Twitter and Sports - A Match Made in Heaven

If sports fans are passionate about one thing, it's sharing their excitement, disappointment, and unfiltered opinions when it comes to their favorite teams, and there is nothing quite like social media for providing the perfect outlet for that vocal sentiment.  Nielsen is out with their latest report, a social study detailing how sports fans and Twitter correlate when it comes to the biggest sporting events in September 2013 through February 2014.  The study analyzed Twitter conversations around the top 10 televised sporting events and some results of the study can be found here.  I've combed through the information to bring you some of the most interesting results.

http://bit.ly/1udtcm7

• During 2010, 50% of TV related tweets in the United States (492 million in total) were about sports events.  
• Out of the 20 most-tweeted television airings, 12 were sporting events.
• The average Twitter user sees 9 television series episode tweets, 25 televised special events tweets, and 32 televised sporting event tweets per event/episode.
• The biggest Twitter television audiences:
• The Super Bowl took top honors, bringing in over 25 million tweets with 15.3 million people seeing tweets about the event!
• The NFC Championship had just shy of 5 million related tweets, reaching 11.3 million people
• The AFC Championship had a smaller amount of tweets clocking in at 2.9 million, but saw those tweets reaching 10.8 million Twitter users
•  Not to be overshadowed by the NFL, college football held it's own in the top five with the BCS National Championship bringing in over 4 million related tweets with 10.4 million people viewing them.
• Rounding out the top five was the Olympics coverage with the opening ceremony, a visually exciting experience, generating 1.1 million tweets seen by a global Twitter audience of 9.5 million people.

The high level of engagement around sports and social conversations should highlight social media as a tool for advertisers, companies, and community initiatives to find a host of opportunities. Whether it's developing brand recognition, providing superior customer service and valued content to the consumer, or highlighting messages for amplification across various screens to new audiences, the future is rife with prospects for success.  The question remains, who will take advantage?

 

3 Ways Pro Sports Teams are Catering to the Connected Fan

Gone are the days in which professional sports teams have the luxury of allowing the game alone to satisfy their devoted fans.  In today’s ever connected world, the sports fan is dialed in like never before, seeking more content, more engagement and more recognition. Teams are turning to new and inventive ways to meet their fans’ unquenchable thirst, recognizing that they must carve out space in the fast moving digital landscape or be quickly viewed as outdated and out of touch.  The three hottest trends in bridging the gap between sports and tech savvy fans are focused on social media, mobile and geolocation stadium technology, and fan loyalty rewards.  While trending topics and the latest hashtag might fluctuate from day to day, these cornerstones in fan engagement provide a strong foundation for a successful sports business model.  At the end of the day it’s important to remember, that the teams that give more to their fans, get more fans in return.

1.)  Social Media Zones – The 2014 baseball season has just begun, but it has already brought a wave of new advances to one of the oldest, most traditional sports.  Major League Baseball has introduced instant replay for the first time, and is highlighting its progressive Advanced Media division with rolling out a new tracking technology that yields insights about the entire field of play from a base runner’s speed to the distance of a catcher’s throw.  However, while the league as a whole continues to dominate in the analytics realm, at the team level the focus is on the all American pairing of hot dogs and social media.  

Last year the San Francisco Giants were the first to integrate social media within their ballpark.  The team unveiled the @Café, a social-media hub, located behind the center field bleachers at AT&T Park.  The café, which was launched in partnership with Peet’s Coffee and Tea, provides an immersive social media environment, complete with a 12 x 4 foot video wall that displays all the latest and top-trending Giants-related Tweets, Instagram photos, and Facebook posts and check-ins.   

My conversations this week with Lisa Braun, Digital Marketing Director for the Reds, and Michael Harris, VP of Marketing for the Phillies, conveyed excitement that this year will mark two more teams joining the mix, with the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies offering up parts of their ballparks for social media mavens.  The “Reds Connect Zone,” located on the third-base concourse is open, offering social-media users charging stations for mobile devices, free WiFi and 25 screens displaying fans’ Tweets, Instagram photos and Vine videos, as well as Facebook polls and trending topics.  While the Phillies will unveil their new “Social Media Deck” on the Budweiser Rooftop within Citizens Bank Park later this summer, housing social media streams, mobile phone charges, and specialty concessions to provide a trendy hangout for younger fans.

