Social Media s Influence in the Changing Scape of Sports Marketing. By: Courtney Atherton

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1 Social Media s Influence in the Changing Scape of Sports Marketing By: Courtney Atherton Social media is becoming a viable and proliferant tool in the marketing world. New ground is being broken for the use of social networks, and sports marketing is changing and adapting to the new models. Sports marketers must adjust their goals to keep pace with a transforming economy. Fan s connection to sports is changing and social media is creating a new channel for fans to interact and be a part of the action that they may not get at the stadium or ballpark (Reed, 2010). The marketing world is evolving as new technologies develop and Though sports media is a unique discipline, it is not exempt from the evolution to which the rest of the marketing world is subject. Marketers are aiming to engage and expose the community to both sponsors and athletes, allowing for these parties to collaborate. Social media in sports marketing can mean anything from athletes personal branding to community building within the fan base. Sports marketing is a broad arena that includes both marketing sponsors through a team brand as well as marketing the team itself to individuals. This medium includes collegiate teams, semi-professional teams, and professional teams alike. For the purposes of this paper, professional teams will be the main focus. For decades sports marketing has focused on sponsorship- based strategies, which have borne the brunt of the recession because non-sports products have begun to shy away from the sports domain (Goldman, 2011). Sports marketers [are having to] rethink their offering to ensure a real, positive and significant connection between sponsorship investments and product sales (Goldman, 2011). This is where Pat Coyle, former Director of marketing for the Colts

2 and owner of Coyle Media, becomes relevant. His company focuses on helping teams make money through digital media. The main revenue sources [they] assist with are sponsorship, ticket sales, and community building (Reed, 2010). Through the emergence and successfulness of this company, we can see how sports marketing is moving towards digital focus. Coyle s main idea is rethinking sports marketing now that the fans are in charge. In the past couple of years we have seen the sports world focus more on fans and their relationship with the brands. This has been made possible through social media and networking. Not only can fans connect more with the athletes themselves, they can be connected to sponsors as well. Pat Coyle makes the point that the theory is simple: connect fans to each other and you connect them closer to your brand, they want to see socialize with other fans. They want to be seen and recognized and they want to feel like they are getting inside access (Reed, 2010). We can see that social media sites that Facebook are becoming a significant part in people s lives. The average global consumer now spends more than five and a half hours per month on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter (Social Sports Marketing, 2010). Even now, in the beginning of the social media buzz the NBA has about 1.7 million fans on Facebook. Through using social media in sports marketing, brands can more efficiently produce athletes personal branding, create community, and encourage fan interaction. Athletes themselves are beginning to utilize social media to their advantage to create a direct relationship with their fans. The value of [an athlete s] brand influences opportunities like marketability, popularity, and sponsorship (McGarry, Athletes Using Social Media for Personal Branding: 3 Case Studies, 2011). Social media is giving

3 athletes the opportunity to develop characteristics such as authenticity, creativity, and engagement towards their fans. Through athletes current use of Twitter we can see how these characteristics encourage fan participation. Nick Swisher, an outfielder for the New York Yankees, is a good player but more so than talent, his use of social media to build his brand has given him recognition. He is able to portray his character as charismatic and likeable. With around 1.5 million followers on Twitter and 160,000 Facebook likes, Nick Swisher enhanced his brand value by giving fans a view into his personal life. Another benefit of using social media in brand building is creativity. Rajon Rondo, a Boston Celtic, worked with Activ8Social, [a social media company,] to launch a contest where fans followed him on Twitter, were given scavenger hunt clues, and then received prizes if they showed up at the designated locations (McGarry, Athletes Using Social Media for Personal Branding: 3 Case Studies, 2011).

