The Sportsbiz Weekly buzz is a collection of articles curated by Sports Networker’s Online Marketing Coordinator – Steve Richards 

Sports Business

Mets, in Hiring Financial Firm, Insist It’s Not About Bankruptcy

“CRG Partners lists as its special talents financial advisory work, restructuring and reorganization, and turnaround management — polite descriptions of services needed by companies in distress. The firm’s Web site names a long list of clients, from Kmart to Popeyes Chicken to Sunbeam Products. As of this week, the firm’s client list formally includes the New York Mets.”

2012 – Business In Sports Will See Also-rans, Surprises

“This year’s only labor negotiation will be in the NHL, with the current CBA expiring on Sept. 15. There is way too much at stake for either side to even think about playing chicken, but a work stoppage is still a real possibility. With former MLBPA executive director Don Fehr now leading the NHLPA, owners won’t be able to dictate to the players as they did in the last negotiation.”

Sports Networking

How Diverse Are Women’s College Sports?

“Recently, the NCAA published the most recent school-year’s participation data, which includes breakdowns by sex, race, sport, division, and conference. Because this data set goes back to the 1999-2000 school year, I decided to use it to look for trends in racial diversity in women’s college athletics over the last decade. Several hours and few Excel spreadsheets later, I have the some questions and answers to report”

Sports Leagues Should Embrace Active “Employees” on Twitter

“The best brands invite engagement. They showcase authenticity and reply to criticism, instead of deleting it. They also harness the power of their most credible marketers – their employees. Because of social media, employees now have personal brands of their own and can be quite influential. When you think of the personal brands of professional athletes – ‘Employees’ and their leagues/teams – ‘Companies’, the influence is exponential.”

Sports Marketing

Digital Advertisements Sell Out For the Super Bowl

“Corporations have capitalized on NBC Sports’ decision to live-stream the NFL’s Super Bowl. Advertising packages are sold out for the live streaming broadcast of the Feb. 5 game, NBC Sports spokesman Chris McCloskey told the International Business Times Wednesday. Although the value of an advertising package wasn’t released, there were reports that the package prices ranged from six figures to the low sevens.”

Northwestern Mutual joins March Madness with sports marketing sponsorship

“A new advertising campaign featuring Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. will be unveiled during this year’s men’s Division I NCAA basketball tournament, kicking off the first national sports marketing sponsorship in company history.”

Sports Sponsorship

Growing Company Publicity Through Sports Sponsorship

“The usage of sporting activities intended for marketing has been employed for over one decade and it also has attained recognition because of the development in interest in the many types of sports activities and games. Entrepreneurs took the nice thing about the uniqueness of sporting activities. This is the sole enjoyment in which regardless of number of instances that you get back you can never foresee the results.”

The Relationship Between an Athlete and Your Brand

“Athletes and sports brands are like rhythm and melody. One rarely exists without the other. The symbiosis between the two creates a working relationship where one can benefit from the other and vice versa. It is important for owners of sports brand names to be aware of the relationship of their product and its ambassador.”

Sports Ticket Sales

LSU and Alabama ride money train to title matchup

“Two of the most profitable football programs in the country will ensure another BCS streak continues: National titles staying in the hands of mega-moneymakers.”

Lucky Few To Get 100m Final Tickets After Synchronized Swimming Was Overbooked By 10,000

“Around 200 people who thought their only experience of the London 2012 Olympic Games would be minor heats of synchronized swimming have received an unexpected upgrade to the men’s 100m final following an embarrassing ticketing mistake.”

Sports Social Media

Urban Meyer Bans Twitter for Ohio State Football Players, Sparking a Debate on…Twitter

“Newly hired Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is banning his players from using Twitter, according to Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch. ‘Urban Meyer bans Twitter for #Buckeyes players. Scarlet & Gray Matter, however, remains safely outside the #OhioState clutches.,’ Oller tweeted. The news sparked a bit of a debate, on Twitter of all places, among members of the media. CNBC’s sports business reporter Darren Rovell claims Meyers players will miss out on important ‘life skills not taught in the classroom’”

High school basketball video shows power of social media (VIDEO)

“Michael Christenson of Yakima said he was only trying to illustrate a point to a small group of Highland High School students and parents about the need for better basketball officials. To his surprise and dismay, however, the video he uploaded of several hard fouls during the Cowiche school’s boys game at Connell on Dec. 22 has gone viral, collecting more than 25,000 hits since the video was posted on YouTube on Dec. 28.”

Sports Media

Former Red Sox PR Pro Tells All

“Former Boston Red Sox PR pro Doug Bailey has penned a 4,400-word tell-all piece for Boston Magazine, an inside account that will no doubt roil his former clients and agency colleagues. But the piece is a valuable behind-the-scenes look at sports PR, in addition to a treasure trove for Sox fanatics.”

Turner Sports PR Veteran Pomeroy Tips Off Atlanta Shop

“Longtime Turner Sports veteran Jeff Pomeroy has left the programmer to open his own public relations shop.
Based in Atlanta, JDP Communications’ initial client roster comprises A & M Holding Group (AMHG), the owners and operators of Sadekar World Golf; All-American Games, the owners and producers of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl; and the Kenny Smith Entertainment Group. Additional clients are expected to be announced at a later date.”

