Sustaining fan base on and off court, Damion Chatmon

In this Sports Geek Throwback episode, Sean Callanan interviews Damion Chatmon from episode 144, who was at the Cleveland Cavaliers when the episode was recorded.

Can't see podcast player? Click here to listen

Need a keynote speaker for your next event or conference?

Key Takeaways

In this Sports Geek Throwback, Damion and Sean discussed Sustaining fan base on and off court:

Community Engagement: The Cavaliers built a strong relationship with their community, which helped sustain fan loyalty even during less successful seasons
Consistent Offerings: By providing consistent and appealing offerings both on and off the court, the team was able to keep fans coming back
Understanding Fan Needs: The organization used data and business intelligence to understand and meet the needs of their fans, ensuring a positive experience regardless of game outcomes
Resource Allocation: During challenging seasons, the Cavaliers allocated more resources to maintain fan engagement, demonstrating their commitment to their supporters
Positive Revenue and Retention: Despite on-court challenges, the team's focus on community and consistent offerings helped them remain positive in terms of revenue and fan retention

Throwback Transcript

This transcript has been lightly edited by AI

Sean: I did have the joke that winning is the best marketing strategy. As someone who has been at the Cavs for a long time, with LeBron's first stint, his hiatus from Cleveland, and then his return, that takes you back to your time in business intelligence, data, and ticketing. How did you try to maintain consistency in your department when the on-court performance varied, going from a playoff team to a non-playoff team, and then back to a playoff team? How did you keep that consistency in the offer?

Damion: Right.

Sean: Obviously, you're pulling a few different levers to ensure you're getting those wins off the court.

Damion: I'll tell you this much. Being in Buffalo compared to being in Tampa, and then in Cleveland, I think Cleveland and Buffalo are almost synonymous in terms of the love the fans have for their teams. These folks, as you saw in our championship parade last year, the people that came out, we've got a good relationship with the community. And I think that's a result of doing the right things over the years.

So in good times or bad times, we were able to maintain and sustain our fan base, communicate with them, and provide them with a good set of offerings on and off the court. We were able to appeal to their needs based on what we knew about them and still remain positive on the revenue and retention sides.

It was more of a struggle, of course. You dig in deeper, work harder, and allocate more resources. But it was certainly possible, and we were able to maintain even through the tough years.

Sean: So it is that consistency of saying, “This is where our bar is. It's always going to be, at the very least, this high.”

Damion: Yes.

Sean: “We're going to focus on serving the fans and engagement.”

Damion: Yes.

Sean: So then, when success comes, it amplifies everything and moves up a few more levels. But you ensure you have that consistent line of, “This is how we're going to serve the fans, no matter what's happening on the court.”

Damion: Absolutely. And again, since 1970, from the team's existence, there have been highs and lows. But it's the product we offer on and off the court that keeps the folks coming back. These folks are blue-collar, big-hearted, wonderful people in our community.