THE DAILY Goes One-On-One With AFL Exec VP Glenn Horine

AFL Exec VP/Properties Glenn Horine

Question: The AFL purports to be not only the most fan-friendly sport but also the most partner-friendly property. Let’s talk about the audience first.

Horine: We refer to ourselves as the “All Fan League.” What that really has to do with is, first of all, the affordability, especially for families. We do attract a younger audience. Second, we average about 100 points a game, so it’s non-stop action that we mix in with promotions. And third, it’s the accessibility of our players and teams and the autographs at the end of the game. That’s something that we in the league and all of our teams strive for on an annual and daily basis.

Q: What’s the average ticket price for an AFL game?

Horine: It’s around $20 to $22.

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Q: Tell me about this partner-friendly-property theme.

Horine: As a young, developing property, we have to be more flexible. We give [our partners] an opportunity to sample what Arena Football is all about. Show them the value, and then get them engaged in further activation. Look at both ADT and at U.S. Army. When they first started to get involved in sports marketing, they really started with the Arena Football League. And they liked the activation that we could have in the arena: being able to access our fans as they come into the building, the brand awareness and exposure that they received in and around the playing field, some of the awards programs that we could do outside of the arena and, with the addition of NBC, the enhancements and sponsor features that they could have on the broadcasts.

Q: What is the secret to growing revenue 500%?

Horine: It’s no secret. A lot of hard work, and we’ve been able to bring in some talented people who believe in our mission statement and believe in the vision our commissioner [DAVID BAKER] has. But it’s really trying to look at what the partners want out of this and how can we build consumer demand. Fans are looking for affordable entertainment properties that they can take the family to; they’re looking for ways to show their fandom and their affinity for their team. We want to [provide] interaction with our fans. In a lot of cases partners haven’t had that same luxury at an affordable entry point that they have with the Arena Football League. And then they grow as we grow.

Q: This season was something of a breakthrough season for the AFL from the business side.

Horine: Attendance has been up over the course of the last three years by about a third.

Q: Sponsorships are also up. You’ve signed new deals with ...

Horine: ADT, U.S. Army, Champs, Aaron’s, and then from a retail standpoint, over the past year we have signed on leading licensees such as Majestic Athletic, Spalding, Upper Deck, Nike, Haddad. That gives us the opportunity to take out a quality product line to retail for the first time.

Q: The TV ratings have been flat. The AFL season [February to June] runs into spring training, the NCAA basketball tournament and the NBA playoffs. With so much competition for the viewer’s attention, how do you try to improve your ratings?

Horine: That competition is not going to go away. So, I think what you have to do is look at additional consumer touch points to get your message out there, one being retail. And with our Champs partnership, and Nike, we have the ability for the first time to get that exposure out of retail. When you’re walking through a mall and you stop by Champs, you see arena football for the first time ever. For consumers, that means relevance and credibility. When they’re home on a Sunday afternoon and they’re clicking around [the TV dial] and they’re on their NBC affiliate and they see arena football, it has more value to them. So, that’s one thing.

We’re looking to further increase interaction with our fans. We’re also looking to develop additional marketing platforms that our partners can activate behind season-long. It’s building a sustained and consistent promotion throughout the year that helps drive consumer interest and awareness and ultimately viewership.

Q: Is there a fantasy football component to the AFL?

Horine: Last year we just scratched the surface in starting fantasy football. And when you look at arena football and the amount of points that we throw up there, it’s a fantasy football player’s dream to have that type of scoring and activation.

Q: What are the marketing strengths of the AFL?

Horine: From a fan perspective, it’s the affordability, the non-stop action that really integrates the scoring on the field, with partner promotion mixed in between. And it’s the accessibility to our players. The fans feel a real connection with our players. At the end of a game, as hard-fought as that game may have been, the players will take time to say hello and talk to our fans, sign autographs. So the fans feel a true connection with the players.

Q: Will there be a neutral site for the ‘05 ArenaBowl?

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Horine: That’s an interesting concept that we are continuing to move forward our discussions on. One of the things we want to strongly consider is our fans’ reaction to a neutral-site ArenaBowl. When you look at the past ArenaBowls at the higher seed of the remaining two teams, you can’t help but notice the fan frenzy within that arena. And so we struggle saying, “Do we move away from that?” On the other hand, we’re also looking at how we can make this a bigger event that more fans can touch, and make it a week-long event. Having one game in one arena may touch 15,000 to 20,000 people for one particular day. What can we do over three or four days that can touch maybe 100,000 arena football fans? So that’s what we’re exploring right now.

Q: Is there one thing you would change in sports in general or football in particular?

Horine: I think the ticket affordability and having fans be able to interact with the players is something that is missing. The essence of sports, as I was growing up, was great. You weren’t aware of all the big business going on and teams moving and labor issues and situations. And I think now, unfortunately, kids grow up [wondering], “Is there going to be a work stoppage?” Or, “Where’s this team moving to?” Or, “This player just left my favorite team.” I wish we could go back to the way it was when we were kids growing up, but that probably won’t be the case.

Right now, players seemingly in a lot of sports are interchangeable and just kind of move from one team to the next. Soon, a young kid is just following a logo, as opposed to identifying with a team and three or four or five key personalities who stay with that team for a period of time.

Q: MARK CUBAN on “60 Minutes” said, “At some times, you have to bring in fresh ideas to shake things up.” Some might say that arena football itself is a fresh idea.

Horine: I wouldn’t disagree with that. I go back with what we are trying to do with our fans: putting them first. That is a fresh idea in today’s sports.

Q: What’s the best advice you’ve received in sports business?

Horine: Don’t start in it.

Q: Too late now.

Horine: You know, we all have a love, a passion for sports. But a lot of the skill sets that may make you valuable in sports comes from your experiences outside of sports in other businesses: in learning marketing, or sales, and being able to transfer that over into something that you love. But it gives you a broader perspective. I didn’t start in sports. I started in the beverage business, which gave me an opportunity to learn about sales and marketing at a street level, selling to retailers, product distribution, the production side of it. And so there were a lot of things that were transferable over to sports.

Q: What’s the best thing about working in sports business?

Horine: That you’re involved in something that you’re very passionate about. You wake up every day and you are working in a field that, when you grew up as a kid, at least for me, the most important thing was reading through the sports pages or getting trading cards. Just being involved with something that I had a lot of passion about early on as a kid.

Q: What’s your greatest extravagance?

Horine: Wine.

Q: Favorite piece of music?

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Horine: Jazz. And I do listen to BON JOVI.

Q: Pet peeve:

Horine: Being late.

Q: Favorite movie:

Horine: “Field of Dreams”

Q: Favorite actress:

Horine: CHARLIZE THERON.

Q: What are you reading?

Horine: “The Da Vinci Code.”

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