Sports Technology

New Deal Will Bring WatchESPN App to Comcast Xfinity Subscribers

“We can now add Comcast TV subscribers to the list of TV providers with access to the WatchESPN family of mobile apps. Comcast and Disney (parent of ESPN) announced an agreement that (among a lot of other things) will open the door for Comcast Xfinity customers to access ESPN content on their iPhone, iPad and Android devices with the WatchESPN app.”

Football Failing to Use Technology on Offer

“Soccer is a business enterprise like no other. We are into the early weeks of a new soccer season and there have already been a volume of suspect and poor refereeing decisions. Today we are able to evaluate the incidents from multiple cameras; there are no longer grey areas for for spectators. The cameras reveal everything. We can watch matches on our televisions, our I-phones, our I-pads and other devices. There is no hiding place for on-field officials when they get things wrong.”

Sports Jobs

Sports Jobs “A Drug” for Top Executives

“The Miami Dolphins may have chauffeured a prospective coach and president in by chopper. But the team could probably have just handed the pair some cab chits. Where extravagant enticements are dangled before prospective titans in the “real” business world, major league sports organizations need only hang out a help-wanted sign to lure elite candidates.”

Notre Dame Announces Major Staff Shakeup

“On the eve of the Champs Sports Bowl, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly pronounced himself genuinely “excited” that he would be keep his coaching staff in place for 2012. Five days later, that’s not even close to the reality”

Sports Events

How the BCS Killed the Orange Bowl

“The Orange Bowl was once among the premier games in all of college football, but the BCS has squeezed all the life out of the Miami showdown.” – Great article, particularly after how bad this year’s Orange Bowl was. Disregard the prediction however; Samuel got the team right but no one could have predicted that score.

NHL’s Winter Classic: Its uniqueness fails to come across on TV

“The outdoor game between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers at Citizens Bank Park has a compelling finish. But as a showcase experience, the Classic falls short.”

Is there anything we missed this week in the world of sports business? Let us know your thoughts about the Sportsbiz Weekly Buzz in the comments below and please feel free to share this article with your friends on Facebook and Twitter!

About Lewis Howes

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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. 

Much of Red Bull’s success comes down to the company’s sports marketing strategy. The strategy is aggressive and transcends simple sponsorship – Red Bull wants to own teams and events. The company has a huge focus on brand management and ownership allows it to completely control how its brand is associated with that sport. The drink claims to improve some of the most important attributes of successful sports people – fast reactions, concentration and endurance. In that respect, the brand values of Red Bull are closely aligned with many sports.

In 2006, in an article appearing in the Washington Post, Red Bull CEO and founder Dietrich Mateschitz estimated spending $300M on sports sponsorships:

“or about a third of his company’s annual marketing expenditures”.

Referring to the Red Bull official website five years later, you’ll see that the company now owns an impressively long list of events.

Many of these events consist of a World Series in extreme sports. These sports have always offered great brand marketing opportunities to sponsors, but Red Bull is doing more than other sponsors. Red Bull has created new unique sports properties ostensibly to sell more of its product.

Firstly, there is the Red Bull Crushed Ice Series, which, according to the description on the home page, is “a combination of ice hockey, downhill skating and boardercross!”. There is also the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour, which, in 2010, encompassed “three continents, six countries, nearly 200,000 spectators and more than 1,000 jumps”; the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series – “high diving at its most death-defying”; and the Red Bull Air Race.  The latter event has been in existence for 8 years, debuted in New York in 2010 and last September it won an IBC Award for Broadcasting Excellence. The Air Race will take this year off, but if you go to the website you can still take part in a new virtual Red Bull Air Race.

Other Red Bull events range from an extreme sailing series to surf, motor sport and other sports tournaments.

Red Bull also owns an array of sports teams from Red Bull Brasil, a soccer team in Brazil, to EC Red Bull Salzburg, a member of the Austrian Hockey League in its home market. The ownerships most people associate with Red Bull would probably be Red Bull Racing – the Formula One (F1) Team that celebrated victories in the drivers and constructors’ championships in 2010, Scuderia Toro Rosso – an Italian team in F1, Team Red Bull – a team that competes in NASCAR and, lastly, the New York Red Bulls – a soccer team that competes in the Major Soccer League.

In 2009 Red Bull also stepped into player endorsement representing a new strategic direction by the company. A deal with Chicago Bears kick returner Kevin Hester was announced and Red Bull also signed the New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. Hester fans can even watch a video of Hester going through a Red Bull high performance program on the website.  Red Bull is now associated with a long list of athletes: bikers, skiers, riders and drivers.  Featured athletes on its site include the French international soccer star, Thierry Henry, who plays for the New York Red Bulls in New Jersey, skateboarder Ryan Sheckler and Minnesotan skier Lindsey Vonn.

The company does have its critics – some are opposed to complete team ownership. For them, sponsors and large corporate brands should only provide funds to sports or endorse a few players. Other critics would go further by claiming that Red Bull has upset stakeholders, such as fans, by not being cognizant or sensitive to certain issues. For instance, when Red Bull purchased the SV Salzburg soccer team in Austria, Red Bull changed the team’s violet and white colors to the colors of the energy drink (red, yellow, and blue).

Red Bull, with its reputation for innovation and creativity is, however, widely considered to be one of the smarter sports sponsors around. Its sports marketing strategy has achieved so much more than just creating widespread global exposure for its brand.  The company’s success to date and its global sales (according to the official website “In 2009 some 3.906 billion cans of Red Bull Energy Drink were consumed world-wide”) would suggest that the strategy has actually transformed the brand. If this strategy continues, I expect Red Bull, like its slogan, will continue to ‘give wings’ to a successful future.

