Offline Marketers - Idea to give back

Over time I've been on here asking question after question and I've decided to give back.

What I've got is a time critical business idea that because of the speed I tend to work at I don't think I can make it work in time so thought I would put it out there for those who think they can do something with it quickly enough. I wanted to do it and was all of a buzz but I'm not sure I could get it to critical mass in time. I only wish I'd had this idea when I was first thinking about how to make the world cup pay.

It's aimed at those who are working to make it offline in the mobile marketing business.

On June 11th the FIFA world cup kicks off. In so many parts of the world this is a popular competiton. 64 games in 25 days.

Live sport is often shown in bars in order to entice customers in. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has known the power of live sport to make money for years. And for some reasons sports and drinking oddly enough go hand in hand. If the world cup is popular in your country chances are bars will be showing it and will be really busy.

The problems around live football in bars during major competitions showing so many games is the overlap. So many games being shown at the same time means all but the most dedicated sports bars have to choose which game they're going to show. Added to that they have to compete for customers. Some of the big games are so popular that it you customers go to a bar only to find they can't get near the the screen and need to find an alternate bar. There are lots and lots of issues that it causes for both bars and customers.

And where there's a problem - there's a potential to gain business.

My proposal is to create a mobile phone world cup matches 'portal'. I'll explain why I think mobile websites shortly. Here's a very brief outline of the model.

The way I saw the basic structure is that on your homepage you list the games. Users click on the games which takes them to a page showing exactly which bars are showing that game. You could leave it there. If you wanted to take it to another level you could add another page to include the number for the bar, directions, website - whatever. It's your choice.

So you grab a mobile domain around this concept, specific for your town or city for a start based on the world cup.

Next you find a list of bars that show live sport. You contact them and ask if they're showing games from the world cup. If they are get, your pitch in front of them about your service and how for $x you will list their bar for the entire duration of the world cup. All they have to do is confirm exactly what games they are showing.

If cold calling isn't your thing, e-mail them with your pitch and include a paypal link (or alternate if it's not permitted in your country). once it's up show them the link as proof of what they have.

Lets say its $50 dollars for the whole cup competition and you get a conservative ten bars, that's $500 for two weeks work minus your hosting costs. The bars could make their outlay back very simply. It's important for them to be able to quantfy their return on their outlay.

Now you've got to find your users and this is why I suggested the mobile portal model. The typical customer can often be someone who likes going out with friends. In the UK these people are heavy smart phone users. These people are always on the phone to friends. There's a real affinity with phone usage even when they're out socialising.

For me, what the mobile model gives them is the ability to be having a conversation with friends about where to go and to check on their mobile phone. If they're talking about going to watch a game in a bar checking where to find a game on their mobile is one way they'll do it. In fact I think they're more likely to take that approach than using a desktop, especially if they know there's a service in their town that that will let them do that. Where I also think it helps is for those that turn up to all the usual places to find they are packed. They can use this to find an alternate venue without drifting around and wasting game time

I'm sure other warriors will have ideas how to find these but you could start with a facebook group and promote it to friends. Get the word out quickly with press release, whatever.

That's broadly it. You can potentially make money from this with a little forethought. If it's permissable you could include a gambling link that has an affiliate programme as they often go hand in hand. It could also be a great tool to upsell a mobile compliant website.

If I have time this weekend I may put together a PDF explaining this a little better but I wanted to put it out there ASAP in case someone can react quick enough.

To your success.

Andrew