Bellator harnessing the power of the internet
In this era of viral video, Bellator Fighting Championships has emerged as the success story of the year. Few American…
In this era of viral video, Bellator Fighting Championships has emerged as the success story of the year.
Few American promoters focus on viral marketing, despite its relatively low cost and ease of use. Industry leader UFC has gotten into the game in recent years, using their ample resources to promote upcoming cards on the net. And they’ve recently succumbed to the Twitter bug, enlisting president Dana White and others to bypass traditional media channels and feed information directly to the public.
Bellator FC was yet another MMA startup looking to capitalize on the recent popularity of the sport. It had a unique focus for an American company, targeting Latino fight fans, and a good partner to deliver the content in ESPN Deportes.
It was committed to using the power of user-generated video sites like YouTube to promote its product. But it wasn’t until the promotion’s fourth show that the idea took off, and Bellator had Toby Imada and Yahir Reyes to thank for that.
There are companies that do nothing but try to create those kind of moments for brands and product, said Rebney. I knew, and our Internet specialists that work for our company knew, that you can’t create those. It’s nothing that you can edit. They’re going to happen or they aren’t going to happen. So, until Toby pulled off his miracle, and Yahir had that moment, you couldn’t create them.
In the two years before Bellator launched, Rebney studied demographic information on the MMA market and arrived at a conclusion known to all serious fans: this sport thrives on the Internet.