2.) Digitally Connected Stadiums – In the world of sports and digital advances, no two pieces go better together than football and technology.  Whether it’s new indoor GPS tracking devices detailing athlete performance, sensors crunching the numbers on head collisions to increase player safety, or the yellow line that every fan has come to know and depend on for the most accurate assessment of a team’s progression on the field, the NFL has continued to dominate the sports world with the latest and greatest.  Today’s NFL fan demands the same level of technology available in-stadium as they are used to outside of it.  As HDTV brings increasing competition and enticement for fans to watch the game from the comforts of home, NFL teams look to in-stadium enhancements to improve the overall experience.

 The New England Patriots have often been the test case for the successful implementation of new ideas across the league, becoming the flagship team in online technologies.  In 2012, Gillette Stadium was completely rewired for WIFI technology and HD cameras, and mobile live-stream views of the game plus replays became available to all ticket holders. Last season the Patriots offered their first mobile app upgrades, providing in-seat food ordering, and geo-location services offering fans information on the nearest restroom and concession stands.  By this fall, the Pats hope to get really analytical, using data on individual tastes and buying patterns to prepare inventories and target early ordering.  With each season, the team becomes more advanced, on-par with the level of expectation of their fans, and the growing competition with cable television.

While the Patriots have used Gillette Stadium to build and then test out new technologies, the San Francisco 49ers are using their move to Santa Clara and partnership with Intel to design the first fully outfitted and technologically advanced stadium from the ground up.   The 49ers want the new stadium to be a technological showcase harnessing the WIFI connections, food ordering availability, and mobile friendly atmosphere of Gillette Stadium, while adding what only Intel can provide: the finest in computers, sensors, digital signage, and security, as well as interactive areas for fans to play with the latest in tech products.  The new stadium is set to open this fall, with many looking to partake in the future of football behind it’s doors.

3.) Rewarding Fan Loyalty - Among NHL fans, there's a favorite adage: "There's nothing like playoff hockey."  The NHL playoffs are a testament to endurance and grit, a grinding four best-of-seven rounds to get the illusive Stanley Cup.  The playoffs have fans turning out in numbers, flocking to social media channels, and embarking on the streets dressed in their favorite player’s jersey.  However, it’s the rest of the long 82-game season that has NHL teams looking for new opportunities to keep fans interested in the sport, and recognized for their tried and true dedication.   

The Washington Capitals decided to target just such a dilemma with the launch of the first comprehensive social loyalty program to reward fans for engaging with the team via social media and at the Verizon Center last year.  The free #CapsPowerPlay program was the first social rewards program in the NHL, offering Caps fans the chance to win exclusive team prizes and experiences through social actions including checking into games on Foursquare, using team hashtags on Twitter and Instagram and sharing Caps content on Facebook, with each action generating a different level of points.  An ultimate prize package for the fan that lives and breathes all things Capitals, included four tickets in a catered suite to a Caps game, access to watch pregame warm-ups from the penalty box, and an autographed jersey.   

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins advanced the fan reward system to the mobile phone last year with the introduction of PensPoints.  The program focuses less on social involvement (although points can be earned for posting to Facebook or Twitter), instead rewarding fans for actions they take in person.  The program uses QRC codes to gift fans with everything from free t-shirts to a monthly giveaway for a road trip with the team.  Rewards points are generated from attending games, buying concession food and merchandise, listening to the game on the radio, or engaging with activities in and around the arena.

 

2013: A LOOK BACK IN SPORTS - PART 6 - NCAA FOOTBALL

 Continuing last week's coverage, I take a look this week at Nielsen's data on sports fans in 2013 focusing on the latest findings on NCAA football.  You can read the full-summarized report here: http://bit.ly/1fT9KVa.  I've read through it and here are some of the most interesting facts from the past year:

Source: http://bit.ly/1ppC8j4

The changing leaves, the crisp air, the endless pumpkin baked goods, for many these images call to mind autumn and with those thoughts also come dreams of a college football championship season.  A record thirty-one NCAA football games aired nationally in 2013, not even counting the bowl games, compared to only twenty-two games in 2012.  This was in large part due to a dominate SEC division, Florida State’s catapult to fame run in the ACC, and strong showings by Michigan State and Ohio State in the Big 10.  The games drew over 5 million viewers on average, while the 2014 BCS National Championship had over 25 million viewers dialed in to watch the battle between Auburn and Florida State.  Fans took to Twitter as well, with 4.4 million tweets by 1.2 million unique authors flooding the Twitter airwaves during that time, a 400 thousands tweet rise from 2012. 

