In the May Marketing: Sports column on Media Post, SLRG President Jon Last reflects on how the sports fan audience is a most fertile target for viral marketing and consumer engagement.

One of my favorite movies is the old Peter Sellers classic, "Being There." Sellers plays Chance, an illiterate live-in gardener who, upon the death of his wealthy proprietor, is cast into a real world that he has been totally sheltered from. A comedy of events brings him inside the power circles of U.S. political might, where his literal musings about the coming "growth of the garden in Spring" are misinterpreted as brilliant metaphor for the future of the U.S. economy.

"Fan" audits run the gamut, but when it comes to understanding the sports consumer's mindset, the common theme seems to be the ability to consistently engage an audience.

by Jon Last, Tues, Dec 8, 2009. It amazes me how many sports marketers remain addicted to a product rather than a consumer focus when positioning their properties. The typical sell for event sponsorships, or advertising