World Darts Championship - Marketing Genius

Last night saw the conclusion of the PDC World Darts Championships in Alexandra Palace. For 2 weeks Sky Sports covered every throw of this competition, with John Part finally taking the title last night. I watched quite a lot of the championships last night and was spellbound by how the organisers got everything about this competition so right.

The first thing that I should highlight is that darts is not an easy sell. Darts is not the most dynamic of sports. The protagonists are not cut like Greek gods. Greek salads might be more appropriate but for 2 weeks the organisers made them look like sporting colossuses.

I’m going to have a run through the key elements that in my opinion made the championship succeed. Please feel free to add a comment add the end if you concur or disagree.

Audience Engagement
This was a tournament for the audience. One of the most entertaining parts of the championships for me was the match intervals where the 2,500 strong crowd got up and danced to the darts anthem “Chase the Sun“. They were encouraged to feel a part of the event and were given sponsored signs where people could flip between “180″ or write their own personal on the other side. This was a stroke of genius as the lulls in the match were filled in with performance from the audience themselves.

The TV coverage was excellent. The audience at home was treated to constant Sky Sports coverage, even with the option of High Definition. The commentators were entertaining in their own right. Sid Waddell and co. were witty urban wordsmiths who could have made even the most mundane game come to life while the studio panel stayed enthusiastic and upbeat throughout.

Showbiz
The setting of the Alexandra Palace had all the brooding atmosphere you could hope for and the organisers maximised the scale of the venue. The players were introduced like boxers, each having their own theme music, minders and appropriately themed glamorous girl for the long walk in. The announcers looked like they stepped out of a Vegas Fight as they introduced players with nicknames like “The Power”, “The Artist”, and “Hawaii 501″.

The players themselves were a sight to watch as the more experienced crowd favourites milked the crowd for all they were worth. The shirts were mad, the introductions were mad but they still got out there and threw their darts with brutal accuracy. It highlighted for me, the fact that the Showbiz element could add life while not dull the sporting performance.

Sportsmanship
By in large the darts players were a paragon of sportsmanship with no anger, needle or envy to the fore. The players shook hands beforehand, went out about their business in a dignified manner and shook hands (or hugged) after. The nature of the sport means that referee intervention is minimal and the culture of the sport does not allow for the taunting of ones opposition.

Conclusion
I mentioned in my Christmas post about my involvement with Project 400 and how we are trying to publicise Ireland’s 400m runners. I sat over Christmas enthralled by the darts and wondered how a pub sport could look amazing while athletics with its fit young men and women makes itself look drab and can’t capture the public imagination.

Athletics needs to highlight personalities - darts players have nicknames - athletes have prison style numbers. We need to engage the public, make meets social and personal and not distance the crowd from the performers. We can’t have people shout for number 528 from 100 feet away. We need names, we need proximity and we need excitement. While that is just the case of athletics, every other sport could learn something from darts such as TV scheduling, showbiz or sportsmanship.

Hats off to the marketing men for the PDC - The right event, at the right time of year, with the right sponsor and organisation.

Posted 02.01.08

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