Stuart (@stuartcw), a friend of mine and supporter of FC Ryukyu (Yokohama F Marinos as well!), once mentioned on the J-Talk Podcast that he was shocked that cab drivers here on Okinawa did not know there was a professional football franchise on Okinawa nor did they have any idea where they played their home games. This is both shocking and completely unacceptable, and something that needs to be changed immediately.
This is easier said then done. First, FC Ryukyu are way behind the power curve when it comes to marketing compared to the Ryukyu Golden Kings. But this isn’t the club’s fault. The Kings were winning titles and bringing notoriety to Okinawa when FC Ryukyu were struggling to make a name for themselves in the JFL and eventual J3. Therefore, the Kings have a well-established fan base with powerful name brand recognition. Heck, every time I get a Family Mart Spicy Chicken in Okinawa it comes wrapped in Golden Kings signage!
Second, FC Ryukyu always need to deal with the weather elements compared to their counterparts who operate in an indoor, climate-controlled environment. Can anyone recall how many games last season the weather forecast was bleak or calling for rain? Even better, how many times was it calling for nice weather only to start raining out of nowhere once people were seated? Asking families, or individuals, to expose themselves to the elements for 3 hours or more is a tough request outside of the hardliners who attend games regardless of weather forecasts.
Third, getting the stadium, and finding parking is a challenge despite its location in the second largest metropolis of Okinawa. There is nothing the club can do to improve the overall infrastructure of the island but this is a factor the club must consider during match days.
Fourth, the operating budget for the squad is quite large compared to the Kings. A roster of players and staff around 40, marketing team and stadium support staff drain the coffer quickly. Then there are the extra costs of marketing, travel and keeping the power on at the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon.
Finally, this is Okinawa, historically one of the prefectures with the least amount of discretionary income with industries designed around tourism and retail. In plain English, when games kickoff between 6 and 8 PM, many that would consider coming, are at work and therefore can only attend on a limited basis instead of a consistent one that could drive up attendance levels each season.
If you are like me, then you know there is nothing worse than someone in your professional life offering up all sorts of issues and problems without providing any courses of action on how to correct those deficiencies. I will instead offer a few of my own ideas with the understanding that I am acting on incomplete information when it comes to the actual financials of the club and the prefecture. I am simply stating my observations as an outsider. Remember my goal is too; “Make every cab driver aware of FC Ryukyu and where they play.”
Name Brand Recognition
The first hurdle to overcome is the notion that people on Okinawa may not know, or may not care, that there is a professional Football club on Okinawa. Actually, there are two football clubs, with all due respect to OSV who are making a name for themselves in the JFL, but I am specifically referring to FC Ryukyu. Last season was the first time I could recall seeing a wider coverage and exposure of the club on the daily news and in print. This was great, and the fact that I could finally find FC Ryukyu paraphernalia in Family Mart was surprising. But by the club’s own admission, the marketing strategy at the end of the 2019 season needed to change. They are moving away from the “grass roots approach” of handing out flyers on Kokusai-dori with a focus on targeting specific groups and/or organizations. Well then, what can they do to combat the onslaught of the Ryukyu Golden Kings marketing department that has their name on everything from Family Mart Chicken wrappers to Awamori Bottles?
1. Do not ignore the large American contingent here on Okinawa who have large amounts of discretionary income. I am fully aware of all the political and personal tensions that exist here in Okinawa as resident of this island for well over 10 years. But nothing brings a community together like sport and nothing improves a bottom line like an extra couple of thousand or more fans on average at home games. I can speak directly to this point as I’ve been adopted into the very fabric of the FC Ryukyu supporter crew and I have intimate knowledge of the simplicity on exposing the Expat community to FC Ryukyu. The best part it is, it is all but free and gift wrapped for the club if they wish to pursue this endeavor. They didn’t last year, and I can sympathize as to why, but they should really consider it this year if they wish to achieve their financial goals in the interim.
2. Flyers in every window of every convenience store on Okinawa. Much like I see from the Kings, simply putting the thought of the club in everyone’s mind as they approach a store front could do more than handing out flyers. Even more so, leave nothing to chance and market this club from Cape Kyan (Itoman) to Cape Hedo (Hedo Point!). Just to drive that nail home, don’t forget the outlying islands of the Okinawa as well.
3. Signage at the Naha Airport and in Naha city. This is one step in a much larger process but at least getting banners and signage in high trafficked areas is important and absolutely necessary. In fact, I can recall a Ryukyu Golden Kings Billboard in the heart of Naha near some popular eateries but saw nothing of FC Ryukyu all last year.
Getting the fans to the stadium and keeping them there!
There is no doubt that weather is crazy here in Okinawa. Heat, humidity, rain and the occasional typhoon make attending matches a constant struggle in a completely exposed environment. Also, if you’ve never driven around Okinawa, then you don’t understand the problem of commute times with numerous traffic lights or the lack of parking. We can all agree there is nothing that FC Ryukyu can do to improve the weather or infrastructure here on Okinawa, and to their credit, they have found creative ways to mitigate some of the factors. Busing in fans, off-site parking with transportation and child care are but three of the more successful ideas the club instituted in 2019. But at what cost? I have no numbers to indicate that any of these were beneficial to the club but do see that the busing in of fans from Naha and ability to reserve parking the near the stadium have continued.
