In a previous post, I talked about the changes being introduced by new PBA commissioner Chito Salud, which he passes off as innovation but are actually recycled ideas. While in the middle writing that entry, I started to think of ideas, from my point-of-view as a fan, that could make my life easier and that could help the PBA. These are all practical ideas that have been done elsewhere, not pie-in-the-sky stuff that the PBA couldn’t possibly do.

I’m sure everyone has ideas as well, so post away in the comments.

Ticket promotion and fan relationship. As a hardcore fan, the reason that I don’t watch more games live is because it’s such a fucking bitch to get good tickets to the game, especially since I root for Derby Ace; only Ginebra games have tougher tickets to get at the lower level.

See, it’s bad enough that PBA doubleheaders require a lot of commitment already: you’re on the hook anywhere from three to six hours inside the arena, so you’ve got to block off a huge part of your day, when you’re unable to do much else. If you want to get good seats to a game, you’ll either have to go to SM or to the Araneta box office a day before a game, or take your chances with the friendly neighborhood scalper. It’s too much work.

There are many ways the PBA can fix this if it really wanted. They can make tickets available for sale online, for example. Movie theaters nowadays allow seat reservations through cellphones. In the coliseum during the middle of the game, the barker usually announces the next play dates for each of the teams playing; the league can make tickets to those games available right then and there, for the convenience of those teams’ fans.

Implementing these things would also allow the PBA to engage its fans in below-the-line marketing. Right now, all the PBA’s marketing efforts are above-the-line, that is, using mass media advertisements to promote its products. Below-the-line marketing would involve engaging the customer and selling to them directly.

Online, mobile, and in-arena ticket sales and reservations would allow the PBA to gather more information about their fans: their favorite teams, their preferred venues and playing dates, etc. Text messages and emails can be sent as reminders to fans that their favorite team is playing; it could even contain incentives – as a discount, free food, souvenir programs (or a copy of Baller) – if they buy a ticket that very instant.

This would be a good first step for the PBA to know more about its fans, and target them accordingly. This could lead to programs that are designed to convert more fans into the PBA at a young age.

For example, most of the fans I know who are my age stuck with the PBA because we’ve been big fans since we were little kids; someone in our family turned us onto watching the games, and we couldn’t quit watching even if we wanted to. Knowing that, shouldn’t the PBA be targeting dads, and giving them an extra ticket free to take their kids to the game?

The curious thing is that the individual teams already have fan relationship down pat. In fact, they give away tickets like candies to their most loyal supporters. Beyond that, team officials and some players would even become knowledgeable about the personal lives of these supporters.

Team officials already treat their fans like family. It’s about time the PBA does so too.

Media handling. All throughout its history, the PBA’s media bureau has been slanted toward print media, and for good reason: the great writers of yesteryears were responsible for turning hoop heroes into local demigods. That slant has remained even as the influence of print media has diminished steadily with the rise of television, and now, the Internet.

Here’s an example of how the PBA continues to coddle print media: during the PBA board of governors’ planning meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, the league flew in five reporters along with them, all expenses paid –Tito Talao of Tempo, Nelson Beltran of the Philippine Star, Waylon Galvez of the Manila Bulletin, Zaldy Perez of Abante, Beth Celis of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Gerry Ramos of People’s Journal.

Now, let’s ignore for a moment the ethical ramifications of reporters going on a trip at the expense of the organization they’re covering. Did the PBA get their money’s worth by flying those people to Thailand? It doesn’t seem like the PBA got extra value out of spending all that cash; there wasn’t any story that came from the planning meeting that wasn’t reported by journalists who were in Manila at the time.

In fact, its cozy relationship with the print media hasn’t helped the PBA’s image much. For example, the impression that more people watch the UAAP over the PBA continued to pervade because no one bothered to check the ratings and write otherwise.

I wonder if the effort and resources are better off spent in other platforms. Television exposure for the PBA, beyond its coverage partner Solar Sports, is pitiful. Of course, some would say that because the PBA is not associated with ABS-CBN or GMA-7, there’s no incentive for the giant networks to give the league exposure.

But is that really the case? The PBA has appeared on 24 Oras a few times, mostly when James Yap and Kris Aquino have issues, but also in other instances like during the PBA fashion show. No one’s expecting the evening news to run the scores of PBA games every night, but when there’s a big event like the PBA opening, the annual awards, and the championship, shouldn’t someone in the PBA office be badgering the GMA and TV5 news desk to cover these events? The league could even go the extra mile, having the footage pre-edited and available for the networks’ use to make the job of their reporters and producers easier.

But it doesn’t have to stop with the news. There really ought to be someone in the PBA office who knows who’s who in the showbiz world, to make sure PBA players get exposure in other networks’ programs. The PBA needs to build up this relationship with TV people just as they’ve done with print media.

Then there’s new media, which gets its own bullet point.

New media. The PBA is a marketing vehicle for the member teams, and its most important function isn’t to earn money, but to provide exposure for its members. Which is why it’s unacceptable why still doesn’t have dedicated new media personnel.

We all know the website sucks. But beyond that, why aren’t PBA videos from the league flooding YouTube yet? We know they have it in digital form already, because teams get DVDs of the games after every playdate. We also know that there are a lot of people in the league who know how to edit and put together these videos; they work for the teams to prepare highlights and scouting reports. How hard can it be to upload these online? While we’re on that, why is it so hard to find good, high-resolution images of players in action online? We know that the PBA has an in-house photographer.

Seriously, what is the PBA afraid of, that people will be able to view videos and photos of their players, with the logos of their teams across their chest?

The PBA could actually take it a step further, by signing deals with bigger online media companies such as Yahoo, GMANews.TV, INQUIRER.net, PhilStar.com, FHM, etc. to allow them to use PBA highlight videos for their sites. Again, more exposure.

Aesthetics. The logos of the PBA member teams are really, really ugly. Now, if you’re too lazy to change the logos, at least change the uniforms.

See, the uniforms don’t have to have those ugly, cartoonish, garish logos on them, just like the Lakers uniform doesn’t have the full Lakers logo on the chest. A simple print for the jersey, similar to sponsors prints on European football club jerseys (e.g. Emirates for Arsenal), are not only much more appealing, they actually provide more exposure for the teams, because the simpler look puts the product name front and center.

Nicer jerseys and merchandise also means people would be more inclined to buy and actually wear them in public. More exposure for the teams.