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.

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• 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.

 

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.

2013: A LOOK BACK IN SPORTS - Part 1

Nielsen has released it's data on sports fans in 2013 and needless to say it was a great year for sports programming, sports content, and an exciting season for just about every sports fan.  You can read the full summarized report here: www.nielsen.com/us/en/reports/2014/year-in-the-sports-media-report-2013.html: I've read through it and here's some of the most interesting facts from the past year:

SPORTS CONSUMPTION 

·      232% increase in hours of national sports programming in the past 10 years, over 33 billion hours of national coverage in 2013, consumed by 255 million people

·      Average fan spends 90 minutes browsing a sports website, 30 minutes watching video on a sports website, and 75 minutes accessing sports content on a phone each month

·      Sports make up only 1.2% of TV programming, yet make up nearly half of all tweets about TV.

·      African Americans spent the most time accessing sports and sports video on the web, while Hispanics were the most likely to view the same content on their mobile devices 

NFL BREAKDOWN:

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·      All five broadcast networks carrying NFL games saw an increase in viewership this season. Four of the six highest rated Sunday Night Football telecasts featured the Broncos.

·      More than 10 million Americans used fantasy football apps, spending 2 hours and 15 minutes on average a month there, with Yahoo leading the way.

·      NFL fans are 41% more likely to have consumed a craft beer in the past month, and Bud Light is the NFL’s top advertiser. 

·      The average fan is likely to be a white male, aged 55 and older who makes $40-$75K annually. 

·      The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints topped the pack of most-devoted fan bases with over 80% of their population having watched, attended, or listened to the team in the past 12 months. 

 NBA BREAKDOWN:

http://bit.ly/1ja1xf9

·      NBA fans are younger and more social than any other sport.

·       Viewers sent 27 million Tweets during the NBA Finals alone in 2013, and five of the top ten most tweeted about sporting events are NBA games (only the SuperBowl drew more). 

·      NBA fans are 66% more likely to have used Twitter in the past month, and Sprint Wireless is the NBA’s top advertiser.

·      The average fan is likely to be a black male, aged 18-34 who makes $40-$75K a year.

·      The Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs topped the pack of most devoted fan bases with 60% or more of the population having watched, attended, or listened to the team in the past 12 months.

 MLB BREAKDOWN:

http://bit.ly/1g1cZaI

·      MLB fans are older and wealthier than any other sport.  The 55 and up demographic makes up half of the audience, and those making over $100K a year drive 21% of the market.

·      MLB games saw in increase in TV viewership this year, but also go hand in hand with radio listeners, seeing out of the park gains during the World Series in both the St. Louis (65% gain) and Boston (211% gain) metro radio markets.

·      MLB fans are 37% more likely to have taken 10 or more domestic round-trip flights in the past year, and the top MLB advertiser is Verizon Wireless.

·      The average fan is likely to be a white male, aged 55 and older who makes $40-$75K annually. 

·      While all of the top five most devoted fan bases including Milwaukee, Boston, Detroit, and Cincinnati had 65% or higher of the population having watched, attended, or listened to the team in the past 12 months, the St. Louis Cardinals pulled to the top of the pack with 76% of the population.

 NHL BREAKDOWN:

 

my friend's baby

·      Despite a lockout and shortened season, NHL viewership continued to grow in 2013 by almost 20%, including a series-clinching game six of the Stanley Cup Finals bringing in 8.2 million viewers.  The Finals across the board were the most watched on record, averaging 5.8 million viewers.

·      The audience is also growing more affluent with over half of the population making over $75K a year. 

·      NHL fans are 34% more likely to own a tablet, and the top NHL advertiser is Discover Credit Card.  

·      The average fan is most likely to be a white male aged 35-54 making $100K a year or more. 

·      Three of the top five most devoted fan bases including Boston, Detroit, and Buffalo had over 40% of their population watching, attending, or listening to the team in the past 12 months, but only the Pittsburgh Penguin fan base cracked the halfway mark, coming in at 54% of the population.