(This is a guest article by Aaress Lawless)
The legacy of the sport of tennis lies steeped in tradition. From the pristine lawns of Wimbledon to the earth of Roland Garros, tennis’ past has governed the game of the present. Change is slow, the old ways are revered, and unlike other sports, tennis has evolved little since the modern game took shape in the 18th century.
But a new era of technology is ushering in sweeping changes for a sport which has a reputation for being behind the times. Equal prize money at Wimbledon did not arrive until 2007, 123 years after women first graced the Championships with their flowing skirts. Ironically, tennis has not been so slow to respond to the latest trend attacking the baseline—-social media.
While social media has untold advantages to many industries, it particularly is appealing to tennis. The tennis season is the longest of all major sports, lasting over ten months and with tournaments in over thirty nations. Logistical complexities such as the time differences, tournament accessibility and mediocre television coverage have frustrated fans for years. But social media has stepped in as a new medium, allowing fans to consume the latest news at their own paces and schedules.
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Note: While this article is heavy on tech and social media, the following information is very important, and the implications for all of us in the sports industry are clear.
In case you weren’t aware, Facebook made some pretty big announcements at last week’s F8 Conference. Mashable‘s Pete Cashmore went so far as to say that Facebook “won the web.” In an F8 summary piece, my coworker, Neil Sarkar, summarized the announcements very well. “The shift boils down to this,” he wrote, “the barrier to entry for integrating Facebook’s social data into any site has been dramatically lowered.”
Social Plugins
At F8, Facebook released 8 social plugins. They are: Like Button, Activity Feed, Recommendations, Like Box, Login with Faces, Facepile, Comments, & Live Stream. Facebook calls them, “the easiest way to add Facebook to your site.” Take a look at the plugins when you have a chance. Facebook is admitting they don’t necessarily need to be the destination anymore. They want to be the Internet. Pretty soon, every site on the web will be Facebook-integrated. We won’t have to go to Facebook.com anymore to feel like we’re on Facebook. Take a look at NHL.com, for example:
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Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
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The role and compensation of a sports agent is often misunderstood by the public. A sports agent’s job is to market the athlete or the products associated with that athlete to promote the athletes career. The agent works to negotiate contracts that are in the best interest of the athlete. What we don’t see is the incredible amount of personal sacrifice it takes to acquire and manage each client.
A sports agent is available 24/7/365 for his clients. Hundreds of phone calls with players, their families, physicians, and sponsors. Countless meetings with team owners, managers, and coaches. NFL sports agents in particular spend an enormous amount of time negotiating contracts, including player injury provisions and public relations presence. Networking is a huge part of a sports agent’s daily life – it never stops.
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Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com
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Sports Networker returns to the international stage when it teams up with the UK Sports Network for an exciting sports professionals networking event at the Sports Bar & Grill in London.
The event will begin at 6:30 p.m on May 17, 2010, and sports professionals will have the opportunity to network in what will be one of London’s premier sports restaurants to watch the 2010 World Cup this summer.
The UK Sports Network is a group founded by Daniel McClaren that strives to share its expertise on sports social media and the industry’s latest trends with sports professionals. Since its inception, in November 2009, nearly 1,000 sports professionals now seek the insight and creativity that the UK Sports Network offers.
All sports professionals are welcome to attend this event and learn from the experts on social media and the latest developments in the sports industry. Admission is £10 GBP if you sign up now, and £15 GBP at the door. Stay posted for updates about the event by registering for it on LinkedIn here.
To receive early bird pricing and ensure your spot at this event (as there is limited spacing) register below and we look forward to seeing you at the event!
(This is a guest article by Dan Westervelt)
Mistake 1: We’ll rent a golf course that charges a $65 green fees and charge our golfers $165 to play in the event. While this may seem like a reasonable price you must remember that golfers are very familiar with the local courses and their green fees. Better to offer them a higher priced course to justify the increased fee, golfers will pay more for perceived value i.e. it is far easier to sell an event on a $150 course at $250 than a $65 course for $165.
HINT: Private club green fees are now definitely negotiable and sadly, people don’t bother to ask about them about their current rates, you will be surprised by doing so.
Mistake 2: Our format has always worked with our golfers so we’ll stick with what worked last year. The big problem with this thinking is that as golfers improve their needs change, for example a starting golfer is very happy to play in a scramble format. An advanced golfer probably is not, they either want to play their ball throughout the match or at least have a more hands on approach in play. SOLUTION: Before you announce the format, survey the golfers from last year, ask if they would prefer a change?
HINT: This should be a part of your regular tournament promotion activity anyway, as once you have hosted a golfer, you need to stay in touch with them about upcoming events and a short 3 question survey is the way to gain valuable information before making this mistake.
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Economical shifts in baseball have been in motion since 1997 when MLB officially granted the commissioner the power to unequally distribute the revenues from the Central Fund. Previously they were distributed equally. It was the fall of 2006 when the players association and MLB reached the current five-year agreement in which each team contributes 34% of their local revenues*. These local revenues are consisted of local television & cable rights fees, gate receipts, concessions, parking, suite rentals, postseason revenues, advertising & public relations, and spring training. Estimated that local revenues are 70% to 80% of teams’ total revenues, economic factors such as attendance, per capita income and other standard statistical census figures are largely responsible for the level of total revenue each team collects. In 2007, over $300 million was transferred from high to low revenue teams.
