The Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, which has reached half way stage as I write this, has built on the progress of previous years to establish a strong, recognizable and credible online brand. According to Sam Laird, in a recent post on the US website Mashable, the Australian Open ‘may just be the most digitally connected major sporting event of all time’. High praise indeed.
So why is the event in Melbourne attracting such accolades for its digital presence?
In my opinion, what the Australian Open is doing so well is leveraging digital assets to create deep and meaningful engagement with fans, while at the same time integrating its sponsors. Many sporting events, clubs and organizations across the globe strive to simultaneously achieve these two goals and the Grand Slam for Asia/Pacific has, arguably, pulled it off. [click to continue…]
Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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Being a social media marketer is like being a covert spy on a mission. On most missions a spy is pursuing a target and has a cover ID. To gain the target’s trust the agent sits back, listens, and studies the target for the perfect opportunity to engage them. By being patient and studying their target, a spy can collect valuable information.
As a social media marketer, my job is similar to being a spy. On each project my goal is to gain trust. Before I can I need to learn everything I can about them. Here are tips to becoming an expert social media spy.
1. Find Your Target
This first step is the leg work. You need to identify what community you want to target. This could range anywhere from a group on LinkedIn to a particular blog that focuses on a specific topic. [click to continue…]
www.bluefountainmedia.com Dmitriy Gamarnik is a marketing analyst for Blue Fountain Media. He is passionate about two things – sports and marketing. Sports have been a big part of Dmitriy’s life since he learned to crawl. When he isn’t keeping up with the industry and providing top notch analysis in New York City, he works on his golf swing and coaches basketball in his home town of Plainsboro, NJ.
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Recently I went to China to play beach volleyball. While I was there I noticed the Chinese approach to marketing clothes, products, and services was very aggressive — products and services were constantly ‘in your face’.
The supermarkets in particular were particularly fascinating – aisles upon aisles of products and signage,consumers hit with marketing messages when they least expected it. So much so I felt overwhelmed by all of the advertising, and anytime I ventured into a commercial area I felt a real urgency to get out of there asap. Lately this is how I have also felt in a number of social media networks I have joined. The overload of advertising messages and spam is encouraging me to disengage more often. Rather than having to deal with spam, I am culling a large number of followers or disconnecting from people who have ‘signed me up’ to marketing material without my consent. [click to continue…]
Claire Kelly is a freelance writer, communications consultant and Australian beach volleyball player based on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Experienced in social media marketing, conducting interviews, ghostwriting, editing, generating publicity and photography, Claire is passionate about about helping athletes and businesses grow through the power of the media and the internet. Follow Claire on Twitter @clairelkelly
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Sports marketing strategies are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The days of corporations walking away satisfied after paying millions of dollars to display their logo on a team jersey are long gone. Savvy marketers know that you to have go where the eyeballs are. Whether it be social media, digital marketing or the more traditional channels, you need to communicate and then engage with your targeted customers (fans) using the medium (language) they favor.
Two recent news releases from the carbonated drinks industry illustrate this.
USA Today last week published an article revealing how large corporations such as Coca Cola are leveraging social media during the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ‘March Madness’ annual basketball championships. Coke reserved 20% of its tournament spending for social media – a massive increase on the 2% that it gave social media marketing in 2010. When you consider the 11.7 million hours of live streaming in 2010, that is money well spent. As the article states, Coke:
“…devised a social-media gathering place dubbed the Coke Zero Social Arena, where fans can go for professional commentary and fan chatter. Coke will aggregate tweets about the game by team and try to refine social chatter in one place”.
On March 17th, The Wall Street Journal published an article revealing that Diet Coke is now the second best-selling carbonated beverage in the U.S, behind Coca Cola, but significantly in front of arch rivals Pepsi Co Inc who are pushed down to third place. [click to continue…]
Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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The number one reason people don’t get hired in the sports industry is “Likeability.”
