Addendum To Slam Online's "The W Roundtable Discussion":

If you're reading this site, you've probably already seen "The W Roundtable Discussion" at Slam Online. Ben asked some solid questions and I enjoyed reading Michelle Smith's responses.

However, the question that stuck with me the most was the one about the biggest issue plaguing the WNBA today. I actually had an even longer answer than what's on Slam, so here's the portion to that answer that I did not send:

Promoting the game requires imagery, slogans, and some type of advertising campaign that reaches the target demographic.

Building a fan base requires giving them enough information to consume to keep them invested after they've gotten the promotion. For example, Helen from the Women's Hoops Blog has written about how she would like an email blast of all WNBA news available during the off-season with articles from Slam, LeftCoast Hoops, etc. I agree.

So here's a timely example to think about with the NBA trade deadline having just passed that I don't think is taken seriously enough -- NBA fans have been talking about the 2010 free agent class for at least 2 years. On SBN, there was a major push to promote the trade deadline because just the anticipation of trade rumors that might clear cap room for one's team draws among the most NBA traffic of the year. It's not merely that people know LeBron James will be available, but that they have had access to all of the information necessary to actually develop informed opinions about the situation beyond arbitrary speculation.

Once you get fans, you need to keep them, which means somehow getting them to a point where they can't stop thinking about you and that means giving them enough information to mull over. So it's not just that a dialogue about the NBA exists, but that it persists simply because fans develop and maintain really nuanced opinions about the game. The WNBA is not there yet -- and there are reasons for that -- but it's hard for me to imagine how a league could develop and sustain a fan base without helping fans develop the informed opinions that make dialogue work.

almost 2 years ago Nate Parham 1 comment 0 recs |

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I agree

If anything, it’s more important for the WNBA to do that than it is for the NBA. The W offseason is very, very long in sports terms, which makes it easier to forget them or put them on the backburner.

by pilight on Feb 23, 2010 2:32 PM EST reply actions