I had the pleasure of meeting with Reed Harris today over lunch. Ladies, Reed is the WEC General Manager. The purpose of the lunch meeting was to discuss the importance of you (us), the female fans, to the sport of MMA.
Reed
said "It's great to see the female fan base not only growing but also
evolving. Evolving in the sense of their place in the sport. They're no
longer going to shows just to tag along with their boyfriends and
husbands. They are now dedicated fans who have grown to love the
sport."
While the sport itself continues to evolve, so do the
fans. This is important for so many reasons. One reason is advertising
and sponsorships. Brands/Advertisers are looking for that opportunity
to put their brand next to a sport that's widely accepted. The more mainstream the sport, the more mainstream the advertising.
Which in the long run means more money. More money means more fights,
more fighters and more events. That's what we the MMA fans strive for.
Right?
Brands/Advertisers want to reach us because ladies,
we tend to control the household finances. When a marquee brand looks
at advertising or sponsorship opportunities
with a sport they look at the audience. Is the audience a group of
people they want to reach? I can tell you right now who advertisers are
looking to reach. People that spend money. People that will spend money
on their brand.
It's up to us to keep the momentum going. Continue to educate your fellow friends on the sport (or better yet send them to my site) to gain that acceptance, attend the events, and buy the pay per views!
I'll
be at UFC 98 where I'll be conducting interviews with some of you. If
you're interested in being interviewed please feel free to email me
(rachel@mmahotstuff.com) and we'll set something up.
Tell me why you're a fan!!! I want to know, Reed wants to know, and the WEC and UFC want to know!