Does Branding Through Social Media Work for Teams?

by Lewis Howes | September 2nd, 2010 | View Comments

(This is a Guest Post by Joseph Yi)

Sitting on a panel with some of the Bay areas leading social media professionals from teams like the San Francisco Giants and Sacramento Kings, a recurring discussion was the benefits that social media had as a branding tool. While we’ve seen plenty of examples on how athletes are using social media as a public relations and branding tool, many forget about the teams themselves.

With nearly every professional sports team having some presence on Facebook and Twitter, sports teams are faced with the difficult decision of having to decide how their organization and brand will interact with fans.

Before moving forward though and discussing how sports teams are using social media to maximize their brand exposure, we need to take a step back to look at how sports teams first used social media.

In its’ earliest stages of adoption, sports teams used social media primarily as a news feed where they could post updates and articles. While there was nothing wrong with this, sports teams weren’t maximizing its potential. With minimal fan interaction, little direction as far as best practices and strategies, and their respective leagues trying to develop digital media rules, sports teams were essentially driving blindly through social networks.

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What We Can Learn About Branding from Stephen Strasburg’s Injury

by Sam Taggart | September 1st, 2010 | View Comments

Did we just witness the entirety of Stephen Strasburg’s professional baseball career in the span of mere months? I doubt it, given that the success rate of Tommy John’s surgery is over 90%, but it is a possibility.

Strasburg is one of the most hyped players in professional sports in recent memory and he was living up to the buzz in his first season. Not only was he delivering on the mound, with 98-100 MPH fastballs and dirty curveballs, but he was generating more television viewers, ballpark visitors, and straight cash for the game of baseball, a sport which is still struggling somewhat from the Steroids Era.

Many have called Strasburg’s injury a “sad day for baseball.” And it is. But let’s forget about the game for a moment and think about the individual. What a potentially awful day for Stephen Strasburg.

Considering that significant injuries happen all the time in sports (St. Louis Rams’ wide receiver Donny Avery tore his ACL last week, for example, and is out for the season), and that we live in a time where personal branding has become so important, is it foolish for any professional athlete, Stephen Strasburg or not, to not be focusing on building their brand off the field?

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Lessons We Can Learn from the Dallas Cowboys

by Michelle Hill | August 31st, 2010 | View Comments

On August 26th, I drove over two hours in my 14-year old car with over 240,000 miles on it (yes, it’s a Honda) on my almost-yearly trek, to attend my beloved Dallas Cowboys training camp at River Ridge Field in Oxnard, CA. Except for the fans who stay at the Marriott Residence Inn next door, the rest of us park in a half dirt/half mud parking lot that really should only allow dune buggies and 4-wheelers.

We all pay $10.00 for a parking space and while we’re watching our Cowboys train, a big truck maneuvers through the “parking lot,” row by row, to water down the dirt and mud which sprays that same dirt and mud all over the cars and trucks. The water truck does not just give a mere sprinkling; it’s like the force escaping from a fire hydrant. But, it’s all part of the fan experience.

Anyway, for 9:15 a.m. practice, I stood at the 50-yard line, behind the fence that surrounds the entire field. Official-looking city volunteers with official-looking badges manage the crowd and exchange friendly banter. I was amidst hundreds of other fans, some highly annoying in their fan-like behavior. One fan screams over and over at the top of her lungs, “Miles, I love you Miles.” I overheard comments from those around her to the effect of, “maybe she’ll lose her voice…” Oh well, every fan exhibits their affection in their own personal style – she provided some laughs and entertainment along the way. For the most part, Cowboys fans are good-natured, friendly, non-violent fans.

As I watched the 3:15 p.m. practice drills from the end zone, I observed a few lessons we can all take to heart:

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Chinese Athletic Brand Makes Sponsorship Splash

by Ben Sturner | August 30th, 2010 | View Comments

We have teamed up with Ben Sturner and his extraordinary crew at Leverage Agency to bring you the top five movers and shakers each week in the world of sports sponsorships and marketing.

Top Chinese Athletic Brand Signs NBA’s Evan Turner

For years, we’ve been talking about the importance of American sports brands, including shoe companies like Nike, getting into China. We haven’t talked as much about Chinese shoe companies getting into this country.

That’s about to change. CNBC has exclusively learned that Li-Ning, China’s top athletic brand, has signed Evan Turner, the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft to a multi-year deal that will make him the face of the brand.

Wal-Mart to climb aboard Gordon’s car?

Wal-Mart’s potential move into NASCAR has led the retail giant deep into negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports over sponsorship of Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet next season.

There continue to be several moving parts to the Wal-Mart discussions with Hendrick and NASCAR, which began in the spring and have progressed through the summer. Wal-Mart’s play could have tentacles in both sponsorship and licensing at the team and league level, according to industry sources.

The retailer has been hesitant to spend money on sports sponsorships in the past, so Wal-Mart’s entrance to NASCAR would provide a huge boost to a sport that has been ravaged by the recession and attracted little new sponsorship money in the last two seasons.

Shift would allow sponsor logos on swimwear

Soccer has corporate logos on jerseys, and NASCAR has them on cars. Soon swimmers could have them on swimsuits.

USA Swimming is considering amending its swimwear rules to allow professional and amateur swimmers to wear two corporate logos on their suits, caps, goggles and other clothing. If the rule is approved by USA Swimming’s board in September, swimmers will be able to wear the logos on their suits and caps for the first time at USA Swimming events.

To date, swimmers have been allowed to wear only the trademark logo of their suit, cap or goggle manufacturer. The new rule would allow them to wear the logo of any corporation provided it is not associated with tobacco, alcohol or pharmaceuticals that contain banned substances. Logos could even conflict with existing USA Swimming partners.