(Photo by Nick Laham – Getty Images –)

About Chris Conway

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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While the year 2011 has already been designated as “The Year of the Tablet Computer” by many, it may ultimately be looked back upon as the “Year of the Newspaper Paywall.”

The few newspapers that have already taken the bold step of putting their content behind paywalls, meaning it is only accessible via subscription, will have a lot of company by the end of the year.

Many large newspapers in major markets, most notably The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News and The Boston Globe, will all rollout paywalls during the next few months as newspaper publishers desperately try to recapture revenues they lost by erroneously giving their content away for years.

This venture is doomed for failure for all but a few of the elite brands as content is unfortunately becoming commoditized and these publishers have conditioned readers not to pay for content on the web. However, this drastic shift in philosophy for newspaper publishers presents a tremendous opportunity for sports franchises and their web properties.

Newspapers are putting themselves on an Internet island because they need to generate a return from their content. Sports teams aren’t faced with the same situation– at least not directly. Sports franchises should be using content as a way to deepen their bonds with sports fans, which in turn become ticket sales, sold merchandise or TV ratings. This differentiation should serve as the impetus for sports franchises to put greater emphasis on generating original and compelling content for their web sites.

While newspapers cut off their content to the rest of the world, those millions of readers will go elsewhere for their information. If sports franchises don’t create the content to capture this readership, then ESPN, Comcast and Yahoo! will gladly do so.

Capturing the Market

Successfully capturing this emerging market will take a change in mindset for many franchises. The age of paranoia from sports teams trying to control the message that reaches the public went away with the emergence of digital media, even though most desperately cling to the practice.

For every team that still operates under a guarded cloak when sharing information, there are teams like the Phoenix Suns and Denver Broncos, who both excel at utilizing digital media to flood their fans with information. The New Jersey Devils recently announced the launch of Mission Control, an Internet and social media hub, which is an excellent example of leveraging content and access to strengthen the bond with their fans.

Between the emergence of social media as a real-time news outlet, the spread of gotcha journalism via smartphones and YouTube, tabloid websites like Deadspin and TMZ, as well as athletes themselves communicating directly with fans, there are few, if any, stories that won’t eventually become public.

There is no reason a sports franchise should be scooped by a story, good or bad. Sports franchises have the advantage of brand equity and access. Take advantage of that. When the Knicks announced the addition of Carmelo Anthony, they held a press conference and had GM Donnie Walsh conduct interviews. Why not have Walsh commenting on Knicks.com first, and then let him loose to the media a couple of hours later?

Beyond the Status Quo

Here are a few examples of how sports franchises can create compelling content, beyond the status quo that is already practiced by most teams:

• If there is a search going on to hire a new head coach or key executive, make the process public. Let us know who you are interviewing and why and update us often. John Elway recently did a great job of this when the Broncos where seeking a new head coach and sports fans ate it up.

• If there is an injury, break the news first. The NHL has gotten ridiculous with designating injuries by lower body and upper body. Paranoia!!! Instead, take us into the training room as the player receives treatment, or speak with the team doctor to update us on a player’s condition or educate us about a type of injury.

• If the draft for your league is approaching and players are working out for your team, promote it. Interview the player(s) and coach or GM to assess the workout. We love lists. Have your GM break out the top players at each position, or analyze the top 5 players in the draft.

• If your team is speaking to a free agent, let us know and interview the GM to find out the need that player will fill or some other insight. Get over the potential ego blow if that player signs elsewhere.

Most importantly, do a lot of this with video. A recent report by Solutions Research Group stated that time spent consuming video via interactive platforms is expected to triple to 2.9 hours per person per day by early 2013. This trend will especially take hold with the younger generation, or your future ticket buyers. Grab their interest early, and you will keep it later.

There are many more ways to create content, and sports teams are only limited by imagination and self-imposed limitations. Sports serve as the ultimate reality show, and with the exception of shows like The Ultimate Fighter, Hard Knocks and 24/7, sports properties have not embraced the wave of reality TV beyond its live events.

The community relations stuff, hospital visits and player appearances are nice to know about, but that information isn’t going to deepen the bond between teams and its fans. Get creative with your content.

Many teams now employ in-house writers to create content, many of whom are former newspaper reporters. Why not also hire former writers or editors, to serve as an editor for your web site and provide the skill of knowing how to find and create a story … having a nose for news. There are plenty out there. Take this out of the hands of the front office or mid-level worker. Most aren’t equipped with the skills to create intriguing content.

Capturing this marketshare is even more important for the three sports leagues that face, and likely will experience, a work stoppage during the next two years. Without live events, sports teams are moved to the background of the consciousness of sports fans, who have a plethora of other options to grab their attention. Now is the time to establish your web site as the go-to destination for information about your team and strengthen that bond.

If you don’t do it, someone else will.

About Ron Matejko

Ron Matejko is the President of Phoenix, Arizona-based MVP Media, an award winning digital publishing company. Visit the MVP website at www.mvptoday.com. Contact Ron by email at ron@mvptoday.com. Let’s connect on LinkedIn or on Twitter @mvp_media.

