The latest Sport for Business Members’ Round Table took a look into the future of how social media will continue to change the sports dynamic between fans, sports and brands.
The discussion was hosted at the heart of the future in media terms on the fifth floor of Google Docks, the home of Google and You Tube across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
We were joined by a high powered group of individuals guiding the way for organisations as diverse as Cricket Ireland, the GAA and the Irish Sports Council from the world of sport; Ulster Bank, Accenture and Google from business; WeRInteractive, Thinkhouse, Line Up SME, O’Leary Analytics and BSMG from the agency world representing brands as diverse as RaboBank, Gillette, Heineken and many more; as well as by Sport for Business and My Club Finances.
The discussion centred on four key themes of how social media is changing the way fans engage in sport, how sport is harnessing its power to communicate in new ways, how brands are developing new channels to tap into the increased closeness to fans and what are likely to be the main drivers of greater engagement again in 2013.
We kicked off with the results of a Sport for Business survey in the area and came away as ever with a list of ten take away points as well as an action list of initiatives in the area which we will progress in the coming months.
1. Social media will command an ever greater share of brand spending on sport because of its measurability and greater capacity to judge the return on investment in comparable metrics.
2. Building a community of fans in social media is all about dialogue. Using the channels as broadcasting alternatives will not work and the fans have to be listened to. Dell’s appointment of a critical blogger to head up social customer engagement was put forward as a good example of how audience rather than management was the key driver of the social conversation.
3. The ability to listen in social media was absolutely key across a number of different areas in sport and business, from fan sentiment on change to how consumers judge the involvement of brands in sport.
4. In order to stand out brands need to move away from news that is available across multiple sources to a ‘surprise and delight’ approach that takes on board customer engagement through different channels, develops a conversation around that and delivers something memorable that will generate ‘viral’ response within the core audience. A simple query about a rescheduled game in the RaboDirect Pro 12 developed into an engagement about how a seven year old son was smitten by his favourite team and a signed ball being sent through the post. The one to one engagement was shared to become a many to many brand victory….
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[ismember]5. Gamification was a huge trend for 2013. WeRInteractive developed the game side of Gillette’s You Tube soccer channel. The brand theme of preparation, backed up by a strapline of ‘the best a fan can get’ had generated six million installs and one million monthly players since launch this autumn and was being developed with sports science modules to enable better game performance and better brand stickiness.
6. Sports need to be clear about what their requirement is from social media. News is only one strand and a stronger element is likely to be the segmentation of fan groups. The recent ‘Rookie Week’ engagement in the NFL was held up as a great example of how social media can be used to demystify a sport for a whole new audience that were on the sidelines better understanding will lead to better support.
7. User generated content is becoming ever more important and ever more sophisticated. A Night at the Emirates was a five minute film shot on a hand held camera by one Arsenal fan that captured the experience of being a fan, was picked up and commented on in match programme notes by manager Arsene Wenger and became viral. The challenge for brands will be to let go and allow fans to drive the way in which they want to see and be seen.
8. Greater collaboration across sponsors, sport and fans was likely to be a main trend of 2013 and beyond. Rapidly changing technology and trends meant that big was being replaced by smart as the main attribute of successful teams and organisations in their ability to provide value to commercial partners. The ‘alpha male’ idea of numbers of followers being the main criteria for judgement of a campaign was already being undercut by those that get the greatest engagement.
9. Clubs at grassroots level need to ensure they are utilising the same channels and methods of engagement as the major teams in order to communicate with members and stay relevant in a world which is now open to them in a way that was never previously thought possible but which does demand resource to work to best effect.
10. The key trend of 2013 is likely to be the continued shift from desktop or laptop to mobile. It was previously the case that development for the larger screen was adapted for the smaller. That dynamic has already changed and will become more important over the next 12 months.
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Two areas to work on:
In 2013 Sport for Business will launch a suite of services for clubs to help them benefit from the closer engagement that social media brings to their membership. We will work in partnership with others to provide a knowledge base for club members that can be of real value to all.
The heightened fan engagement possible through social media will be a key theme of our April 2013 Round Table on Stadium Experience.
The next Sport for Business Round table will take place on the subject of Sport and Charity in December. If you feel you would like to participate and make a contribution in this area, please contact Sport for Business today.
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