The Intersection of Sponsorship and Social Media

Category: Blog - June 14, 2010

We’ve all heard it: If Facebook were a country, it would be the third most populated country in the world. That means on Facebook alone there are more than 500 million people who are passionate about something.

So, how do we manage the intersection of sponsorship and social media in a  smart and targeted way?

Engagement. It’s the foundation of social media and the result of leveraging an individual’s passion. In sports, passion drives action, and action by a targeted audience is every company’s goal. It’s a simple road map, but one with many crossroads and detours. Identifying opportunities for engagement with customers and employees helps build brand loyalty and encourages action.

So how should clients engage in social media with sponsorship activation?

1. Participate and show you care. Engaging with the customer and tying your brand to a cause is sponsorship 101 in the social media world. Just remember – doing good is the new social currency and service is the new black. Check out Pepsi Refresh Project for example.
2. Engage with original content. Don’t repurpose – give your customer an experience they can’t find anywhere else. Find ways to reach your customers year-round away from your event or playing season. Social media can be one of the most beneficial ways to engage with your consumer fan base if you bring expertise and provide a platform for engagement. Who’s doing it right? The NHL is the only league where more than 50 percent of fans go to the league website for information and interaction. Timberland’s eight-episode branded entertainment video series, titled “Tough Guys of the NHL,” showcased an NHL tough guy each week in a short two-minute video, print story and Podcast. It became a popular download of NHL.com and has seen good traction on YouTube.
3. Promote offline events online and know when to reach your audience. Sports sites have their largest amount of hits each day at 4:45 pm. It’s no coincidence that Miller Lite runs all its ‘Miller Time’ ads.
4. Build communities worth joining. Create fan connections and tools worth sharing. Guinness recently created an iPhone App for rugby fans traveling to a global tournament in a Cantonese-speaking country. The app included translations, tournament schedules and, of course, local bars that served Guinness.
5. Think influence, not eyeballs. This is probably the most difficult concept for old-school marketers to understand and support. Gone are the days when impressions and ad values are the only measurement of a successful sponsorship program or campaign. Today it’s about opportunities for participation and valuing expressions, not impressions. Value the emotions and behaviors created by your brand, not solely the number of impressions a story or advertisement receives.
6. Provide services, not marketing. Consumers are smart and they won’t be forced to listen to your brand. Invite them to engage with your brand by providing a service that is useful or helpful in validating their passions.
7. Connect fans to each other. Whether its fans for your brand, or fans of a team, connect them. Host the platform they need and want to use to interact.
8. Make it viral. If you successfully activate the ideas above, this will take care of itself.
9. Listen. Reward loyal customers. Be Authentic. Measure. Repeat.

By understanding and activating these strategies, you lay a foundation for strong ROI (Return On Involvement) with your sponsorship and help create meaningful experiences to engage with customers.

Matt Hansen

Account Director

Editor’s note: Some of these insights are based on new information and statistics given at IEG’s 2010 conference.

Tags: sports marketing, social media, engagement, sponsorship activation

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