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Maintaining life as an athlete takes a massive amount of dedication and focus. Not only does the athlete need to demonstrate talent on the field, he needs to translate that talent into an effective media presence. After all, the athlete is himself a brand and he needs to ensure he doesn’t water down his brand with an improper and unsuitable media style.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with one of my strategic business alliances, Forrest Dorsett, Founder & Principal of Dorsett Sports Marketing and Managing Partner at Fred Hickman Communications. We had the chance to dive into the subject of media training. Here is how our conversation evolved:

Michelle: As a brand marketing agency, what measures have you taken to emerge as a valuable resource for professional athletes?

Forrest: Recently, we have entered into a great partnership with Fred Hickman Communications to offer more of a “concierge” type media training and coaching platform. Fred Hickman has worked as a lead anchor for prominent networks including TBS, TNT, ESPN, Fox Sports and the YES Network. Today’s athletes are busier than ever with game and travel schedules, corporate sponsor commitments and non-profit appearances. Mr. Hickman will come to an athletes’ residence, hotel conference room or team facility. Mr. Hickman has in excess of 30 years experience in media and has conducted countless interviews with sports legends, coaches and front office executives. Secondly, as a result of many years in front of a camera, he is capable of providing tailor-made training sessions for his clients.

Michelle: Who are you targeting and who would make the ideal candidate for media training?

Forrest: Professional athletes, coaches and team administrators in the core leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). We definitely have a full plate. Presently we are reaching out to a number of MLB teams as players prepare to report to spring training and with the 2011 NFL Draft quickly approaching, we’ve been in discussions with a number of sports agents regarding our value added services.

Michelle: Why do athletes need media training?

Forrest: Media training can help shape an athletes’ brand; how to better handle their day-to-day media obligations, connect with fans, increase his or her marketability and enhance their value to both their franchise and to themselves.

Michelle: What are a few of the core benefits an athlete would gain from media training?

Forrest: Well-spoken, accessible athletes who project a positive image can generate a vast number of marketing opportunities and lucrative endorsement deals. In addition, this acts as a springboard to better equip the athlete after their playing days, should they transition into broadcasting, business, coaching or front office after their playing career has ended.

Michelle: Do you have any closing comments or advice?

Forrest: Poor media etiquette can negatively impact an athletes’ brand and cost them their credibility. To succeed in the media the message must be clear, crisp, and compelling.

An articulate, well spoken athlete promotes not only himself but his team and entire organization. He promotes his personal brand wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, and whenever he speaks. He trains in the weight room, he trains on the field; doesn’t it make sense to invest in media training to fully complement his brand?

Athletes, Sports Agents and Team Administrators can contact Forrest Dorsett at forrest@dorsettsportsmarketing.com

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About Michelle Hill

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 PR jobs seem like they’re hidden, but they’re really not. You just have to know where to look.

Most people can’t find Sports PR jobs because they have blinders on. They get so focused on working for their favorite team, they can’t see the big picture.

That’s understandable because of all the excitement surrounding the team and the media attention superstar athletes generate.

Team Jobs = Only Six Percent of Market

According to Sports Careers founder, Mark Tudi:

“Team jobs make up only six percent of the jobs within the entire industry.”

That means there’s another 94 percent of sports jobs out there that you should know about. That’s what we’ll cover today.

Opportunities Within Each Sector

To uncover the hidden job market in Sports PR, we need to look at the various business sectors that make up the sports industry.

To simplify it, I’ve divided the sports industry into eight basic business sectors below.

• Teams / Leagues / Governing Bodies
• Corporate Sponsors
• Sports Agencies
• Sports Media
• Sports Apparel
• Sporting Goods
• Stadiums / Live Events
• Health / Fitness

Thousands of companies make up each of those sectors. Here’s the good news: 99 percent of those companies have a PR department. And if they don’t, they hire an outside agency.

Companies within the Corporate Sponsor sector, like Coca-Cola for example, employ PR experts to help grab as much attention as they possibly can in order to maximize those expensive sponsorships.

Sports Media companies, such as ESPN and Fox Sports, also have PR departments. They’re constantly promoting new programming. Same with Sports Apparel companies like Nike and Sporting Goods companies like Spalding. There are always new products rolling out.

Every company, every brand, every organization in the sports industry has a unique story to tell. And it’s the PR department that helps make that happen.

The Biggest Opportunities

Once you discover the wide-range of companies that exist within the sports industry, you’ll have an easier time uncovering the Sports PR opportunities.
As for the biggest Sports PR opportunities happening in 2011, they can be found in two areas:

1. Social Media Coordinator
2. Sports PR & Marketing Agencies

If you’re bent on working for your favorite team, I would suggest that you start educating yourself in social media if you haven’t done so already. Darren Rovell, CNBC Sports Business Reporter told Sports Networker in an exclusive interview: “I think that the social media coordinator is the best job that will open up on sports teams.”

Looking beyond the teams, the sector with the most opportunities would be Sports PR & Marketing Agencies. Media fragmentation has caused sports properties to partner with agencies that specialize in highly-targeted audiences.

I am currently writing a book on America’s Top 200 Sports PR & Marketing Firms, and would love to hear your successes and struggles, so please let me know how I can help below!

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About Chris McKinney

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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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.

How long have you held your current position as head of social media for the Giants? What were you doing beforehand? What skills do you feel were necessary in preparing you to manage the day-to-day social media operations of a pro sports team?

