Social Media in Sport
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Show 7 covered Fan Engagement in Sport where Russell Goldsmith chatted with Antony Marcou, CEO of Sports Revolution and PRMoment’s Ben Smith.
L-R: Ben Smith, Russell Goldsmith and Antony Marcou
Antony gave some really interesting insight into a number of areas of marketing within the Sport Industry including:
- how the PR aspect of maximising a brand’s sponsorship through social media has a huge impact at the negotiation stage of the deal
- the benefits of the award winning project where installing high density Wi-Fi into Celtic Park solved the connectivity problem of trying to get a signal in a ground with over 60,000 people. This changed the way fans experience their visit to the game, as well as the impact it could have on the bottom line for the club
- ownership of new technologies and platforms as they launch and the role of the clubs and federations in the process, i.e. to police or participate
Ben looked at the impact social media in sport is having on regional media. He used his personal experience of how he used to go to the Daily Echo’s website to read about Southampton FC, but now gets better content directly from the club’s own website and social channels such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. This then lead to a discussion about ‘unofficial’ reporting, using examples of fan based podcasts such as The Spurs Show, – and what they mean to the clubs.
Other topics covered included how players can have more influence across social media than the clubs they play. This is particularly relevant when comparing the numbers of followers they have, which is just as relevant outside of sport comparing it to the case of key executives at major businesses.
The show also touched on campaign examples from the worlds of Basketball, Rugby, Sailing, Motor GP, F1, Golf and Cycling. In many cases, these sports have to work harder to engage with fans as they don’t have the money that flows in The Barclays Premier League. They may also not be the easiest to watch at the venues, where the TV experience is better from a viewing perspective. Many of the examples discussed are arguably doing a better job at engaging with their audiences through social media and mobile apps with real time data updates or certainly have the potential to. Stats generated from wearable or on-board tech can be shared through social.
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