We identify ten of the most active and influential individuals operating in social media in the sporting and sponsorship area, and find out a little of what excites them in terms of what they do. Today we sit down with Rebecca Claffey, the woman behind the social media activation of the AIG sponsorship portfolio…
Who is Rebecca Claffey and what do you do that has secured your place as a Social media Maven for 2016?
I’m a Direct Marketing and Sponsorship Executive for AIG Insurance, which entails supporting day-to-day marketing campaigns for the AIG Direct-to-Consumer brand in Ireland, as PR, social media and activation around our sponsorship properties – Dublin GAA and the All Blacks, as well as the Golfing Union of Ireland, the Irish Ladies Golfing Union and Tennis Ireland.
We’re a small, tightly-knit team working on high profile and successful sponsorship properties so social media is a key ingredient to our activation strategy to cut through and connect with our audience. I work closely with our sponsorship manager John, our digital team Ross and Aisling and our global sponsorship team in New York and Auckland, as well as our social media agency New Slang to ensure that our social strategy is aligned. As a result team work and good coordination are very important.
2016 was a hugely successful year for AIG in Ireland on many fronts, particularly from a social media perspective. Thanks to fresh, exciting and innovative campaigns on social around the GAA Championship across all codes, as well as the historic series of tests with the All Blacks against the Irish rugby team, we made excellent gains in terms of our social media footprint and achieved huge engagement rates. With a new GAA season just around the corner, the All Blacks taking on the Lions, as well as other sponsorship, PR and CSR initiatives to help support and grow our business and brand, we have plenty to look forward to in 2017.
What is your personal favourite Social Media Channel?
Both personally and professionally, it has to be Facebook for its broad appeal and its huge potential for reach and engagement. As a platform it’s constantly innovating and looking at ways to offer its users something new.
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For AIG, Facebook is an ideal platform for us to connect and engage with our audience – customers and potential customers, as well as GAA, rugby and golf fans alike. Its targeting capabilities also are second to none and help us bring our message to its intended audience.
Although for live sporting fixtures, you can’t beat the immediacy and brevity of Twitter.
What do you think is the best thing about being able to communicate directly to fans or customers?
Social media allows us to communicate with our audience in a more human, real way and to have a bit more personality and warmth behind our brand. The fact that social allows us to strike a chord with our audience in a less formal way as a global player in the insurance market sector is invaluable to us.
One aspect I really enjoy of being able to connect with our follower base is being able to capture the magic of supporting your favourite sporting team and to give fans access to content and experiences that they wouldn’t necessarily get elsewhere. We get to add value for our audience and create unique moments for fans which is really special.
Read the views of our other Social Media Mavens for 2016
How much a part of your overall approach to marketing is geared towards social?
Social media is incorporated into every aspect of our sponsorship and Direct to Consumer brand. It’s the coalface at which we connect with our customers and followers, as well as being a constant test environment. Its immediacy in terms of reaching our audience instantaneously and having them react and respond in real time is something you just don’t get with other mediums.
We launched our consumer brand in Ireland in 2013, so as a fairly new player to the direct space we learn what works well and not so well from each campaign. As a result we’re constantly testing and refining to see what connects with our ever-increasing follower base and the general public.
Broadcasting or engagement, if you had to pick one which is the most important?
Initially when we launched our direct business and announced our sponsorship of Dublin GAA back in 2013, broadcasting our brand and making ourselves known would have taken precedence. However, now our focus is very much on the engagement side. Audience interaction is how we can get to the heart of how our audience consume and respond to social content. Building an affinity with our core target market in a competitive environment with shifting media consumption, trends and behaviours can be better realised via engagement, rather than broadcasting.
What are three social media accounts that you enjoy following?
I really like what AIB have done this year on the GAA front. Their always-on approach to enhancing the fan experience is second to none and their Hill 16 Facebook 360º video launched earlier this year is a great example of that.
The Guardian push out great think pieces offering a different perspective on a vast range of topics, that you might not normally give your full attention to while browsing their website.
Lastly, Waterford Whispers’ cutting satire always gives me a laugh. They constant have their finger on the pulse and are a welcome breath of fresh air from negative (or fake!) news.
Finally give us a social media post that you were pleased with the response to…
Our #DublinOurTeam video series, beautifully captured for us by Cube Media were a great success for us this year. They further unified the four codes of Dublin GAA that we sponsor, as they showcased the lives of players behind the scenes – how hard they work and how they strike that work/life balance.
The third instalment of the series featured Dublin Senior Footballer Denis Bastick and really struck a chord with our audience as he discusses winding down his involvement with the Dublin senior football team.
“It’s going to be very difficult… to walk away from the group” – @DubGAAOfficial‘s Denis Bastick #BackingEveryStep pic.twitter.com/bL2E5NsZw4
— AIG Ireland (@AIGIreland) August 24, 2016
