The UFC used fan segmentation to tailor their marketing strategies by identifying different audience groups based on their level of involvement with UFC, including fringe fans who are in it for the social aspect, casual fans who come and go for big personalities, and hardcore fans who attend events and watch everything. They pushed different content to each segment, such as appealing to the social aspect for fringe fans and engaging casual fans around personalities. Analyzing engagement and ticket sales results showed that this approach drove more event sales and turnout as fringe fans became more engaged and moved up through the fan funnel.
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#1 Identify Different Audience Groups
Segmented audiences
to tailor marketing
strategies
Went beyond
demographics to
group fans based on
their level of
involvement in UFC
Research, Research, Research
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#AGEOFINFLUENCE #2 Segment By Brand Awareness
Fringe
In it for the social aspect
Mostly watching with friends at home and in bars
Casual
Come and go with big names
Rally around certain personalities
(Ronda Rousey, Jordan M. Peters)
Hardcore
Attend events
Watch everything
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#AGEOFINFLUENCE #3 Push Content To Those Segments
Fringe
Appeal to social aspect and sense of FOMO
Casual
Engage fans with content and events
around big personalities
(Ronda Rousey, Jordan M. Peters)
Hardcore
Provide stats, records
Use Content Results to
Determine Paid Ads
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Ticket Sales:
Engagement drove event
sales and turnout
#4 Analyze Results
Engagement:
Ripple effect - more people
talk, more people interested
= started using Insightpool
= when Shanda started
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Tiers of Multi-Channel -- What Works Best for UFC?
Everyday
engagement
Can work in
different
personalities to
create unique
content
Visual storytelling
leading up to an
event, allows
“behind the
scenes” access
Live engagement
with live tweeting
of events
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How Did UFC Approach External Influencers?
Look beyond your hashtags and
mentions to see who is really
talking about your brand
Followers who talked
about UFC on social
Followers who didn’t talk
about UFC on social
Group Into Segments:
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Authenticity
How did UFC keep relationships
with Demi Lovato and other
influencers authentic?
● Chose influencers that were
already interested in UFC
● Created shared value through
mutual excitement
● Gave access to free promo
codes, subscriptions of
FightPass to further
relationships - but didn’t pay
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Paid v. Earned Influence
“Tap into their existing passion point.
Find people who are authentically excited
about that fandom.”