Flag
on
the
Play:
What
College
Athletics
Hasn’t
Figured
Out
About
Engaging
Fans
Brian
Reich
li#le
m
media
Kathleen
Hessert
Sports
Media
Challenge

#"lagontheplay

@kathleenhessert
@brianreich

Technology
and
the
Internet,
and
their
role
in
our
lives,
has
changed
how
we
communicate,
get
and
share
information,
the
media
we
consume,
and
the
reasons
we
engage
with
each
other
-­‐
online
and
of9line.
THE
EFFECTS
OF
THESE
CHANGES
ARE
BEING
FELT
BY
ALL
OF
US,
EVERY
DAY,
ALL
THE
TIME.

Information
moves
FASTER.
People
are
more
closely
CONNECTED.
We
all
have
DIFFERENT
OPTIONS
and
BETTER
CHOICES.
Our
EXPECTATIONS
ARE
HIGHER.
The
connections
we
make
to
the
issues
and
events
that
shape
our
world
are
being
TRANSFORMED
-­‐-­‐
rapidly
and
constantly.

How
organizations
operate,
organize,
and
communicate
must
be
RE-­IMAGINED.
The
passion
and
interest
of
individuals
must
be
RE-­
FOCUSED
and
RE-­DIRECTED.
The
ways
that
we
measure
success
must
be
RE-­ASSESSED.
The
ways
we
promote
big
ideas
and
create
better
solutions
must
be
RE-­ENVISIONED.

What
we
are
doing
isn’t
working
anymore!

What’s
NOT
Working…
• Missing
out
on
the
opportunity
to
engage
casual
fans.
• Too
much
focus
on
raising
awareness;
missing
out
on
engagement
and
revenue
opportunities.
• Metrics
(e.g.
likes,
follows)
don’t
inform
real
behaviors.
• Attention
paid
to
tactical
use
of
social
media;
need
to
think
more
strategically,
long-­‐term
• Undervaluing
photo
and
video
(Instagram,
Vine,
etc)
• Engagement
not
aligned
with
business
goals
• Infrastructure
&
resources
not
scalable;
not
integrated
• Basic
activation
with
limited
innovation,
evolution

Its
Time
For
A
New
Playbook
for
Engaging
Fans

Expand
the
de"inition
of
who
is
a
“sports
fan”

150+ Million
Sports Fans
Sports Media
Industrial
Complex
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
On
a
scale
from
1
to
10,
a
Casual
Fan
might
be
a
2
and
a
Committed
Fan
an
8.
Almost
everyone
is
a
sports
fan...
but
very
few
of
them
are
being
properly
engaged.

What
do
you
think?

Keys
To
Successful
Execution

Go
Where
Your
Fans
Are

Your
audience
will
tell
you
what
they
want
(and
probably
already
are).

Stop
broadcasting.
Start
a
conversation.

Give
fans
a
reason
to
participate
and
guide
them
to
act.

#GoBlue
Ecosystem
© 2012 Sports Media Challenge

20
Just
in
case
you
were
wondering...
#GoBlue
#LeadersAndBest
vine.co/v/blWrr7hBTq0
—
Roy
Manning
(@CoachRoyM)
June
10,
2013

GETTING
STARTED

1.
Compare
and
contrast.
Audit
your
fans
social
experience
for
alignment
with
business
goals.
2.
Start
engaging.
Post
content,
start
a
conversation
-­‐-­‐
just
do
it
in
a
smart
and
measurable
way.
3.
Build
a
system.
Don’t
just
put
a
plan
together,
create
a
sustainable,
scalable
mechanism
for
engaging
fans
differently.
WE
CAN
HELP!
We
Can
Help!

Athletic
Departments
need
to
ALIGN
digital,
social,
and
mobile
campaigns
with
BUSINESS
GOALS.
A
social
presence
needs
to
be
STRATEGIC,
not
TACTICAL.
Brands
must
be
INNOVATIVE
and
INTEGRATE
social
strategies
throughout.
The
social
presence
needs
to
be
a
SUSTAINED
effort,
not
ONE-­OFF
CAMPAIGNS.
Start
with
BASELINE
AUDIT
of
your
SOCIAL
to
evaluate
status,
growth,
and
future
direction.

Visit
http://www.buzzmgr.com/resources/flag-on-the-play/
to
download
slides
and
notes.
Brian
Reich
little
m
media
brian@littlemmedia.com
(646)
789-­‐1323
@brianreich
Kathleen
Hessert
Sports
Media
Challenge
khessert@sportsmediachallenge.com
(704)
541-­‐5942
@kathleenhessert

OTHER
EXAMPLES

-­
Lavender
Ladies
(51%
of
Baltimore
fans
are
women)
-­
25k
members
of
Ravens’
Purple
Club
-­
87%
renewal
rate
-­‐
Wait
List
is
90%
of
membership
-­‐
Purple
Merchandise
line
planned

•
FSU
follows
4
•
90,117
people
follow
FSU
•
89,244
have
FSU
in
Circles
•
145
in
Google+
FSU
Community
FSU
&
Google+
“Hangout”

Evian
U.S.
Open
“Instawalk”
•
3
superusers
(combined
600K
followers)
named
to
Digital
Street
Team
•
Instapics
displayed
on
Jumbotron
•
Campaign
grew
evianwater
Instagram
account
to
1000+
fans
•
Estimated
reach:
4.3M
impressions
•
Current
acct.
growth:
3440
followers,
1741
following,
385
photos

Additional
Thoughts

More
than
ever,
fans
are
in
control
of
their
own
information
experience.
If
news
and
information
is
important
to
fans,
it
will
Zind
them.

In
a
connected
society,
brand
is
about
experience.
What
your
fans
are
saying
about
you
matters
more
than
anything
else.

Brands
believe
they
can
create
engagement
through
sponsorships
and
ads
alone.
But
tickets
and
merchandise
sales
are
heavily
inZluenced
by
ongoing
social
engagement.

Colleges
and
universities
are
uniquely
positioned
to
leverage
social.
But
the
appetite
for
innovation
and
experimentation
is
still
too
limited
when
it
comes
to
sports.

There
are
many
more
fans
than
there
are
seats
in
your
stadium.

Fans
access
sports
on
every
platform
and
device
-­-­
all
the
time,
everywhere.
Their
fan
experience
is
always
on.

Acknowledge
that
fans
have
an
important
voice...
and
embrace
it.

Understand
the
difference
between
signal
and
noise

Unlike
more
traditional
data,
real-­‐time
social
data
analytics
can
re9lect
consumer
preferences,
sentiment
and
intention.
Its
the
immediacy
and
personal
nature
of
social
conversations
that
make
it
unlike
any
other
form
of
information
we
can
track.
It
is
important
to
track
more
than
just
mentions/interactions
with
your
own
brand.
How
your
audience
gets
and
shares
information,
and
what
they
are
discussing,
creates
opportunities
for
you.
Why
Monitoring
Matters

INFLUENCERS
Third
party
endorser
who
can
shape
public
attitudes.
High
visibility
reaching
More
people
than
average
fan.
Typically
needs
incentives
Will
move
on
quickly
to
the
next
opportunity.
ADVOCATES
More
passionate,
avid
supporters
Self
motivated;
don’t
need
incentives.
Align
&
commit
to
a
team;
unless/until
driven
away
Reach
niche
communities
More
direct
in9luence.
Identify
and
leverage
in"luencers
and
advocates

Work
together
with
your
fans.