Suiting Up in Jerseys Suitable for Women

The campaign, called “N.F.L. Women’s Apparel, Fit For You,” takes an approach to marketing clothing that is meant to be both fashionable and sporty. While jerseys and T-shirts for women have been available on Web sites like nflshop.com and in catalogs, this is the first time the league has dedicated a campaign to apparel for women.

If the terms “fashionable” and “football jersey” seem contradictory, that may be because of the way jerseys have been made.

The league has carried women’s attire for the last 10 years, but followed the “shrink it and pink it” philosophy of taking a man’s jersey and making it smaller and, well, pink.

Discover To Serve As New Orange Bowl Game Title Sponsor

Discover Financial Services, the Orange Bowl Committee and ESPN announced today that an agreement has been reached for Discover to be the title sponsor for the 2011-2014 Orange Bowl Games and the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. The Orange Bowl Game will be known as the “Discover Orange Bowl” and the 2013 BCS National Championship game to be hosted by the Orange Bowl in South Florida will be named the “2013 Discover BCS National Championship Game.” Under the partnership, Discover will be the official card of the Orange Bowl and the Bowl Championship Series.

In conjunction with this new alliance, a new game mark has been developed that will be incorporated into all Discover Orange Bowl and BCS-related materials.

The four-year deal includes the multi-media integration of Discover as part of ESPN’s season-long college football coverage and marketing.

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Image by aresauburnphotos

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Loyalty in the National Basketball Association

by Sam Chan | August 27th, 2010 | View Comments

NBA All-Star Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat recently made headlines being quoted for saying that loyalty has no place in free agency. Bosh mentions that at a store, you’d go to a store that has the cheaper price for your item, so how is basketball any different? You go where it makes sense for you.

I admit I was a bit shocked by Bosh’s comments because I am a fan of Chris Bosh and I respect everything he does on and off the court. While his new teammate LeBron James was busy rubbing it in Cleveland’s face, Bosh chose the high road and thanked all his Toronto fans for his time there. However, in this case – I have to disagree with Bosh. Just because sports are a business does not mean loyalty should be “an added bonus” as he puts it.

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Creating Brand Advocates Through Word of Mouth

by Lewis Howes | August 26th, 2010 | View Comments

(This is a guest post by Daniel McLaren)

This is another side to Social Media that is often overlooked, when organisations plan their online approach yet can be as important, if not more so than having a Facebook/Twitter page.

A old approach that has taken on a new meaning and been opened up by social media is creating brand advocates and generating positive ‘Word of Mouth’. This is important because you as a brand can only generate a certain amount of trust in what you say to people.

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PGA misses PR Opportunity with Fans

by Gail Sideman | August 25th, 2010 | View Comments

A couple of weeks ago I was faced with a challenge unlike anything I’d experienced in the last few years while attending the Professional Golf Association’s premier event – the PGA Championship — at the beautiful Whistling Straights golf course in Kohler, Wis. I went to the tourney as a fan, not as a member of the media, which limited my communication throughout the day.

According to PGA rules, I was not allowed to bring a phone or mobile device of any kind (which in my case, are one in the same) into the venue. I could deal with having to silence my phone, but to be removed from social media and email was trying for someone who depends on those tools to run and monitor a publicity business.

After all, I was pretty excited about the prospects of how I could monitor other holes from my iPhone – the PGA touted its apps like few other organizations do. But they weren’t app-licable to me. I was there.

As it turns out, it was a Friday in August and people who may have contacted me were either at the beach or cutting their days short so correspondence wasn’t crucial. There’s always that “what if” though, and I was nervous that the biggest opportunity of my career might come across in a tweet while I was incommunicado.

Alas, all remained calm on the social media front.

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How to Become General Manager of a Major League Baseball Team

by Lewis Howes | August 24th, 2010 | View Comments

I connected with Mark Shapiro two years ago at the Princeton Sports Symposium, and had a great time getting to know more about his professional career in Major League Baseball. He came from humble upbringings, but through his hard work and perseverance, he worked his way up to become the Vice President and General Manager of the Cleveland Indians and was recently promoted to become team president for the club next season. Mark’s journey has been an inspiring one and his zero-to-hero story has something that we can all take away in our own journey to success in the sports world.

In the following video, he explains the steps he took and what got him to where he is today:

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Interception

by Michelle Hill | August 23rd, 2010 | View Comments

According to Wikipedia, “an interception is a very specialized move that occurs when a quarterback’s pass is caught by a player on the opposing team.

This leads to an immediate change of possession during the play: the defender who caught the ball immediately assumes the role of the offense and attempts to move the ball as far towards the opposing goal as possible. Following the stoppage of play, if the interceptor retained possession of the ball, their team takes over possession at the spot where he was downed.”

That’s the long version. However, according to the player who got intercepted, it’s simply a pick. We’ve all seen how an interception can change the course and momentum of a game. When it happens, the main goal of the team who lost the ball to get it back as fast as they can before the opposing team capitalizes on the pick.

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Recap: Social Media Basketball

by Sam Taggart | August 20th, 2010 | View Comments

A couple of months ago, NYC-based social media agency Carrot Creative challenged the agency I work for, VaynerMedia to a game of basketball. “Hey @vaynermedia,” they tweeted, “Since our comps are the 2 best Sports Social Media Shops It is time to battle it out on the Basketball court! #challenge.” Of course, we accepted the challenge and played the game. VaynerMedia won, 61-41.

The Website

Carrot created a fantastic microsite for the game, called SocialMediaBasketball.com. They included both teams’ starting rosters, complete with names, nicknames, and the ability to follow all of us on Twitter. Even cooler? Visitors had the ability to “like” the team they were rooting for / thought would win. Finally, a live feed featured anyone who tweeted about the game with the hashtag #CCvsVM.

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