There are many arguments for owning a television.
If you own one, you'll be able to observe the 2010 World Cup from 90 different camera angles. You'll be able to pause the live action while you go to the toilet and make some nachos. You'll have the best seat in the stadium, with Jonathan Pearce giving you the lowdown and Alan Hanson giving you valuable pub quiz ammunition. All at the flick of a button, in the warmth of your own home with some cold beers.
Alternatively, you could attend. You could travel to South Africa to watch the World Cup. It'll cost a fortune, you'll have to queue up to get in and your seat will be so far from the pitch that you'd be better off watching the match on Google Earth. The guy in front will be wearing a stripy afro and a Les Battersby lookalike will be sat next to you making you deaf in one ear.
Attend or observe?
If you're one of those people who isn't really that bothered about the World Cup, you'll probably observe. Even if you like the World Cup, you'll still probably observe. That's OK, millions of people around the world do the same.
However, the true die-hard fans will attend. They'll make sacrifices to buy the tickets, work overtime to afford the plane fare. They'll do everything they can to pay more for what is (on paper) an inferior product when compared to what the TV can offer.
Why? Because TV can't give you the atmosphere, the feeling of being part of a tribe that is unified in support of one thing. It can't communicate the most basic primal instincts that form the collective consciousness of a football crowd.
These die hard supporters, the people who will attend, are the most important people in your audience. They only make up a fraction of the people who see what you do, but they'll extol the virtues of what you do beyond reason (or price).
These are the people who have the power to tell you what your brand is, because however they feel, they're right.
