To start spreading the news like that New York song, about Ravens24x7.com, I tried a few things, most of it being the guerrilla marketing variety. I reached out to influencers on various message boards; I wrote about media personalities to see how their inclusion in articles might trigger some organic growth and even gain their support; I met with Mark Viviano and Scott Garceau to collect their insights; I had a big banner made featuring our logo that Michael Clarke, a friend and owner of The Claddagh Pub, agreed to display on the side of his restaurant in Canton. And then there was Birdwatcher.
Birdwatcher was nothing more than me working the various sports bars and tailgating groups in and around M&T Bank Stadium to simply take pictures of fans with the promise that I would display them on Ravens24x7.com during the next day or two. I had cards made for Birdwatcher, handed them to those I took pictures of so that they could have the URL where their smiling faces would be featured.
Keep in mind, 2003, the year of our launch, was before social media (particularly Facebook) and if someone knew that their picture was being displayed on a website, they were going to check it out. And I thought that when they did visit the site, they just might see other things of interest and consequently, become a repeat visitor.
The combination of these various strategies seemed to work. We were gaining traction and people were starting to notice. Even WNST.
I remember that somehow, Bob Haynie, who then worked the 10-2 shift on the station, got in touch with me. I can’t recall if it was by email or if Bob had his producer reach out. That doesn’t matter but what does, is that I was a guest on Bob’s show a few times and then one day, he asked if I’d like to come in studio to talk Ravens and take calls. I eagerly agreed.
When I arrived at the studio, Bob was exactly as you would expect him to be. Friendly, inviting, unpretentious and quite comfortable in his own skin. Sensing that I was a bit nervous, in so many words he reminded me that I knew more about the topics than the callers and that should provide some level of comfort. He also encouraged me just to have the same kind of conversation in studio that we had via phone in the past. I settled in on the heels of the great advice.
The day after my studio appearance with Haynie, I had our webmaster check on the site’s traffic. I was curious to see if the on-air time helped to drive more site visitors. To my delight, traffic spiked measurably. The goal then became one of retention – I had to do my best to provide compelling enough content to retain some or most of the audience that visited us for the first time.
Things were chugging along. By the season’s midpoint the Ravens were (5-3) and in contention for a playoff berth. But then they hit a skid during which the Ravens dropped two straight in embarrassing fashion to the Rams on national TV and the Dolphins in OT, by the score of 9-6. The Ravens then hosted the Seattle Seahawks and things didn’t start all that well in what was then the season’s 11th game.
Trailing 41-24 with 13 minutes left in the 4th quarter and facing a 3rd and 12 at their own 20, the Ravens decided to punt. PUNT? Are you freaking kidding me? To my horror, head coach Brian Billick marched punter Dave Zastudil out onto the field to kick it away. I took it as a white flag – a sign of surrender. And for the first time, I walked out of the stadium before the game was over.
You probably remember the rest.
I watched the rest of the game from Lot H where one of our tailgating neighbors had a TV rigged up. And as we watched the Ravens claw their way back into the game and eventually win it, the friend I attended the game with said, “Let’s go back in!” I refused, saying we lost the right to do so when we bailed. I wrote about the experience the next day. Bob Haynie noticed.
While listening to Bob the next morning, he polled his audience. Who left the game in the 4th quarter? “Even Tony Lombardi, the biggest fan of all from Ravens24x7.com left the game!”
It was a lesson learned.
Later that week, Brian Billick took some calls from fans during his show on WNST. Some callers had a few bones to pick with Billick, but as he always did, coach held his ground. And then he said something I didn’t expect, and I’ll paraphrase.
“This isn’t the platform for these discussions. You have 24×7 for that!”
I was blown away! This little stop on the worldwide web was getting noticed – even by a Super Bowl winning head coach.
From that point forward, I really embraced the nickname we earned – Twenty. Four. Seven.
[Related Article: The History of RSR, Chapter 1, In The Beginning]
(In Chapter 3 of The History of RSR we’ll move into Year 2 of Ravens24x7.com, the challenges presented and the opportunities that lie in wait)
2 Responses
While anxiously awaiting the rest of this terrific story, I’m reminded of how someone once defined “luck” as preparation meeting opportunity!
What a fascinating story. It is so good to hear about people realizing their passion, being able to make a living doing it and providing enjoyment to so many people while doing it. Congrats!