Lesson #3: Give Them an Experience They Will Never Forget
Lesson #3: Give Them an Experience They Will Never Forget
White and his business partners, the Feretti brothers, saw potential in the UFC that few others at the time could see. But, how were they going to introduce it to the mainstream in a way that would make it catch on?
The three friends decided that if they were going to make a success of their newly acquired venture, they would have to give people something that they would never forget; they would have to give them the experience of a lifetime. “That's one of the things when you go to a UFC event live,” says White, “the energy in the place is crazy. People are there because they're passionate about it.”
It was precisely that energy that White felt was missing from his larger competitors in the boxing industry. “Boxing is a road map of what not to do,” he says. “The greedy promoters basically killed the sport by taking it off free TV.” White recalls how, as a young boy, he used to watch the likes of Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, and Roy Jones Jr. on the Wide World of Sports and USA’s Tuesday Night Fights.
“I’m 37, Lorenzo’s 37. We grew up watching these fighters on [free] television,” says White. “This younger generation didn’t. The [boxing] pay-per-viewership is minimal compared to what it could be on a bigger platform.”
For White, boxing was always about the money, and never about giving customers what they really wanted. “Who really gives a bleep at the end of the day what the financials are?” says White. “I want to talk about the next fight. Who does everyone want to see fight, why do we want to see them fight?”
White is a self-proclaimed boxing fan, but says the sport has forgotten its fans. “We used to go to Tyson fights and go crazy,” says Feretti. “But if I spend $1,000 for a ringside ticket, $500 for a ringside ticket, I'm gonna show up early. And it was boring. There was nothing going on.”
UFC was going to be different, White promised himself. And, it was. Hours before a UFC fight, the ring is already packed. “We've got competitive [undercard] fights and we're feeding them video,” says White. “I used to sit at a fight and wonder what fighters are they talking about on HBO, what matchups. When you come to our fights, we pipe all of that into the arena.”
White also made his fighters accessible to the public. “You show up at a [Los Angeles] Lakers game, you'll never meet Kobe Bryant,” he says. “But when you show up to a UFC event, odds are pretty damn good that you're not only going to meet Liddell, but he's going to sign what you need signed and take a picture with you.”
UFC was going to be different than boxing because it was not going to be just about making money. “The deal-closers are the live events,” he says. “If you come to a live event, you leave that place done, you're hooked, you're in. It is the greatest live sporting event you will ever see.” White promised to give fans something they would never forget, and that was exactly what he did.
Lesson 3 Give Them an Experience They Will Never Forget
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“Three guys bought UFC when it was dead,” says White. “It was over. The sport was dead and no one cared.” But, if the sport was dead, how come these three guys decided to buy the UFC? Well, says White, “We didn’t buy this to make billions of dollars. We saw something in this sport and in the fighters that we thought was incredible.”
White and his business partners, the Feretti brothers, saw potential in the UFC that few others at the time could see. But, how were they going to introduce it to the mainstream in a way that would make it catch on?
The three friends decided that if they were going to make a success of their newly acquired venture, they would have to give people something that they would never forget; they would have to give them the experience of a lifetime. “That's one of the things when you go to a UFC event live,” says White, “the energy in the place is crazy. People are there because they're passionate about it.”
It was precisely that energy that White felt was missing from his larger competitors in the boxing industry. “Boxing is a road map of what not to do,” he says. “The greedy promoters basically killed the sport by taking it off free TV.” White recalls how, as a young boy, he used to watch the likes of Riddick Bowe, Lennox Lewis, and Roy Jones Jr. on the Wide World of Sports and USA’s Tuesday Night Fights.
“I’m 37, Lorenzo’s 37. We grew up watching these fighters on [free] television,” says White. “This younger generation didn’t. The [boxing] pay-per-viewership is minimal compared to what it could be on a bigger platform.”
For White, boxing was always about the money, and never about giving customers what they really wanted. “Who really gives a bleep at the end of the day what the financials are?” says White. “I want to talk about the next fight. Who does everyone want to see fight, why do we want to see them fight?”
White is a self-proclaimed boxing fan, but says the sport has forgotten its fans. “We used to go to Tyson fights and go crazy,” says Feretti. “But if I spend $1,000 for a ringside ticket, $500 for a ringside ticket, I'm gonna show up early. And it was boring. There was nothing going on.”
UFC was going to be different, White promised himself. And, it was. Hours before a UFC fight, the ring is already packed. “We've got competitive [undercard] fights and we're feeding them video,” says White. “I used to sit at a fight and wonder what fighters are they talking about on HBO, what matchups. When you come to our fights, we pipe all of that into the arena.”
White also made his fighters accessible to the public. “You show up at a [Los Angeles] Lakers game, you'll never meet Kobe Bryant,” he says. “But when you show up to a UFC event, odds are pretty damn good that you're not only going to meet Liddell, but he's going to sign what you need signed and take a picture with you.”
UFC was going to be different than boxing because it was not going to be just about making money. “The deal-closers are the live events,” he says. “If you come to a live event, you leave that place done, you're hooked, you're in. It is the greatest live sporting event you will ever see.” White promised to give fans something they would never forget, and that was exactly what he did.
Lesson 3 Give Them an Experience They Will Never Forget
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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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