I began my career with the Giants as an intern in 1995 working my way up to Director of Marketing and Entertainment. In 2008, I left the Giants to relocate my family. I returned in January of 2010 to head up the Social Media for the Giants. I believe my background in marketing, years working behind the scenes with the Giants, being a fan of the Giants and understanding the fan behavior have all helped me with my role in Social Media. Every day I am learning more, talking to and trading ideas with experts in social media and listening. It’s an exciting time to be in social media because it is so new and changing so much, I love my job.

The Giants won the World Series this season. In what ways did social media play a role in the team’s push to the World Series?

It was truly a remarkable year for the Giants. Social Media played a pretty big role in keeping our fans connected throughout the season and post season, as both Facebook and Twitter accounts experienced huge growth.

As always, we tried to bring our fans up to the minute news and behind the scenes content, but mostly it brought fans together from all over the country. I think the biggest role Social Media played for the Giants was bringing fans closer to the game. We learned a lot from listening to our fans, answering a lot of questions, having fun with promotions, contests, and engaging in conversation.

The World Series was just amazing, but watching it though the eyes of hundreds of thousands of fans was even better. I love hearing from fans who tell us they really appreciate the behind the scenes photos, access to the players and more.

We definitely made an impact with our fans using social media in 2010. But of course, winning has a positive effect on any effort, so we were lucky enough to benefit from the Giants post season run.

The Giants held the team’s first official tweetup on Friday, April 30 before the game against the Rockies. The tweetup included Giants pitcher and avid Twitterer Jeremy Affeldt, @JeremyAffeldt, and executives from Twitter. How did the tweetup go? When did the team have the idea to host the tweetup? What things would you change for future tweetups next season?

TweetUps are nothing new. In fact we modeled it after a few other teams, but wanted to put our own spin on it. Our Special Events department got behind this as did our ballpark operations. The goal was to reach out to the tech community in the Bay Area. We had a great panel, including Twitter Founders Biz Stone and Jack Dorsey, we had a charity component, where $1 of every ticket went to Room to Read, a fantastic non-profit. We gave away an exclusive Giants Tweetup Shirt with our Twitter Address featured on it, and we had Jeremy Affeldt there taking photos, signing autographs and answering questions, all in the brand new Triples Alley, which allowed fans to watch Batting Practice from the warning track inside the ballpark.

As for future tweetups, we plan on having more informal tweetups at events, bringing our fans together.In fact, we try to allow our fans to create their own tweetups and provide support to them.  But we looked for a way to incorporate our tweetup into a ticketed event. It actually was an amazing deal – $19, which included game ticket, tshirt, drink ticket.  The game ticket itself was $35, so twitter fans had a great time, and we found a new way to sell tickets.  We are planning for more in 2011.

The Giants have had several players on Twitter including Affeldt, whose Twitter experience has been largely positive, and Brian Wilson, who closed his Twitter account after an incident with the media in April, 2009. How does the Giants organization approach players on Twitter? Do the players have specific guidelines for social media?

The Brian Wilson incident happened in 2009 before the Giants had someone running social media and it’s too bad. Brian had one of the most entertaining and genuine twitter accounts out there, which I think is quite rare. I think he was ahead of his time and we definitely would have stepped in to diffuse the situation, which to me was completely blown out of proportion. Twitter has evolved, the media has evolved, and if that situation happened today, maybe everyone would have taken a different approach.

Who knows, maybe he will get it up and running again, but I understand how it could be a distraction and it was probably best for him to move on.  It would be great if more of our players were on Twitter, our fans would love it. But the players have to want to be on for it to work.

Jeremy does a great job of using twitter for a charity he is close to called Not for Sale.  Jeremy is a very passionate person, you can tell through his blog and tweets.  That’s the type of authentic voice you want to have on Twitter, no matter what you are talking about. Just be yourself.  This past season, we made a decision to focus on the Giants brand and use creative ways to connect Giants fans with our players through the team twitter account.

In 2011, we might branch out and see if anyone would like to have their own voice in our clubhouse.  We know our fans want more players on Twitter, so we will work on that this offseason.

In what ways can organizations prepare their employees (and/or players) to use social media as a means of representing the organization?

It definitely is something teams have to prepare for as the social graph continues to grow. Blogs, Facebook, Twitter continue to grow in the work place. It can definitely bring more to your organization and increase communication. But it comes down to trust, and building that trust within the company.

I think the Phoenix Suns do a great job of allowing their employees tweet on their behalf, but other teams want a more structured policy.  As with anything, it has to be clearly defined and communicated, whatever the policy is, that is the first step.

I do think there needs to be someone running Social Media as a resource to guide employees and management on any policy set forth.  I also think there is an opportunity to train employees how to use facebook and twitter to help boost events and promotions from within their own networks.

What has been your biggest personal success story when it comes to social media? What has been your biggest disappointment?

I think it’s easy to discount the growth the Giants had because they are World Champions, but we started with just 3500 followers on Twitter and ended the regular season above 40,000. I am really proud of our steady growth, and the response from our fans. It doesn’t get any better when I hear from fans how much they appreciate the replies, answering of questions and the timely updates.  I really love helping our fans out as much as possible and using our twitter as a customer service channel as well.

I also am proud of how well the Giants organization embraced Social Media.  Matt Chisholm our Media Relations Coordinator deserves a lot of credit for creating the twitter account before a lot of baseball teams had last year.  He has done a tremendous job of bringing the player and baseball operations vantage point into social media, which our fans love. I add the marketing flavor and we are a devastating tag team.  Disappointments?  There’s been a few, but looking at it as a whole, this is all new and we knew not everything would be perfect. One thing I have learned is patience, you can’t grow overnight and you certainly can’t accomplish everything from scratch.  We kept our focus on our fans and giving them what they wanted.  We want to build on that this offseason and keep our momentum up in 2011.