Source: http://bit.ly/1iRBGdp

• Florida State may have broken the SEC’s seven consecutive BCS championships, but the conference enjoyed another banner year having the most viewed college football games of the 2013 season with 9.7 million on average tuning in for the top 10 nationally televised regular season games involving a team from the SEC.
• The Big-10 brings in the second largest audience with an average of 7 million watching their teams compete.
• Top NCAA football advertiser: AT&T Wireless 
• NCAA football fans are 18% more likely than the average U.S. adult to have life insurance and 24% more like to belong to a health club.
• The average NCAA Bowl Game viewer is most likely to be a white male aged 55+ who makes $20,000 -$40,000 annually.
• The top storylines in the 2013 NCAA football regular season included Alabama holding the top spot in the polls until the final week of the season, Auburn and Missouri’s resurgence, and “Johnny Football” lighting up the scoreboard for the Aggies. 



Source: http://bit.ly/1eC8DsE

• The top two local fan bases with most-devoted fan bases saw the percentages of their population having watched, attended, or listened to the team in the past 12 months clock in at over 60%.  The top two spots were so close in fact, only one percentage point separated first from second place.
•  The Alabama Crimson Tide’s local fan base in Birmingham took second place with 65% of the population faithful and dedicated to the organization. The top honors however, landed with fans in Columbus, where 66% of the population stands behind the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Online Reputation in the Digital Sports Age with CBSSports.com Columnist Gregg Doyel

            Earlier this week I brought you a glimpse into the timeline of events that lead to NFL player Richie Incognito’s fall from grace including digital imprints in voicemails and texts, as well as excessive tweeting, that added fuel to the story and left a lasting public opinion of the player as the worst kind of bully.  My guest interviewee, national columnist Gregg Doyel, writes for CBSSports.com and shines a light on the struggles with reputation in the information age.   This week he wrote a piece on Incognito and his battle with seeing the worse of himself in the public spotlight and whether he could learn something from all his mistakes (http://cbsprt.co/1c7PudP).  I was curious to get Doyel’s take on this, especially regarding our own unique relationship.

Doyel on CNN 2009

Before this week I’d have been more likely to call Doyel an enemy than a friend.  In 2009, at the height of my tabloid explosion, CNN covered dangers in the workplace and whether the sports world plays by a different set of standards, with Doyel as their expert guest.  Instead of using his time on air to talk about workplace dynamics, Doyel spent most of it degrading my appearance and sounding off on the fact I was only news because I was so unattractive.  And just like much of my struggle in regaining control of my online reputation (lawsuits, press circuits, websites), the video of Doyel remains heavily YouTubed to my name.  This week Doyel made a conscious decision to right his wrong, using social media to reach out to me and apologize for his behavior and embarrassment at the man he once was.  I wanted to get inside his head both in his professional setting detailing Incognito's story and in his personal life looking back at his public mishaps.  I wondered what brings about this negative behavior, is there something to learn when we’re faced with the worst of ourselves, and is there a way to leave behind a positive image in this crazy digital jungle?

Source: http://bit.ly/1nsPIXw

Q.) What do you think propels those in the sports world to take a more abrasive, "bullying" tone in dealing with one another?

A.) "I think it's personal weakness. We all want to be perceived by our peers -- strangers, sadly -- as being cool or snarky or smart or whatever, and so we tee off when we can. Sometimes it translates to bullying, sometimes to cruelty or insensitivity. I suppose in some cases, sure, it's a person acting out based on how they've been treated, and now it's THEIR chance to treat someone badly. But in more cases, I'd bet it is just people showing how weak and pathetic they (we) are by wanting to be perceived as cool by a flock of strangers who don't care about us in the first place. Talk about pointless."

Q.) How do you think the digital age has changed how we view sports professionals?  Has it hurt more than helped?  Has it changed how you report?