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Tyler Johnson is an innovative thinker inspired by the likes of Bill Veeck, Jon Spoelstra, Pat Williams & Brooks Boyer. Currently working for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a Group Sales Account Executive for the Denver Nuggets. Prior he worked as the New Business Development Executive with the Chicago White Sox. Tyler has also worked directly with the inventor and creator of Arena football and also for Mike Ditka’s former Chicago AFL franchise. As a former collegiate athlete and business sensed individual Tyler ventured to combine his passions to get into the business side of sports.
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(This is a guest article by Wesley Mallette)
Gentlemen,
It’s almost here. Big weekend. Life-changing weekend for you and your families.
You are going to hear a lot of things throughout the course of the next several days leading up to the draft, straight through the completion of your first season. Sometime between Thursday and Saturday you may hear your name called. You may not. You may go in the early rounds. You may not go at all.
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Imagine this for a second: You head out in the morning to shoot some hoops at your local basketball courts and you decide to “check in” using either Gowalla or Foursquare or any of the new geolocation platforms. Boom! You’re rewarded with free tickets to an NBA game. Later in the day, you head to Foot Locker, and when you check in, you get a special discount on any pair of Nike running sneakers. That night, when you head to your favorite sports bar and check in to let your friends know where you are, you’re gifted with an invitation to an exclusive VIP Playoffs party. The possibilities are endless.
Pretty soon, you won’t have to “imagine” any of this. In fact, as of last week, the first scenario (free tickets to an NBA game) is now a reality. On April 12th, VaynerMedia (the company I work for) helped facilitate a social campaign between the NBA’s New Jersey Nets and geolocation platform Gowalla. The campaign utilized Gowalla’s virtual item platform to distribute 250 pairs of virtual tickets in targeted locations (sports bars, outdoor parks, gyms) for April 12th’s New Jersey Nets v. Charlotte Bobcats basketball game. Users that found these virtual tickets were able to redeem the item for real tickets.
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Sam is a Creative Strategist for VaynerMedia, a social media agency based in New York City. Sam previously worked as an Account Executive for the New York Jets as well as the New Jersey Nets and spent time working with former NBA player Jalen Rose as well as NFL safety Kerry Rhodes. He now focuses on creative strategy across VaynerMedia's portfolio. You can follow Sam at http://twitter.com/gosam & visit VaynerMedia at http://www.vaynermedia.com.
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From the National Football League to the National Basketball Association, professional sports organizations and their athletes are realizing that they could have a positive influence when it comes to getting kids to move off the couch and onto playgrounds and in organized physical education.
Newest to the anti-obesity team isBoston Celtics forward, Paul Pierce, and a coalition of elite athletes from eight different sports who raise funds to fight children’s obesity as part of an effort called ‘nPLAY. A government tax exempt 501(c)3 organization, ‘nPLAY’s primary focus is to financially support physical education and activity programs in low income areas which statistically suffer the highest rates of childhood obesity in the United States.
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Twenty years of public relations experience, including 10 in NCAA Division I sports information during which she received national awards for her work, have helped Gail Sideman emerge as a nationally-respected publicity professional in sports, social media and publishing. She is also a veteran support staffer of sports television crews for events that include the NFL, NBA, MLB, NCAA regular and postseason and others. You may learn more information about Sideman's business at www.publiside.com or follow her at www.twitter.com/PUBLISIDE and www.facebook.com/gail.sideman.
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The greatest sports films ever to grace the big screen are not purely for entertainments sake. Whether based on true events or fiction, each movie imparts to us some valuable life lessons. Let’s look at six of my all-time favorites:
6. Rocky III (1982) The public loved this movie for its heroism and Rocky Balboa reeks of heroism. Basking in the limelight of fame, Rocky becomes complacent and depressed. He eventually regains the “eye of the tiger” and wins the big match with fervor and a ton of hard work. We are forced to root for Rocky as he boxes his way into our hearts forever.
Life lessons: Overcoming defeat and depression in favor of determination, hard work, and the “eye of the tiger” in whatever our life mission is.
5. The Pride of the Yankees (1942) It is possible to be humble and a sports icon, as Lou Gehrig exemplified in his life and death. At the peak of his baseball career, he was struck down by Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis, (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). He was valiant in life, considering himself ‘the luckiest man on the face of the earth.’
Life Lessons: Remain humble in our greatness, we can overcome physical tragedy to live a life of honor. Our attitude determines our altitude.
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Michelle Hill, the Strong Copy Quarterback for Winning Proof, is a sports and fitness copywriter. My mission is to help pro athletes, coaches, and sports agents increase their success score in their entrepreneurial endeavors with my writing expertise and creative turn of mind.I write website content, client letters, media pitch letters, sponsorship proposals, and brochures for sports-related companies. www.winningproof.com
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(This is a guest article by Aaress Lawless)
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