4 Rondo used social media not only to connect with fans but also to give them an interactive experience with him personally. With around half a million Twitter followers and 3.5 million Facebook subscribers, Rondo was able to use social networking creatively to show his fans that he cares about them. Another noticeable athlete in the social media realm is Larry Fitzgerald. As a player for the Arizona Cardinals, he has utilized social media to actively engage with his fans. He has around 1.25 million followers and is the 4 th most popular NFL on Twitter. He uses Twitter as not only a way to let fans in on his daily life, but he goes a step further by regularly reaching out to fans (McGarry, Athletes Using Social Media for Personal Branding: 3 Case Studies, 2011).

5 While it is clear that fans are gaining control (Reed, 2010) in the sports marketing world, social media brings transparency to the sports world, and it is this transparency that creates new opportunities for personal branding (McGarry, Athletes Using Social Media for Personal Branding: 3 Case Studies, 2011). As social networks continue to develop, they are increasing the impact of networked publics. Networked publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies. As such, they are simultaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined collective that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology and practice. They allow people to gather for social, cultural, and civic purposes, and they help people connect with a world beyond their close friends and family (Papacharissi). This is one of the many characteristics of social media that is allowing sports marketing to utilize it as a tool to build community around their brand. Sports fans participate in the social media phenomenon for self expression, for affinity to the group and because their friends have joined the group. Businesses are using their sports related Facebook presence to get access to these fans and to generate revenue. Revenue for a sports team can come from sponsorship, selling tickets or branded merchandise (Social Sports Marketing, 2010). Through the networked publics of sports created through social networking tools, fans are able to interact with players, get up to date information about teams, and experience the game in a way that wasn t possible before. Before this technology, fans participated with other fans in person through watching the game together, now there are online communities where fans can interact with each other across space and time constraints. This new form of interaction gives fans the power to play a part in controlling the information they receive. Pat Coyle recently

6 interviewed Chris Schlosser, G.M. of MLS Digital and he had some interesting views about the uses of social networking (Coyle, 2012). He said that social media has three main parts, creating great content, having conversations with fans, and providing service to fans. In his opinion the last part is the most important. Schlosser says that he sees Twitter as the best customer service tool available. It gives brands the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with fans and address questions and complaints directly. Beyond fan interaction, Schlosser says that Twitter has proven to sell more subscriptions for their game streaming than did Facebook. Overall, it is clear that the evolving social networks are creating a more cohesive and interactive environment for the sports fan community and sponsors. Social media has given sports marketers the opportunity to engage with fans and sponsors on a level that was not possible before. Social media [has] facilitated innovative ways of sharing information about brands between friends. Whether consumers are voicing their affinity for certain brands or their experiences with products and services, Facebook not only encourages this type of sharing but can accelerate its reach and virility (Andrew Lipsman, 2012). From direct interaction with fans to fans interaction with each other, social media has allowed sports marketers to build a community around their brands that not only prove to be more efficient but also let the fan feel more involved.

7 Bibliography Andrew Lipsman, G. M. (2012, March ). The Power of "Like": How Brands Reach (and Influence) Fans Through Social-Media Marketing. Journal of Advertising Research, Coyle, P. (2012, April 4). MLS Digital unveils new social, mobile local strategies for Retrieved May 8, 2012, from Coyle Media : Goldman, M. M. (2011). Post-Crisis Sports Marketing Business Model Shifts. Managing Global Transistions, 9 (2), Ian, A. (2011). Effective Marketing Communication Efforts of Sports Development Initiatives: A Case Study of the Public Sector in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Business, Humanities, and Technology, 1 (1). McGarry, T. (2011, February 15). Athletes Using Social Media for Personal Branding: 3 Case Studies. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from Sports marketing 2.0 : McGarry, T. (2011, April 14). Value of Cross-Platform Social Media Marketing. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from Sports Marketing 2.0 : Nur Undey Kalpakiloglu, N. T. (2011). Viral Marketing Techniques withing Online Social Network. Journal of Yasar University, Papacharissi, Z. A Networked Self. New York, NY : Routledge. Reed, F. (2010, January 11). Sports Marketing in the Age of Social Media. Retrieved April 20, 2012, from WebProNews: Social Sports Marketing. (2010, May 25). Retrieved April 20, 2012, from Social Video CEO :