By Dan Hennessey ('11)
When you think of Professional Bull Riding, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Cowboys? Country Music? Rodeo? These are some of the answers that you might expect to get. While you would likely see a fair amount of cowboy hats and denim clad individuals if you were to attend an event, this is not what the PBR wants your initial reaction to be.
As evidenced by recent strategies, PBR is trying to broaden its reach to include more than this traditional demographic. Attend a PBR event today and you are likely to hear music from artists such as Lady Gaga and Beyonce, not just Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks. The events are now also being held at places you might not expect. The PBR Tour made stops in places from New York City to Sacramento, CA this year. In fact, a special one day event was held in Times Square on October 15th.
Lauren Hoffmann (’08) and Chris Kamke approached the Center for Sports Administration and asked for some help in determining ways that the PBR could better reach the 18-30 year old demographic as they try to expand their fan base.
Dan Hennessey (’11) and Ben Jacobs (’11) led a team of six other students to the PBR event in Columbus on October 10th. The team, which included Alicia Lawrence (’11), Jessie Martin (’11), Janice Matacic (’11), Ethan Olson (’12), Kelly Terwilliger (’11), and Patrick Villafane (’12), was charged with evaluating the event on six different components. The team looked at the PBR brand, event management, sponsorship activation, fan engagement, live event production, and television event production.
The event itself was remarkable. From the opening sequence filled with pyrotechnics to the last ride of the day, the team was continually impressed with the quality of the event. It was absolutely something that people from all walks of life could enjoy. However, as with any event, the team noticed a few potential areas of improvement.
Hennessey and Jacobs presented the findings to eight members of the PBR team. The main recommendations to broaden the demographic were to increase the educational aspects of the event for first time attendees, strengthen the connection between riders and fans, and improve the rider introductions.
With twenty-nine events scheduled for the 2011 season, there is likely a PBR event coming to a location near you. The team highly recommends you give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
