Catherine Frethey-Bentham: Warriors need to say sorry to fans

Simon Mannering of the Warriors leaves the field following the round 6 NRL match against the Bulldogs. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

While it's been a bad week for the New Zealand Warriors, the club should take comfort in the fact that the global sports industry is frequently rocked with scandals greater than this. What happens next, however, is crucial - for the club, its brand, owners, management, players and fans.

Recovery is possible. The Warriors need to apologise to supporters for the disappointment they have experienced. They need to make this apology personal, sincere and evident. They should consider how best to communicate directly with fans and avoid miscommunication - digital media avenues may provide opportunities for their management here.

The club also need to be open, honest and transparent. In the business world, we only need to look to Fonterra's lack of transparency in their crises management, where the public became increasingly disgruntled when issues were not tackled head-on, resulting in severely damaged brand equity that has been described as "one of the greatest gifts the company could have given to a Chinese government that's focused on rebuilding its domestic dairy industry".

This provides a good lesson for any brand facing a PR disaster. The Warriors need to work hard now to ensure that this situation doesn't do any serious long-term damage.

Management also need to demonstrate their commitment for future turnaround and present a professional front.

Lastly, at the very highest level, the Warriors need a strategy which all stakeholders buy into ... one that demonstrates continuity and promotes confidence. That will guarantee that decisions are made logically and strategically without being susceptible to knee-jerk reactions.

However, don't be lulled by these words. The implications for the Warriors brand, both short- and long-term, are serious. It is clear that the club is struggling with its overall strategy as well as communication breakdowns from the board and owners down, and a lack of continuity with coaching staff. Research shows that, not surprisingly, improvements in communication by firms lead to a number of positive outcomes.

While this research is based on commercial entities, the same can be applied to sports teams - evidence shows that teams with management/coaching changes have a greater loss record on average.

It is highly possible that these factors will impact on performance on the field ... and the hard fact is that winning teams sell tickets.

However, evidence shows the management problems in sports teams can harm the brand beyond on-field performance. For example, it can lead to sponsors pulling out and reduced goodwill among fans. The public dispute between Eric Watson and Sir Owen Glenn over future ownership is an indication that this is happening at the Warriors now.

Over time, all of these factors can lead to erosion of brand equity.

The National Basketball Association and National Hockey League in the United States and Canada are good examples of turmoil within sports franchises. Their problems have led to cancelled games, bad media coverage and lost gate revenue - much more widespread management crises than the issues the Warriors management face.

That might feel like cold comfort for management at the Warriors this week. What they do from now on is critical to what happens next, and fans across the globe will be praying hard for recovery, transparency and strategy to get our team back on top of its game.

Catherine Frethey-Bentham is a senior marketing lecturer with the University of Auckland Business School, and a Warriors fan.