Rumour has it that US pro sports teams have had to step in to prevent their stars from Twittering from the bench. Those not on the field or court have taken to sending the 140 character messages to their followers, delivering unique insights into the game in progress. Unfortunately for the clubs, many have not been a tactical assessment but a tirade questioning the judgement of the coach unwise enough to leave Player A out of the game.
Stories like these often make the headlines precisely because they allow the world an uncensored, unsanitised insight into the world of our sporting heroes, the sort of insight which has the power to excite and stimulate interest in new ways… All of which suggests that that the creative use of social networking opportunities around mass participation events represents an immense and low cost opportunity for brands in a number of ways… But will this be at the expense of sit-back and watch sports?
Social networking provides an opportunity to become part of the organisation of the events and of the training programmes of competitors and by extension their family and friends and the watching world. It allows competitors to share their experiences - the agony and ecstasy
Social networking media allows the world to get up close and personal, both before, during and after an event, potentially creating a unique bond between the event, sponsor brand and consumer. The world loves to Twitter and lives on Facebook. So how can marketers unlock their power? Here’s what this month’s four experts think.
Lucien Boyer: CEO, Havas Sports: “Social networking will not only help events develop, it will change the way the public relates to sport.”
Linda Fulford, Managing Director, Fulford PR: “Mass participation events are a good fit for social networking partly because of the similarities between the events themselves and social networking sites.”
Richard Gillis, SportBusiness writer and co-author ‘Defining Sponsorship’: “The problem is both brand marketers and sports rights holders want to control: the message, the IP and increasingly the media”
Don Morris, CEO, World Mind Masters: “Intellectual sports have the potential to become the ultimate mass participation events and offer sponsors a blank canvas for their creativity.”
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