4. Continue all the programs offered in 2019 into 2020 with the caveat that buses should depart from areas north of the stadium as well. Offer pickup points at subway/rail stops up to the stadium and begin tapping the market North of Okinawa City. Plenty of fans would rather not deal with finding parking compared to cost-efficient transportation to and from games. Discount the cost of transportation to season pass holders and offer single/multiple game packages with transportation to those without a season pass. There is a rich untapped market North of Okinawa City (Ishikawa & Nago) that should be brought into the fold for 2020.
5. Offer flexible season and multiple game packages. There are currently 2 choices for season packages, full and half season. Well, FC Ryukyu should offer everything from 3, 5, 10, 15, and 21 game passes that allow the customer to choose which games to attend or offer packages for games with historically low attendance levels from 2019. There is no doubt that some will choose the most popular, or better weather games, but at least you’ve got the advance ticket sales.
6. Create a “tailgate” atmosphere around the stadium. I can speak at volumes on this subject but I will be brief. There are hundreds of fans milling about outside the stadium prior to matches. Not all are frequenting the vendors nor purchasing merchandise. Create an atmosphere around the grounds in which people want to arrive 2 to 3 hours prior to kickoff. Allow local bands, at no cost to the club (outside of coordinating noise ordinance laws), host fan events, have a “hype” man walking around getting the crowd ready for the match and frequenting sponsors stalls. Bring the two opposing sets of fans together with friendly games. Just be different and trendsetting compared to so many stadium atmospheres around the J League.
7. After the game is over you want to do all you can to maximize merchandise sales but also take care of the fans. That starts with working with local authorities (i.e. the Japanese Police) to control traffic flow out of the stadium. The surrounding road arteries are always congested as all the lights in Okinawa operate on the antiquated timer system creating choke points. Additionally, work with local cab/daiko companies to have a designated taxi/daiko stands to transport fans away from games. Finally, offer a lighted/marked path for all fans to utilize the bus stops near the stadium.
Don’t Fight the Tide
8. The Ryukyu Golden Kings are the kings when it comes to marketing. Work with them, not against them. FC Ryukyu are not direct competitors for fans as their seasons only overlap for part of the year (OCT, NOV, FEB & MAR). Offer the “Total Okinawa Sports Experience” that includes a Golden Kings and FC Ryukyu game package at discounted prices within a weekend. Plus add any other sport like Asteeda Table Tennis to maybe wrap a Friday to Sunday package. Better to establish the bonds now instead of when the Ryukyu Blue Oceans Baseball team starts up and begins sucking the life blood from FC Ryukyu fan base in the form of ticket sales.
Loud & Clear Message
9. People want nothing more to assimilate with a group, a purpose, or a team. Well I am here to tell you that one way to achieve that for a sports team is to deliver merchandise in a quick and timely manner. I am assuming that FC Ryukyu cannot produce a surplus of goods hoping to sell them throughout a season. But the inverse is also as excruciating. The amount of time from “click” to “order complete” to “delivery’ needs to cut down substantially for FC Ryukyu. We want and need access to that merchandise quickly.
For the Okinawa’s from the Okinawan’s
The hardest entry that deserves the most mental rigor. How can we change the fundamental thinking of spending money on sports here in Okinawa? Simply put, you win the whole “fuckin$ thing.” The words made famous by the film Major League, you defy and surpass everyone’s expectation. Truth is FC Ryukyu did this in 2018 by winning the J3 title and carrying forward a 36 game home unbeaten streak that still couldn’t produce the attendance levels one would assume should occur after a side hadn’t lost at home in over 2 years. So what can be done?
10. Begin groundbreaking on new facilities for the club. The training grounds and new stadium seem to be years away and that is not good. We need to instill a desire for players around Japan to come to the club, and not depart for higher wages. It is not as if Okinawa is so remote compared to some of the places that I attended games in 2019. There is a lot to offer for both the married and single footballer here in Okinawa and the facilities need to match.
11. A finish near the J1/J2 playoff bracket would certainly be a start. There is constant talk of getting to the J1, but we need to build the fan base up first. I could see why the club may ignore the idea of marketing to the large American community on Okinawa in favor of building a local fan base, as you never know what could happen with the American presence on Okinawa. But, for now, half full stadiums and limited revenue will only see the perpetuation of FC Ryukyu selling their top talent at the end of every season.
A New Hope
It is not as bleak as it may sound for FC Ryukyu here in Okinawa and in fact, there is massive potential. If you simply took a cab ride North from Naha, you would see what looks like one large, intertwined city. This is great news for the club. Unlike towns with populations that max at around 250,000, Okinawa has a population of 1,452,000, with roughly 60% (829,000) of that total population contained within 6 cities of Okinawa that border each other (Naha, Urasoe, Ginowan, Chatan, Okinawa City and Uruma). That is a city of nearly 1,000,000 people within 16 miles of one another.
You could make the argument that there is no rail system and that transportation is tough, but is all the more reason to build the new stadium in Naha as well as improve on how these fans could get to the stadium each week.
Conclusion
All in all, it was a very successful season for FC Ryukyu in the J2 last year. Any newly promoted team always faces the harsh reality of getting demoted, see Kagoshima last season. FC Ryukyu will continue to struggle to draw the large crowds required to fund a serious run at the J1 until they can move out of the Tapic Kenso Hiyagon Stadium and into a ground they can call their own. In the meantime, the club, and its fans, need to find new ways to draw locals to the stadium. 7,500 fans per game is the mark on the wall for 2020. Challenge Accepted!
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