In other words, if you’re not likeable, if you have a chip on your shoulder, if you’re a negative person, if you talk trash about other people, or if you’re just a miserable human being all the way around, nobody will hire you. (With the exception of your state’s DMV department, of course.)
On the other hand, the number one reason you WILL get hired in sports is also because of your “Likeability.” Employers, regardless of industry, will always hire the person they like the most, assuming each candidate has equal qualifications.
Fortunately, there are ways to become more likeable. Dale Carnegie, the best-selling author of the iconic book, How to Win Friends & Influence People, says there are Six Ways to Make People Like You. I’ve listed them below in bold letters. I’ve also included my own comments after each one. [click to continue…]
Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.
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Sports marketing has evolved over the last few decades. It used to consist simply of a television commercial, a signboard at a televised event, or maybe a player endorsement with a chosen player wearing a company logo on a shirt. Today, sports marketing is far more innovative and sophisticated. Sponsors want returns for their investment and are getting savvier in that pursuit. Red Bull, by generating new and unconventional ideas, is one brand that has changed the sports marketing landscape.
The drink, created in 1987 and derived from Thai ingredients, is sold in those distinctive slim blue-silver cans we all know so well. Available in over 72 countries, Red Bull has become one of the most popular energy drinks in the world. Owned by the Austrian Red Bull Gmbh company, it is also one of the most recognizable brands. [click to continue…]
Chris is a strategic programs analyst at the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) focusing on, amongst other things, sponsorship research, analytics and acquisition. He holds a MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Business (AGSM). Chris took part in the school’s exchange program by completing a semester at Stern business school, NYU where he studied sports marketing and sports economics. Connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
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There are many types of pitches. Some pitches are for raising money for a new company. Other pitches are designed to pique the interest of a book publisher or a movie producer.
The pitch I’m going to help you with is designed to get you in front of the person who has the power to hire you, specifically in the Sports Industry.
We’ll call this pitch, the “First Pitch,” because it will be the first pitch you’ll make to the Hire Authority.
The primary goal of the First Pitch is to establish a connection. Making a connection is a lot different that just making contact. A connection with someone is more personal, more meaningful and much more memorable. (Please note: The First Pitch is not designed to land you a job on the spot. Think of it as the “first step” toward getting an interview.)
Below are the 3 Keys to a Killer Pitch: [click to continue…]
Chris McKinney is the president of SPORTS LAUNCH™, a career services firm dedicated to helping college students and career-changers launch sports careers. Chris' new book, How to Land Your First Job in Sports: 7 Simple Steps can be found on www.SportsLaunch.net.
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Do you love sports, but have no athletic ability beyond memorizing stats and fielding a fantasy league? Perhaps you’re an athlete, but realize a professional career isn’t in your future. Maybe you’re preparing for the draft, but need to prepare for a career once your playing days end.
If you enjoy sports, sales, meeting people, creative challenges, a fast pace, and travel, sports marketing may be what you’re looking for. [click to continue…]
When you think of sports marketing, you probably think of adults writing adult-oriented campaigns, right? A creative sports marketer, however, realizes that they can and should target the juvenile demographic as well. Not only are kids receptive to sports marketing campaigns; they can also come up with their own, using their creative talents to raise funds and grow audiences for their sports teams and products. [click to continue…]
The San Francisco Giants enjoyed a banner year in 2010: they won the World Series and embraced social media as a means of engaging diehard fans at AT&T Park and across the country. We sat down with Bryan Srabian, the Giants’ Director of Social Media, and asked him about the successes in 2010 and the future of social media in sports. [click to continue…]
Brendan Wilhide runs Sportsin140.com, a site that covers sports and social media. He is currently co-authoring a textbook on social media for the sports industry. Follow him on Twitter: @BrendanWilhide and @Sportsin140.
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The Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, which has reached half way stage as I write this, has built on the progress of previous years to establish a strong, recognizable and credible online brand. According to Sam Laird, in a recent post on the US website Mashable, the Australian Open ‘may just be the most digitally connected major sporting event of all time’. High praise indeed.
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