A.) "Social media can show us the beauty in the world by allowing us to share and spread links about wonderful stories, but it also has made everything uglier because it has allowed us to see the real people we cover and watch, and also it has allowed us to show the real US who are covering and/or watching sports. Every person is flawed and imperfect, and social media doesn't just take off our makeup and toupee, it aims a magnifying glass on our blemishes. The irony is, we're the ones aiming the magnifying glass at ourselves by trumpeting just how flawed we are as people. "

Social media has, finally, made me become a nicer reporter/writer. I'm no longer chasing the snark crowd. If I have a snarky thought and the readers like it, great. But also, I know they're going to like prettier, more uplifting stories, and those are the ones I make it a point to pursue. If too much time passes since I've written one of those, I make it a point to write another one. Social media has helped me see the necessity of that. People crave good news. And I crave it myself.

Source: http://bit.ly/1hmPbic

Q.) Looking at the long term effects of the digital imprint of ourselves that's available 24/7, how do you think Incognito's story will play out?

A.) Incognito isn't smart enough or nice enough to win on social media, so he needs to get off Twitter. Some people don't have the tools to win people over, and unless he changes who he is, he doesn't have those tools. He's bound to screw himself up by saying the wrong thing; meaning, showing us exactly who he is. And who he is, up to now, is a dislikable jerk (at best). My advice to him would be to stop being mean and try to be nice. Easier said than done, and you have to have that wiring within to embrace kindness. Not sure he does.

Q.) Do you think there can be successes in sports with social media?  Is there a way to balance connecting with fans and showing a fun loving side, but not destroying one’s professional reputation?

A.) There are some athletes who I'm pretty sure aren't the nicest people ever, but because they're so good on social media, they win anyway. Brandon Phillips of the Reds is one. Chad Johnson (was) another. Some people are just so good at social media, even if they're not terribly good at winning people over on the field or in the clubhouse that it works for them. But those are the outliers, the exceptions. They do exist! But it's really hard to appear nicer on social media than you do away from it. Those two have done it, and kudos to them. They've shown me another side of them, and made me reconsider them as people because they are so charismatic and kind on social media.

The Rise and Fall of an NFL Player

            The story of Richie Incognito has been a captivating one.  From the sudden and dramatic exit of teammate Jonathan Martin from the Miami Dolphins to four months worth of damaging voicemails, texts, and an independent report all pointing to Incognito as the instigator for the worst kind of workplace bullying, it’s filled the sports pages with a look into a locker room culture few are ever exposed to. It's also created an interesting case study into the damaging effects on reputation among sports figures in an age in which the news breaks quicker, social media allows for a digital imprint of bad behavior, and in which poor decision making can result in a nation-wide reprimand through online public attacks.

In today’s world you’re quickly judged in the realm of public opinion before you can often even respond to the story, and rectifying one’s online reputation can be daunting at best especially for those who were largely unknown before the damage was done.  Here’s a quick roundup of the events of the past four months to shed a light into the fall of Incognito’s reputation and the digital footprint it’s left behind:

 

·      News breaks Jonathan Martin has exited the Dolphins – ESPN’s source claims “he just snapped.”  http://es.pn/1jLvYZj

·      @jeffdarlington from NFL.com reports on Twitter: “Richie Incognito was advised by Joe Philbin tonight he has been indefinitely suspended by team while NFL investigates."

·      ESPN's Adam Schefter obtains transcript of threatening voicemail with racial slurs that Incognito allegedly left Martin.  http://huff.to/1mdq4Sz

·      More troubling new, police report surfaces, claims suspended Dolphins lineman Incognito harassed a women at a golf outing.  http://bit.ly/1fjAzlp

·      Incognito gives first interview to Fox Sports, claims “I am not a racist.”  http://foxs.pt/1oVMM3L

·      Jonathan Martin gives first interview to NBC, states he felt “trapped” by bullying. http://nbcnews.to/1fbwuwP

·      Over a 1,000 text messages between Incognito and Martin are made available, constant themes of racial discrimination, degradation of women, sexually explicit threats towards Martin's sister and mother, and harassing of teammates abound.  http://bit.ly/1boZdPG

·      Investigator Ted Wells commissioned by the NFL, produces 144 page report citing constant harassment and derogatory slurs of Martin, teammate, and assistant trainer, with Incognito as the main instigator alongside two other players.  http://on.nfl.com/1hadvnR