In what ways do the Giants use social media to engage fans in attendance during games at AT&T Park?

We didn’t do enough and that is a priority in 2011. We did a few promotions that our fans really enjoyed.  We allowed fans to request music directly from our ballpark DJ. We gave away tickets and tshirts as well.  But in 2011, we want to immerse our in game experience, and take our social media to the next level.  There are some great ways to activate it inside the ballpark and we are looking at a few of those now. I would say this is one area where we really see more growth and are excited about this. I also see a huge opportunity to increase our ballpark activation with our social media elements. There are some great venues that have created some very cool areas to bring the social media live and in person. Again, we want to keep the focus of our fans on the field, you try to avoid distractions. But if there is a way to bring fans closer together and closer to our product, we are going to explore those avenues.

Recently more and more teams are developing their own official mobile apps. Do the Giants have plans for an official mobile app? Do you believe that mobile apps, with their ability to sell tickets and merchandise and potentially offer ticketless entry into games, are the future in the sports industry?

Major League Baseball Advanced Media has been working teams on mobile apps. I don’t have any info on the Giants creating an App, but the future of mobile is moving in that direction. Buying a ticket and then walking into the park using your phone without a ticket is in the near future for the sports industry.  I know the Phillies were experimenting with an app that allowed you to order food for in seat delivery.

Apple just announced that the MLB At Bat App was the #1 app of the year in terms of sales. I really love the At-Bat App, and see a future with in stadium activation if MLB chooses to go there. There definitely is something to be said about mobile apps and live sporting events.

Recently CNBC sports business reporter Darren Rovell wrote that the position of social media coordinator will be one of the newest and most exciting positions available in the sports industry. Do you agree with his assessment? What are some things applicants can do to stand out when applying for such positions?

Darren Rovell is a very smart man so it’s very flattering to read that. I saw that and I retweeted it immediately. I’m really surprised more teams don’t have a dedicated person running their social media, but I think that change is coming in 2011. It’s not a part time job, it’s very time consuming and yes, it’s really exciting. You need someone who is involved in the mix, has access to the action, whether that’s the team clubhouse, on the field, or information about an upcoming event.

I think the same advice goes to applicants of this job as any job.  Just because you know social media, or have experience, the most important part is to know your brand you are applying to.  If someone was applying to the Giants, they should know what we are doing in the social space, what we aren’t doing it and understand everything in between.  Just because you have 1,000 followers on Twitter and a blog does not mean you understand the dynamics of a sports team.

It’s all so new, teams sometimes don’t know where to turn.  This is a huge opportunity for applicants to make an impression.  Spend some time to make your pitch as to what you could do, what other teams are doing, and what you have done with other brands.  Some teams have definitely figured clever ways to utilize social media, ask yourself what you would do with the opportunity.

In what new ways do you think social media will impact the sports industry in 2011? What do you believe will be the biggest change in the industry a year from now?

We are just scratching the surface in the sports industry. I think there are a few teams in the NBA who are really doing some interesting things and pushing the envelope. I think Geo-location has a lot of potential, as does Streaming and bringing fans closer than ever to their favorite athletes.

We are still learning the basics and the technology moves so fast, it’s exciting.  I am still very excited about Twitter and think we can accomplish even more, and reach more fans. Fans definitely have responded to getting closer to their favorite athletes, accessing more behind the scenes, and teams/athletes are learning new ways to communicate with fans.

We need to continue to bring our team closer to the fans, bring the players closer to the fans, and continue to look for ways to learn from our fans.  I am excited what the next few months will bring to us, and open to hearing from what my colleagues have to say.

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About Brendan Wilhide

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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On July 8, 2010, LeBron James announced a decision – a decision to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers as a free agent and join the Miami Heat for the next six seasons. Lebron has never made it a secret that he wants to win and win badly. Aren’t we all granted the freedom of choice to make decisions based on how it moves us closer to our goals and dreams?

On December 2 (yes, today), it marks the first time King James will face his dearly departed Cavaliers in Cleveland. There’s no water under the bridge; people still harbor resentment and death threats still linger in the air. Then there’s the “open” letter from Dan Gilbert, Cavaliers owner, to Cleveland fans. With a scathing and sarcastic tone, Mr. Gilbert rants about LeBron’s “cowardly betrayal,” “shameful display of selfishness,” and “shocking act of disloyalty.”

Gilbert promised fans that Cleveland will claim an NBA championship before Miami Heat. Only time will tell if Dan will be able to take that promise to the bank. His letter sounds more like the temper tantrum of a three-year old, not the classy acceptance of a team owner. Sure, Cleveland adored their demigod, LeBron. In his typical, generous manner, he helped hundreds of businesses improve and he continues to provide financial resources to needy children and single-parent families; all from a heart of gold and the abundance of the LeBron James Family Foundation.

LeBron simply made a decision to improve his life…to win. Whether it was truly an improvement or not is up for debate, but shouldn’t he be the one making the call? He knew he would not be given a chance to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Cleveland. As a result, he’s been cast as the spawn of Satan. A selfish villain; clothed in narcissism, with horns of betrayal.

