Field Position

Before you buy another camera, lens or piece of gear, ask yourself one question: what job are we trying to do?

In Episode 8 of The Attention Game, Dixie breaks down what actually belongs in a tournament media kit and why more expensive equipment doesn't automatically create better content.

This episode covers:

• Why you should choose equipment based on the output and capability you need.
• The difference between phone, hybrid and more advanced media operations.
• Why expensive equipment can't rescue a boring story.
• When smaller cameras and phones can actually work better.
• Why good audio should be one of your biggest priorities.
• The boring but essential gear batteries, chargers, memory cards, storage, cables and power.
• How to protect your equipment in real tournament conditions.
• How better production capability can create stronger commercial assets for sponsors.

The goal isn't to own more gear. It's to build a kit that helps you capture the right story, work efficiently and reliably deliver the content you need.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Great tournament content might look creative from the outside. Behind it is something considerably less glamorous: logistics.

In Episode 7 of The Attention Game, Dixie breaks down the production workflow required to turn raw footage into content that actually reaches your audience.

This episode covers:

• The plan, capture, transfer, select, edit, approve, publish and archive workflow.
• Why unpublished footage isn't content, it's storage.
• How working backwards from your required outputs prevents unnecessary capture.
• Why your biggest bottleneck might be editing and publishing, not filming.
• The must, should and could framework for prioritising content.
• How to build a simple file transfer and storage system.
• Why not everything you capture deserves to be edited.
• How complicated approval processes can kill tournament-speed execution.
• Why your raw media should be treated as a long-term organisational asset.

Capturing more isn't the objective. The goal is building a production system that can consistently turn what you capture into something useful.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

The final whistle ends the tournament. It shouldn't end your media strategy.

Tournament weekends can generate some of the biggest attention your team sees all year new followers, increased reach, player recognition and highly shareable content. But reach isn't retention, and a spike in attention doesn't automatically mean you've built an audience.

In Episode 6 of The Attention Game, Dixie breaks down what happens next.

This episode covers:

• Why tournament attention is borrowed attention.
• The difference between reach, followers and genuine support.
• How to move people through discovery, recognition, affinity, participation and advocacy.
• What to publish in the first 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours after a tournament.
• Why human stories have a longer shelf life than results.
• How to use photography, behind-the-scenes moments and hero content strategically.
• Why unfinished tournament stories can create content for months.
• How to build a content asset library instead of treating media as disposable.

Getting attention is one challenge. Keeping it is something completely different.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Take your current sponsorship proposal and remove every logo placement. What’s left?

In Episode 5 of The Attention Game, Dixie challenges sporting teams to rethink sponsorship as a commercial exchange, rather than simply asking businesses to help cover the costs of competing.

This episode covers:

• Why your need for funding isn't a sponsor's business problem.
• Why gold, silver and bronze packages can limit commercial opportunities.
• How to understand what a potential partner is actually trying to achieve.
• Why knowing who your audience is matters more than simply reporting follower numbers.
• How to identify commercial assets beyond jerseys, signage and logos.
• How players, stories, photography, video, events and community relationships can create commercial value.
• Why securing the sponsorship is only the beginning.
• How strong delivery, communication and reporting can help build longer-term commercial relationships.

The shift is simple: stop asking “What can we sell a sponsor?” and start asking “What could we create together that helps this business achieve something that matters?”

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Tournament media gets chaotic quickly.

Games run late. Players disappear. You’ve got hundreds of photos to sort, results to publish, interviews to capture and sponsor commitments to deliver all while trying to decide what content actually matters.

In Episode 4 of The Attention Game, Dixie breaks down how to build a tournament media operation that can handle the pressure.

This episode covers:

• Why tournament media should operate like a live newsroom.
• The now, today, this week and evergreen framework for deciding when content should be published.
• How to prioritise must capture, should capture and nice to capture content.
• Why clear ownership across capturing, editing, publishing and sponsor delivery matters.
• What to pre-build before tournament weekend.
• How to use fast, standard and hero production levels.
• How to turn tournament content into longer-term brand and commercial assets.

The goal isn't to capture everything. It's to know what matters, who owns it, when it needs to go out and what can wait.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

If someone knows nothing about your team, isn't from your town and isn't connected to a player why should they choose to follow you?

In Episode 3 of The Attention Game, Dixie explores positioning and how sporting teams can become recognisable for something beyond their logo, jersey or results.

This episode covers:

• The difference between visibility, reputation and positioning.
• Why generic statements about family, pride and community don't necessarily differentiate you.
• Why evidence beats adjectives.
• How your people, history and behaviour shape your brand.
• How to identify three things you genuinely want your team to be known for.
• Why can your people become your strongest positioning?
• The 20-Post Test for assessing what your content currently communicates.
• How clear positioning makes content decisions easier.
• Why distinctive positioning also creates commercial value for partners.

Your brand already exists. The question is whether you're intentionally shaping it.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Your team account isn't your entire audience.

Every player arrives with connections to clubs, towns, families, communities, workplaces and sporting networks creating opportunities to reach people well beyond your existing followers.

In Episode 2 of The Attention Game, Dixie explores how to identify and intentionally activate those networks.

This episode covers:

• The difference between your owned audience and networked audience.
• How to map the networks surrounding each player.
• Why follower count doesn't necessarily equal influence or connection.
• Why a 25-player squad is potentially 25 different storytelling and distribution opportunities.
• How player stories create new entry points into your team.
• Why your biggest-name player isn't always your strongest story.
• How to create content players actually want to share.
• Why recognising junior clubs, previous teams, families and communities expands relevance.
• How player and team brands can grow together.

Players can create discovery. Your team brand needs to give people a reason to stay.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Your tournament doesn't start when you arrive. Your campaign should start 30 days before kick-off.

In Episode 1 of The Attention Game, Dixie breaks down how teams can use the lead-up to a tournament to build recognition, introduce their people and give audiences a reason to care before the first game.

This episode covers:

• Why tournaments should be treated as campaigns, not just events.
• Why brand strategy needs to come before deciding what to post.
• How to establish what you want your team to be known for.
• Why introducing your people early makes sporting moments more meaningful.
• The Identity → People → Story → Momentum framework.
• The difference between simply sharing information and publishing with intent.
• How one organised content session can create weeks of assets.
• Why your pre-tournament campaign can also create commercial value for sponsors.

The objective isn't to arrive at the tournament and hope somebody notices you. Arrive with people already looking for you.

Download The Attention Game Toolkit — FREE https://mailchi.mp/studiowest/free-resource-the-attention-game 

Field Position is the next iteration of Dixie Crawford's work across sport, storytelling, brand and business.

A lifelong rugby league lover with a deep connection to the Koori Knockout, Dixie has spent years working across branding, communications, business development and strategy while increasingly finding herself behind the camera and on the sidelines of grassroots sport.

In many ways, it all traces back to the Knockout.

Sideline Sister grew from it. Studio West followed. Then came more time with clubs, players and communities, telling stories and seeing first-hand the enormous value that exists around sport beyond the scoreboard.

Field Position brings those experiences together.

It's a podcast about the business and brand of sport, exploring how clubs, teams and athletes can intentionally build reputation, audiences, stronger stories and long-term commercial value.

It's not simply about creating more content or chasing social media numbers. It's about understanding what makes sporting organisations valuable, making that value visible and using media and storytelling more strategically.

For Dixie, Field Position represents the evolution of everything that came before it — rugby league, the Koori Knockout, Sideline Sister, Studio West, business, branding, communications and everything in between.

And it starts with The Attention Game.