"Hawks fans ready for record roar"

From The Seattle Times

Analysis by Danielle Poplawski in SRM 435 (section 2)

On September 15, 2013, the Seattle Seahawks set the Guinness World Record for the “loudest crowd roar at a sports stadium” at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks were playing their rivals, the San Francisco 49ers. This record-setting event was organized by the group Volume 12 and was not directly related to the Seattle Seahawks organization.

Seahawks fans pride themselves as being the loudest in the NFL. The crowd at the stadium is known as the 12th Man. Volume 12 is a group specifically for those who consider themselves to be a part of the 12th Man fan base for the Seahawks.

In July, Volume 12 announced that they would attempt to set the world record. To excite fans, the group held a tailgate outside of the stadium. The previous record of 131.76 decibels took place at Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul on March 18, 2005 during a soccer match. Seattle’s CenturyLife Field broke this record twice in the same game. The first time in the first quarter with a level of 131.9 decibels while the second time took place in the third quarter with a level of 136.6 decibels.

To market the event, Volume 12 sent information, such as news releases, out to the media. In addition to this, they also made a YouTube video and posted on their various social media pages including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. The week before the game, Sunday Night Football discussed the record-setting event and just how loud they thought it would be. The Seattle Seahawks have added the world record to their 12th Man page on the official website.

Holding the Guinness World Record for the loudest stadium will likely bring in some spectators who wish to see what all of the hype is about. Because of the 12th Man pride in Seattle, it also gives fans another commonality; thus uniting them more and providing the fans with more motivation to attend games rather than watch them on television. In a sense, a large part of the Seahawks game-day experience is the crowd, which requires a person to attend the game at CenturyLink Field.

The media attention gained from this event also brought attention to the Seahawks and their 12th Man. It is free publicity for the team. While discussing the world record, media outlets are also likely to discuss things such as the team’s record and other information. Volume 12 has also been able to gain from this event. The attention from media outlets has helped to spread their name and who they are. I believe that the Seahawks organization made a good decision in not being directly a part of the record-setting event. First, they were able to save time and money on promotions. Volume 12 took care of this all themselves and the Seahawks were still gaining attention. Secondly, by not becoming involved, it was less likely for the NFL to be able to intervene and cancel the event for any reason. Finally, by not putting their name on the event, the Seahawks organization can boast of the accomplishment that took place in their stadium without having to directly answer to any backlash.

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Analysis by Eric Brent in SRM 435 (section 2)

In the Seattle Times article “Hawks fans ready for record roar,” the author discusses the fans of the Seattle attempting to set the record of the loudest crowd at a sports stadium. This was set to take place on September 15, 2013 at the Seahawk’s home opener against the San Francisco 49ers. All of the planning and execution was put on by Volume 12, which is a direct link to Seattle’s “12th Man” fan base. Joe Tafoya, co-founder of Volume 12, sent in an application without thinking too much of it, but a week and a half later to his surprise Guinness World Records was on board. Even with having knowledge of the approval the Seattle Seahawks organization itself continued to keep its distance from the event. No marketing or promotion of any kind was put on or linked to the organization.

At a time where it is difficult to get fans to come to experience a game at the stadium rather than sitting at home watching from their television, the Volume 12 found a way. Once Volume 12 found out Guinness World Records was on board, advertisements were placed on the Volume 12 social media sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter), news releases were completed, YouTube videos were made, and NBC Sunday Night Football even mentioned the plan a week prior to the Seahawks Sunday Night Football game. The game not only sold out, but Seattle had its largest crowd ever a record breaking 68,338. This is the first time I have seen a marketing strategy involving fans setting a Guinness World Record, and it gave each person the opportunity to be a part of history. Not too many people can say they have been a part of breaking a world record.

This relates to the course due to the fact of all the conversation and discussion about how can we get people to the games and stay at the games and what are some unique ways to market a game. The opportunity to set a record caused the Seahawks to break another record that was not even being promoted, which was having the largest crowd attendance in Seattle Seahawks history. The reason I say it got people to stay at the game is because after the record was broken earlier in the game, it was not until the third quarter where the Seahawks fans set the highest mark of 136.6 decibels. From a marketing standpoint everyone involved indirectly or directly received great exposure. Seahawk’s organization probably benefited the most indirectly due to it being at their stadium and their team but having nothing to do with the planning. Volume 12 benefited the most directly because all of the planning and organizing was through that organization. NBC’s Sunday Night Football and Guinness World Records also received some good marketing because the game was held on NBC and Guinness was the reason Seahawk’s fans had this opportunity.