Waiting or Winning: Using the Off-season Right

The commercial side of sports continues to change the way we play and participate with them. One of the most notable ways sports have changed as communication technology has developed is the off-season. One author claims that sports coverage has gone from 90% on-field and 10% off-field to probably 60% off-field. This transformation has made marketing and advertising a 12-months-of-the-year undertaking. There is no offseason. While it is pretty easy to get even moderate fans engaged during playoffs and championships, leagues, teams and players don’t want their brands leaving the public light during the long months of off-season.

    The problem these organizations have to overcome is a lack of newsworthy stories. How do we keep fans invested in our team when we are not playing any games? There are lots of sites and blogs that recommend ways to spice up off-season presence for sports teams. While not the only way to keep fans connected, social media is turning out to be one of the cheapest yet effective ways to achieve off-season brand building.

     Social media teams have come up with some creative and interactive ways to provide programs to keep fans engaged. The media team for Mizzou went with a strategy of making a theme for each day of the week. “Mizzou Monday,” “Trivia Tuesday,” “Where in the World Wednesday,” and so forth. On Wednesdays, fans were encouraged to post pictures of themselves wearing Mizzou gear from different places around the world.

     Since the NHL season ended, the League has been releasing “SEASON IN :60(ish)” videos for each of their teams providing a quick highlight video of their season. A new video comes out about every day and gives fans some hockey highlights to watch during the offseason. Yesterday they started the “30-in-30” campaign, during which each day for 30 days content on NHL.com and social media is focused on a different team. An organized media campaigns like this keep fans interested, knowing that each day holds something new to consume.

     A few years ago, the Carolina Panthers did a big scavenger hunt campaign. During “The PantherPurrsuit” fans completed different tasks to win awards and prizes. This year BYU is doing a similar kind of campaign that connects Cougar fans nationwide. In their Twitter campaign #BYU50 they are posting pictures of prize boxes they are dropping across the country and the first BYU fans to arrive win the prize. Programs like the Panther Purrsuit and #BYU50 are great ways to get fans excited about their teams even when no games are being played.

     There are lots of ideas out there to make the off-season brand building time rather than brand downtime. But the idea is basically the same. Get the fans involved and help them feel like they are connected to teams and player. Creativity will be the key to continued success in sports social media!

#hartnelldown

One of the biggest reasons social media are so powerful in drawing fans, building loyalty, and strengthening fan identification is the element of user involvement. In a way unlike anything available before the explosion of social media, fans can now feel like contributors and participants in the teams they love. In fact, some of the most successful social media campaigns in sports have been fan-initiated. Wise organizations can learn how to capitalize on fan movements.

     As I’ve mentioned, social media works a lot like waves. Anyone who has experienced big waves knows that when a big wave comes your way, there are only a few options. The first is to let it hit you, the thrashing to follow will result—at best—in some salt-water nose spewing and a full body sand rash! Another option is to simply try to swim under it before it breaks. Option three is to turn around, start paddling and ride it to shore. An organization can result to the tidal movements of social media in much the same way. They can let it thrash them, try to avoid it, or turn and ride it.

When Hartnell lefy Philly for Columbus, he posted this
letter on facebook praising and thanking his fans.

     When some Philadelphia Flyers fans noticed how often Scott Hartnell hit the ice, they created the #hartnelldown trend, which kept track of how many times he went down each game. Rather than resenting the joke, Hartnell embraced it, and even started the #hartnelldown foundation. The popularity of the movement has grown into something impressive. Hartnell pays a chunk of money to various charities for each time he falls in a game. It is incredible to see just how much has come of what started as a joke from some fans. When Hartnell was recently traded to Columbus, he announced that the #hartnelldown foundation would continue to support youth hockey programs in Philadelphia and expand to Columbus. If you look at any of Hartnell’s social media sites, it is immediately apparent from tweets and comments that his fans don’t just appreciate his hockey skills; they also respect him and appreciate his class. When this wave came crashing, Scott Hartnell started paddling and rode it in rather than standing and letting the wave score a big #hartnelldown. 

The #hartnelldown childrens' book