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On Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2008 presenters Kathleen Hessert and Dexter Bustarde of Sports Media Challenge explained how they’ve leveraged sports fans’ enthusiastic online buzz for a variety of clients, including NFL, WWE, Ticketmaster, and more.Over the course of the teleconference, Kathleen and Dexter also outlined their 7 Radical Rules to Leverage Online Sports Fan Buzz:
- Fans and consumers are not the same thing
How fans behave as "fans" isn't necessarily the same as how they act as "consumers." The consumer side of a person might balk at rising ticket prices, while the fan continues to pay the price and show up to the games. With that, fans talk about different things online depending on whether they're communicating as fans or consumers, and change hats based on what venue they're in. To analyze the WOM, you need to understand which hat the person speaking is wearing. - Sports fans are always right -- and sometimes that's a good thing
When you're dealing with a sports fan, their opinions are already set -- you're not going to change their minds. To prove their point, Dexter and Kathleen presented a case study from NASCAR and Nationwide. With the visibility that an average fan can achieve, they're defining the conversation, and these conversations can lead to solutions to problems you haven’t even identified yet
- Even the smallest fan voice can have huge influence
This rule included a case study for Penn State and a controversial video posted to YouTube that showed an Ohio State fan being pummeled by beer cans. It didn't get many views originally, but was picked up by a smaller fan blog and then was picked up by a large sports blog. The school -- and blogger fans -- chimed in that the behavior wasn't typical, and it was bloggers who were able to put out the fire. - Look for ways to influence -- not just influencers
Sports is very personality-driven, so vocal influencers aren't difficult to find. Ways to influence, however, are another story. Speakers presented a case study for Southern Methodist University and how the University addressed fan-response to a hike in ticket prices -- specifically blogging about it, explaining why the decision to do so was made, and creating a dialog with fans. - Sports fans come for the highlights, but they stay for the game
This radical rule was demonstrated by the TMobile "Fave Five" campaign, which was rolled into the NBA All-Star weekend. According to the presenters, fans can spot link bait from a million miles away -- and it's content that counts.
- Creative authenticity is better than just one or the other
Chris Bosh (Raptors player) was trying to gain more fan exposure in order to get voted into the All-Star game, so he and a friend created a low quality video and put it on YouTube. The low-production effect, which may have garnered negative attention from the YouTube commenters, was surprisingly endearing to basketball fans. It wasn't the quality of the video that garnered fan attention, but the authenticity of the message.
- Sports fans like to keep score for you
They learn to read the stats sheets, and they like having tons of information. So give it to them.
Featured Speakers:
- Kathleen Hessert, President, Sports Media Challenge
- Dexter Bustarde, Director, New Media and Fan Engagement, Sports Media Challenge
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