A Match Made in Valhalla
Spring Fever
Spring is here! After a long cold winter, it is comforting to see lawns turning green, blue skies, and people outdoors. Department stores have their lawn and garden sections open, and yard games are on display. Who doesn’t love a good yard game? Lawn darts (a lot safer than the hazardous version I grew up with), cornhole, ladder toss, and kubb. “What is kubb,” you ask? Kubb (pronounced “koob”) is a yard game of Nordic origins that simply involves throwing wooden pieces at an opponent’s wooden pieces and knocking them over (Guyah, 2017). Once all your opponent’s pieces are knocked over, you then knock down the king piece. Victory goes to the first person or team that knocks over the king. Some say the sport’s history traces back to the Vikings who used bones and skulls from their enemies as game pieces after a successful pillage (Guyah, 2017). You will even hear kubb being referred to as “Viking Chess.” As to how it evolved to the fun family-friendly game it is known as today will be a secret forever lost in history.
Family Business
Yardgames.com is a company that specializes in building yard games. In 2008 the founder was introduced to kubb and began building kubb sets in his garage (Yardgames.com, 2018). The company states they are a family-focused, family-run business that helps create lasting memories with their games. Yardgames.com has expanded to build a variety of quality yard games at affordable prices (Yardgames.com, 2018). Having played kubb myself, and purchasing my first set, I was surprised at the high cost of available options. This was until I discovered Yardgames.com. I feel that Yardgames.com has a very good quality product with fair prices. Kubb sets are sold on Yardgames.com (2018) for as low as $49.99.
Yardgames.com has links to their Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube profiles (Yardgames.com, 2018). The company also has a Twitter account (not linked at their home page). Although these social media platforms provide for opportunities to interact with their customers, they are not posting to any of the accounts consistently. This company could benefit from an influencer to help provide content and give fans someone to connect with.
Viking Raiders
There is an interesting tag team in WWE (an entertainment company recognized for professional wrestling) known as the Viking Raiders. The wrestling duo consists of two Vikings named Erik and Ivar. Erik and Ivar dress and talk as we have seen Vikings portrayed in cartoons, comics, and movies. The Viking Raiders’ popularity has grown through the years. Much of their fame is from their 98-day streak as reigning Raw Tag Team Champions (Wikipedia, 2021). The Viking Raiders also put together entertaining matches often utilizing their double-team finisher (Thor’s Hammer) to defeat their foes.
A Match Made in Valhalla
Erik and Ivar are two separate people but one as a team. I would like to see the Viking Raiders team up as an influencer tag-team to interact with Yardgames.com customers while promoting their kubb sets. The obvious connection is the influence of Viking lore. The reasons for a collaboration with Viking Raiders and Yardgames.com extend beyond that of a Viking connection.
During the summer of 2020, the Viking Raiders had a friendly rivalry with the flamboyant Street Profits. Their competition went from the wrestling ring to basketball courts, miniature golf courses, axe throwing ranges, bowling alleys, and more. Seeing the Viking Raiders participate in a series of unconventional (from pro wrestling) activities makes it believable that Erik and Ivar would play yard games and even challenge the Street Profits to a friendly game of kubb.
WWE has a wide viewership but their aging demographic is primarily males at around 50 years of age (Collings, 2020). Finding demographics for kubb players is difficult but Trent Henkaline (the owner and CEO of the American Cornhole Association) estimates the most active group of cornhole players is males from ages 21 through 45 (Sprecher, 2017). While cornhole isn’t the same sport as kubb, they both fit in the same yard game niche. Cornhole sets are also sold by Yardgames.com. An already overlapping demographic between kubb and professional wrestling fans could mutually benefit both parties. Yardgames.com could gain exposure, and WWE might generate interest with a younger audience.
The final reason for a Viking Raiders kubb relationship is the presence of Erik and Ivar on social media. Erik and Ivar both are active on Twitter and Instagram (two platforms that Yardgames.com have accounts on). Erik boasts 71.4 thousand followers on his Twitter account (@Erik_WWE), and 238 thousand followers on his Instagram (@rowesborgtv). Ivar has a following of 59.2 thousand fans on Twitter (@Ivar_WWE) with 132 thousand followers on Instagram (@ivar_wwe). Both wrestlers interact with fans and colleagues from the industry. They both share content focused on their everyday life with family, friends, and pets. The Viking Raiders possess the three R’s of influencing (relevance, reach, resonance) which is essential for influencers (Blitch, 2021, slide 14). The hashtag #JoinTheRaid is often used with the Viking Raiders, and would be fun to see incorporated with kubb-related content.
Conclusion
It makes sense to one day see Viking Raiders and Yardgames.com join clans in an alliance. A special Erik vs. Ivar edition of kubb being played in front of us over Twitter and Instagram would be enjoyable for fans, and generate traffic and sales to Yardgames.com. I would not only be interested in monitoring growth of social media interaction and brand reach of Yardgames.com but also any popularity boost in general among the kubb community.
References
Blitch, Kristin. (2021). Influencer Marketing & Message [Lecture presentation].
Collings, J. (2020, February 14). Views from the turnbuckle: Why can’t WWE attract younger viewers? Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2020/02/views-from-the-turnbuckle-why-cant-wwe-attract-younger-666397/
Guyah, R. (2017, June). What is Kubb? Viking Magazine, 18–23.doi: http://www.usakubb.org/resources/Media/Viking%20Magazine.pdf
Sprecher, M. H. (2017, November 29). Inside events: American Cornhole association. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://www.sportsdestinations.com/sports/individual-sports/inside-events-american-cornhole-association-13843
Wikipedia. (2021, February 25). The Viking Raiders. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Viking_Raiders
Yardgames.com. (2018). About YARDGAMES.COM: Indoor & OUTDOOR family games. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from https://yardgames.com/pages/about-us
