The UFC had a pretty decent rewards program, where you could earn points for things like visiting the website, reading articles, posting on Twitter with their hashtags, and stuff like that. I enjoyed the program, and usually made sure to get my points each day. There were various rewards available, usually a range of tickets to events, memorabilia, and digital subscriptions.
Shortly after the UFC was purchased by William Morris Endeavor-International Marketing Group, I got an e-mail that the program was closing down and that any points earned needed to be used by a certain date.
I hadn't accumulated many points yet, so I was limited mostly to autographed 8" x 10" photos of fighters outside of the top tiers of popularity. Out of the choices available in my points range, Felice Herrig seemed to be the best of the bunch. The site said it would take several weeks to process the order, and it did take about two months to ship out from Fanatics.com. It's got a nice big signature in silver ink and a hologram sticker with a number that can be input on the Fanatics website for verification. It's probably not something I'd go out and purchase on my own, but it's pretty cool as a free reward. Herrig has a fight coming up in February against Alexa Grasso. A win might put her into the Top 15 in the Women's Strawweight rankings.
I was kind of disappointed to see the points program go away. I'm sure they had their reasons for it ($), but for me the points program did the job of keeping me engaged with the UFC's online presence. I don't visit their website as often anymore, and I am not usually motivated to Tweet or read their articles. Maybe I am an outlier in that regard, but they lost my attention a little bit by taking those little rewards away.
Tonight is UFC 207, with the much-hyped return of Ronda Rousey to the Octagon. I will be watching to see how she does against current Champion Amanda Nunes. A fighter whose cards I collect, Neil Magny, is also on the fight card, so I am excited to see that fight. There are a few other good bouts on the card. Hopefully it will be a good event.
I'm not too familiar with the UFC, but that's a pretty interesting rewards set up. Fans have a reason to talk up the sport and the UFC gets a ton of exposure. It's a shame to see that model pass by the wayside. I know I'd tweet every stupid hashtag I could if MLB were to offer me memorabilia for it.
ReplyDeleteIt was a really cool setup. For my level of activity it probably would have amounted to an autographed photo per year, but it kept me engaged in their product every single day. MLB might have too many fans for that kind of system to work. Maybe. I don't really know what it would cost logistically to support that sort of thing. It just seems like it would be easier with a smaller fanbase.
DeleteBummer. I never heard of their points program, but it's a great idea. And that autograph is very cool. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteIt is a great idea. I was pretty disappointed to see it go. There were a few prizes I was saving up for, but it would have taken a couple of years to save enough points. This was a pretty good consolation prize.
Delete