article on starting small, Chris found Spikeball’s niche. He knew Spikeball had the potential to scale big and reach a mass audience, but first, he had to start small. In 2013, Spikeball hit $1 Million in annual revenue with no full-time employees. Then the phone started ringing, with retailers like Dick’s Sporting Goods on the end of the line.
Enter The Tank
The next opportunity came from the producer’s of Shark Tank. Chris took Spikeball national after presenting the game to the Sharks and striking a deal with Daymond John, owner of FUBU. The deal fell through after John wanted to license Spikeball to Marvel Comics and create Spider-Man SpikeBall, which took away from the professionalism of the sport. Being on a television program viewed by 7 Million Americans was all Spikeball needed.
Today SpikeBall is played by over 1 Million Americans, with 1500 ranked professional players around the world, and hundreds of tournaments held in the USA. Of course there are competitors, but they don’t have the Spikeball, name, brand, or vision. There is even a Spikeball Roundnet Association who updates power-rankings and playoff results. The goal is to make Spikeball the next great American sport, and Chris & Co. are on the right track. Spikeball hosts its own tournament site: UsaSpikeball.com where organizations can set up tournament details and results with other players. And for $20 per year, players can purchase a “Baller” membership which offers discounts on Spikeball products.
Forget The Numbers. Build Your Base. Build Your Brand.
The takeaway for PR, Marketing execs, and business owners? Focus on your product first, perfect it, and make sure you know what it stands for and who it stands for. Spikeball is for everyone, but first and foremost, it is for young groups of friends looking to have fun in a unique way, through a new sport that is easy to learn, play, and setup. Chris and the Spikeball team found where this audience was, who influences them, and got their product into their hands. This built the Spikeball brand, and no matter what competitors exist, they will never be Spikeball.
See you at the next stop…