LeBron did what any top executive in any arena would do; he positioned himself for success. He’s worked hard for a stellar record of accomplishment; he’s led a clean life – no scandals, no jail, no drugs. Major life decisions are forged in secret. There’s a ton of soul searching, of gathering opinions from trusted confidants, especially when you’re in the public eye.

On a live ESPN special, The Decision, Lebron stated, “In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat… I feel like it’s going to give me the best opportunity to win and to win for multiple years, and not only just to win in the regular season or just to win five games in a row or three games in a row, I want to be able to win championships. And I feel like I can compete down there.

Miami Heat needs more synergetic puzzle pieces to win a championship. And, it really doesn’t matter who wins first, the Cavaliers or the Heat. What matters is that one of the greatest basketball players of all time made a decision he thought was best for his career. However unpopular he has become in Cleveland; the gift of time always tells whether a decision has been a good one. And a good decision doesn’t always mean the road is smooth. Although he’ll be playing with Miami’s other All-World free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, I don’t predict big wins this year or even next year.

The Cavaliers’ head coach, Byron Scott, has exhibited the classiest behavior of all. When asked about the ‘big’ game, he did not give special attention to the ensuing drama. He’s busy preparing his team to win against whatever opponent they face. Byron is not burying his head in the sand by not addressing it, he’s just refusing to give it more energy than it deserves.

Whether you agree with the way Lebron James handled his decision or not, we can all agree that we’ll be riveted to our seats in watching how his career unfolds and how he continues to handle himself on and off the court. LeBron has the heart of a champion and he continues to reveal that wherever he goes.

What do you think will happen tonight? Is it time for both LeBron and Cleveland to let go and ‘just go out and play ball’?

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Image by mrcleanoh
Image by keithallison

About Michelle Hill

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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Mention the name Vince Lombardi and images of a hard-nosed, demanding and driven football coach with a distinct gap between his front teeth, come to mind. Add to that, the Green Bay Packers, which he made famous worldwide, multiple national football championships and the same name on a trophy that now bears the name, and you’ve got a legend.

October officially debuted the play that boats the legend’s name. “Lombardi,” which is enjoying its run on Broadway’s Circle in the Square theater, stars Emmy Award winning actor, Dan Lauria as the late coach and actress Judith Light as his wife, Marie. They, along with just four other cast members, have entertained sports fans and average theater-goers, Packers fans, NFL broadcasters and other media, historians, entire teams and entertainers, and have inspired talkbacks for dozens of audiences. The play is based on the book “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi” by David Maraniss.

Among those involved in the production and its publicity is veteran PR pro, Joe Favorito. The results of his work have appeared in publications and blogs, on television and YouTube radio and every medium in between.

“It is very much a collaborative effort and the Broadway PR firm, Boneau Bryan Brown, has done a great job in getting the play positioned well amongst entertainment and theater press as well,” Favorito said. “The NFL PR and marketing staff, including Brian McCarthy have also been very helpful.”

Favorito credits the intense buzz for the play to basic public relations.

“I think that this is really basic PR. It’s very good story-telling with great story lines that people want to hear about, so its not just a sports story,” he said. “You have six amazing actors, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, a Tony nominated director, an Academy Award winning playwright, two producers who are highly accomplished businesspeople, and you have a legendary figure as the centerpiece, so it’s more a question of where to tell the story than how.”

As someone who grew up a Packer fan in Wisconsin, worked with a member of Lombardi’s Green Bay, then later, Washington Redskins teams, and knew Favorito’s work, I was privileged with his invitation to a June event that brought members of the play’s production roster to Green Bay for a meet-and-greet with the who’s-who of the club. There, I heard Lauria (best known for his Emmy Award-winning role as the dad on “The Wonder Years”) share a dialogue from the play that I was told, was very raw. You could have fooled me! It was then I knew I had to see the finished, polished product.

The Broadway production does not disappoint. The play takes observers back to Lombardi’s era when names such as Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Fuzzy Thurston and Jim Taylor were part of Wisconsin’s daily vocabulary. The intensity people saw on their pixilated television screens then, come to life on stage in New York. All of the stories I heard through the years came to life on stage. At some moments during the play, I forgot that I was in New York because the language, dialogue and characters were all Green Bay and Wisconsin.

As Favorito said, you don’t have to be a Packers fan, or even a football fan to enjoy the performance. For those who are, there is lots of media to consume for previews.

“I honestly don’t know what has had the most impact,” Favorito said. “Some have said traffic really spiked when Jimmy Traina posted a review and then a photo in si.com’s Hot Mustard section. Some said traffic and interest rose after Bob Costas mentioned us on Sunday Night Football, while others say it spiked after Judith was on GMA (Good Morning America)…it’s hard to say.

“I love the little things as much as the big ones. The story in the Penn State paper that had Rob Riley linked to Joe Paterno linked to Vince Lombardi…the feature in the Wall Street Journal about our director Tommy Kail and how he’s tied to coaches…the feature on Tony Ponturo in the Bergen Record…. I think all that and the bloggers who we invited to the show in previews all add up and feed from one to the next.”

Yes, I thoroughly enjoyed the play. As a publicist, I’m in awe of what Favorito has accomplished. Even with the NFL’s support, getting the word out about this production is a huge accomplishment. The effort is a great example in what a successful publicity campaign looks like.

For me, Lombardi, the Green Bay Packers and Broadway are the perfect team.