·      Richie Incognito takes to Twitter to respond to Wells Report asks to “stop the bullying” and angrily denounces Wells report before quitting Twitter.  http://usat.ly/1eWPiOr

·      Richie Incognito returns to Twitter on apologetic tour to fans, Martin, and agent. http://usat.ly/OdUFDW

·      NFL teams state few if any options remain for Incognito despite apologies.  http://usat.ly/1d48f27

CHANGING THE PLAYING FIELD

             The biggest saga playing out in the sports world this week has been that of the Missouri Tigers' former defensive end, and future NFL draft pick Michael Sam openly announcing to the world he’s gay.  The headlines have covered most of the drama from Sam “conquering the final frontier” and “rewriting the script for young athletes” to the opposition labeling the young star as having “stock dropping fast” while NFL executives anonymously cite “distractions and uncomfortable teammates” as potential problems for Sam.  The saga has made superstars out of some remarks like sportscaster Dale Hansen, whose on the air speech condemning the NFL has gone viral (http://bit.ly/1fZ3Lfg) while circulating others like The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart rant on the hypocrisy of an organization that accepts criminal behaviors, but admonishes someone’s sexual orientation (http://bit.ly/1bmjp7p).  All of this while generating a lot of water cooler talk about workplace environments and the tolerance of discrimination as reported from the players’ themselves in Andrea Kramer’s piece inside the NFL's locker room (http://on.nfl.com/1gEgPaC).  This in turn only generating more popular support for stories like that of rookie Jonathan Martin who felt so uncomfortable playing for the NFL he left the dream job entirely.

http://i.imgur.com/gDpLyZT.jpg

            While each storyline lends itself to big picture discussions on cultural dynamics, human rights, and workplace discrimination issues, what I found most compelling were actually a few lines Michael Sam was quoted as saying to The New York Times, “I just want to make sure I could tell my story the way I want to tell it…..No one else should tell my story but me” (http://nyti.ms/1fWMANA). Going on to say that he didn’t want to be known just as the first gay athlete, but rather for his good character.  For all of the publicity surrounding the event and the talk of paving new civil rights lines, a young 20-something Sam has grasped what many before him in sports haven’t: owning one's brand.   

            Sam is likely to have grown up watching the epic falls from grace of billion dollar athletes like Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong.  These top level players found themselves sitting in countless interview chairs and making publicity rounds not because they wanted to, but rather to apologize and to plead to their fans for forgiveness, forgiveness for hiding behind a false identity, for a history of lying and bad behavior, for their poor sense of entitlement, for presenting an image to the public that they themselves never once lived by.  To many, these household names have made a mockery of their sports and their personal brands and as a result of their bad behavior have watched not only sponsors drop out, but left many lifelong fans feeling disgraced by their once biggest idols.  

Source: http://bit.ly/1lF4qWG

Michael Sam in contrast is comfortable with the man he is and not afraid of any repercussions that might erupt from projecting his inner self outward, even if it might mean less money or having to work harder to prove his skills to earn a coveted NFL spot.   While his sport may be one of team over individual as opposed to that of golf and cycling, he has shown wisdom beyond his years in taking the driver seat at the onset of his career.  He controlled the message and the medium, and understood that he could either be sitting in that chair after a tabloid rag made a few bucks off of photographing him one night in an embrace with another man, or he could sit there as an athlete at the top of his game, with a team in the Midwestern heartland that respected and stood behind him knowing full well his sexual identity all season-long, and who’s excited about his future and the role he can have in inspiring other young people.   

Any NFL team should be proud to welcome him into their locker room, forget the publicity, forget the team dynamics, forget the history making, if the NFL needs a reason to push aside the interest of the press and take stock in the skills of this young athlete let it be because he has truly proven himself as a professional as much on the field as he is off.  Will it be complicated? Yes.  Will it be new territory to navigate? Yes.  Will the press be knocking at the door a lot initially? Yes.  But eventually the storyline will fade, the season will get underway, reporters will run out of things to spew on the subject of being gay in the NFL, and a lucky NFL team will not only have one of the most talented defensive linemen in the game, but also a leader, a role model, and a guy whose jersey is going to sell well to kids around the country.  Given the reputation of the NFL for being known more as the “National Felons League” than the “National Football League” a man with good character, a lot of heart, and a positive self-image entering its doors, who can not only play football, but play it extremely well, well that my friends is something to write home about.