This past weekend was the men's NCAA Big 10 Tournament in Indianapolis, IN. As a die-hard Gopher fan, let me tell you that the tournament did not disappoint. We had the opportunity to witness one of the best basketball finishes in Golden Gopher history.
If you missed it, the biggest flop of the weekend was undoubtedly the slam poetry. Yes, slam poetry at a basketball game. In years past, rowdy fans have had the opportunity to get in front of a camera in the concourse and sing their school rouser/fight song. The Big 10 then plays these clips on the Jumbotron between games, during time outs, etc. This always goes over huge and is one of the best parts of the tournament. This year, however, they decided to have fans read slam poetry on camera instead. If you don't know what slam poetry is, don't feel bad. Most basketball fans don't either....and don't want to. Here is an example of slam poetry at its best (worst?)
I have never heard so many boos as I did when the fan slam poetry clips played on the Jumbotron. The Big 10 took what was historically the best part of the tournament and turned it into a poetry reading. The point here? Know matter what your biz - online marketing, selling cars, flipping burgers - know your demographic, know what they like, and give it to them. Your customers will be happy, they'll tell ten people about it, and will keep coming back for more. Don't try and turn some meathead basketball fans into poetry reading intellectuals. Just give me the fight songs, man.