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About Gail Sideman

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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Through out this whole week, we’ve had ongoing discussions about the pros and cons of professional athletes using social media to build their brands and engage with fans. Twitter, specifically has been a hot topic due to Tiger Woods making a re-entrance to the space.

Since this is the internet, it’s expected that the general consensus supports the notion of athletes using Twitter and other social media tools, but the truth of the matter is Twitter has also gotten some athletes into some hot water, ie. Brandon Jennings, Michael Beasley, Charlie Villanueva…(or maybe the bad combination is Twitter and basketball players). Although the future definitely looks to ‘more’, is there a way to balance that authenticity? 

Monday:

How Exclusivity Can Be Big for Athletes in Social Media (Part 1)

Honestly, right now, Path is not a big deal. It’s another photo social network that wants you to share your surroundings and as of today, only iPhone users can use it (hence none of my friends have it). However, what it represents is interesting. In a world that screams for ‘no limits’, Path limits everything. You can only take pictures on the spot. You’re only allowed to have 50 friends. You aren’t allowed to share to Twitter or Facebook.

But for those who wish to maintain an intimate lifestyle (cough – athletes), the exclusive methodology could be gold. I could see Levar Fisher using it to show his kids all the cool places he travels to for work. Screw 50 friends, he only has 2 kids and a lovely wife. Limits. Interesting.

Read the full post

Tuesday:

The Future of Sports Social Media

The future of sports social media is more. More content, more engagement, more mobile, more networks.

Read the full post.

Wednesday:

Taking Control of Your Content

Kevin Love is a guy who could be doing a lot more on social media. He has the confidence and the funny persona. Also, he’s a decent basketball player. He is probably my favorite candidate to replace Shaq when he finally exits pro basketball to make Kazaam: the Sequel.

Read the full post.

Thursday:

Marketing Resources for Pro Athletes

Even though the joke around social media guru’s is that consulting consists of navigating clients to the sign up page on Twitter.com, there’s a lot more to it and Michelle makes a list of some of the best in the game for pro athletes.

Read the full post.

Friday:

How Twitter Impacts Tiger Woods’ Brand

Tiger’s transgressions were big, and showing up on Twitter just won’t save him. He’s going to need to do a lot more than that starting by winning again. Winning solves all problems. Just ask Michael Vick, or should I say ‘the best player in the league’.

Read the full post.

The Links:

Steve Young a ‘slower’ Michael Vick

Every sports PR specialist should be studying what Michael Vick has done. He has gone from public enemy number 1 to number 1 player in the country. I heard it had something to playing good football.

Greg Oden Undergoes Successful Microfracture Surgery

What a career. At this point, I don’t even know what to say anymore, other than deja vu. Oh, and Sam Bowie.

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Image by Keith Allison

About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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There’s no doubt that in the last year, social media has exploded in the sports industry, with superstars from different sports joining platforms like Twitter and Facebook to interact with their fans. However, there has almost been as much negative noise about athletes using social media as there has been positive.

Although it may seem like a beat up topic for some, social media, especially in sports is still a fairly new phenomenon. PR crews do the best they can to educate and teach, but Twitter and Facebook were made to encourage open sharing for common-folk, not basketball all stars with paparazzi waiting to analyze their every character and Twitpic.

Simply put, it can be extremely hard for a professional athlete to fully grasp what should or not be said online, even with professional PR aid on the side. Athletes are passionate and emotional, and that’s what makes sports so interesting, but there are grey lines that ought not to be crossed, especially when an athlete is venting and just wants to be heard. I’m not trying to discourage authenticity, but as an athlete, (aka public figure) there are certain rules to play by (ie. – explicit swearing is generally a no-no).

This is where I believe social networks that promote exclusivity can help. Path is a brand new social network hot off the press that allows users to share photos with up to 50 friends. They don’t allow connections to other networks, and pride themselves on creating a community where members are allowed to share honestly and personally. An athlete could use Path as an outlet to add their inner circles and get their online social fix to share openly and freely without having to worry about being politically correct or doing something that may affect their image, while leaving their Twitter and Facebook pages available as engagement tools. Let’s just say Michael Beasley sure could have used Path to show off his new tats.

The revamped Facebook groups is another tool that encourages small, tight knit groups. As of right now, Path has plenty of limitations with no commenting and only allows pictures to be posted through their iPhone app. Facebook groups is a full fledged group network with commenting, photos, link sharing, and email notifications. In a private Facebook group with all his buddies, Charlie Villanueva could talk about fighting Kevin Garnett all he wants in any language he wants without looking like an immature attention seeker.

In part two, I’ll talk more about other creative ways to using ‘exclusivity’ to enhance an athlete’s brand.

What do you think of athletes having their own ‘space’ online like Path and Facebook Groups? Will it help in providing less PR headaches? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

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Image by keithallison

About Sam Chan

Sam is the community manager of Sports Networker and the Sports Executive Association. He is passionate in all things sports, mobile, and social media. His dream is for the Vancouver Canucks to win a Stanley Cup in his lifetime, although so far, its looking kind of bleak. In the past, he worked with BlackBerry and helped relaunch their Business-to-Business network. With his experience there, he can probably help you change your ringtone, maybe. When he finds time (never), he also writes infrequently at his personal blog. If you would like to talk sports, write a guest post for us, or argue about why iPhone > BlackBerry, you can find him on Twitter, Facebook or email.

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