The challenge of social media for major league sports is how to engage fans without disengaging them from the game by interrupting those all-important moments of play. After all, sports are probably the last redoubt against time-shifting. The moment is everything in sports. Participants at Friday's "Sports Meets Social" panel at Bloomberg, part of Social Media Week, talked about integration without interruption, its challenges and opportunities. Don Sperling, VP of entertainment for the Super Bowl-winning New York Giants, concedes that keeping fans focused on the game while engaging them in social media requires a back-and-forth approach. "We frankly compete against ourselves," Sperling said. "When you promote a game in a stadium like MetLife, the real goal is to keep fans loud when the other team has the ball. But at the same time we are trying to create platforms and take care of our business partners with replays and tweeting, etc. But it's a distraction. At one point we want fans loud; on the other hand, we are giving them reasons to look down at their iPads and smartphones. It comes down to weighing priorities and goals." Major League Soccer has the same issue, according to Chris Schlosser, the league's director of digital strategy. He said that if anything, soccer requires even more of fans' undivided attention, as the action tends to be nonstop. "We have supporter groups cheering for the whole 90 minutes of a game,” Schlosser said. “We don't want to take away from that passion. But social media and technology can amplify it, whether it's sharing with photos or unique experiences." He said engaging fans via social media is worth the trouble because it doesn't so much create a culture that didn't exist before as much as support one that has already been central to the experience. "Fan groups are by nature social," he said. "They come together on Saturday night to watch games, and they are already using digital tools to talk to each other." He said his job is to give them tools to do what they are already doing, and find ways of rewarding them for doing it -- such as a fee-ticket program around the MLS team Sporting Kansas City. Both Schlosser and Sperling said that stadium infrastructure is table-stakes, which would seem obvious -- except that a lot of stadiums aren't even wired. "It's about giving fans the ability to control their experience and access information where and when they want it. So if they miss seeing a goal while they're at the stadium, they can see it [on a mobile device.] We are working with clubs to make sure they are wiring their stadiums." The NFL is engaged in a similar league-wide initiative to put more technology into stadiums, which Sperling said will actually help fill stadiums -- a problem the Giants don't have, but many teams do. But he said that although the Giants have a brand-new stadium at the Meadowlands in New Jersey, at the end of the day, the best game presentation is a winning team. The sports leagues also use social to keep momentum going during the off-season, especially when events like the lockout threaten to disconnect fans. The Giants conducted a social media program last year during the off-season and lockout in which fans could vie to have their faces appear on game tickets. And the team also ran a social media night around the Super Bowl game, via a partnership with Google+. The program involved four Giants engaging fans on social media. And Schlosser said that for MLS, Twitter is the world's best customer service tool. "We use it constantly on game night to answer fans' questions," he said. "We spend lots of time with our social media people on what to say and how, and on who to go to for approved responses. We have done lots of work to inform executives that it's important. It may be Saturday night, but we can't wait until Sunday or Monday to get them an answer."
Chief marketing officers will no doubt be gratified by -- or at least derive encouragement from -- the conclusions of the fourth annual “CMO’s Agenda” report from strategic marketing consulting firm CMG Partners. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 “game-changing” lead marketers at companies spanning a broad cross-section of U.S. businesses, CMOs are stepping up to the plate in the face of the unprecedented changes and challenges facing their companies to evolve well beyond their traditional roles, reports CMG. Those changes/challenges have resulted from a confluence of the lasting effects of the “Great Recession,” volatility in markets, technological innovations, consumer/customer empowerment, and the inherently global nature of today’s business environment, sums up CMG founding partner Russ Lange. “In the face of what could be a daunting mission, the CMOs we’ve spoken with have adapted into a super-species we like to call ‘Marketing’s CEO,’” says Lange. “No longer just the master of corporate advertising campaigns and promotions, Marketing’s CEO is a true driver of corporate growth and strategy.” Some CMOs are taking responsibility for functions including operations, finance and public policy. For example, one CMO reported that all initiatives/projects that affect revenue are now run through marketing. However, the report acknowledges that this evolution toward greater influence is “on the threshold” rather than in full flower in many companies. The CMO “must earn not only his or her place at the table, but also his or her voice,” it concludes. “While the door to the C suite has cracked open, CMOs must now rise to the opportunity to not only enter but also remain in the room.” In addition to the broader-authority role evolution, CMG identifies four other core trends affecting CMOs:
Just in time for spring turkey season, outdoor outfitter Cabela’s is unveiling expansion plans, including a new retail concept called Cabela’s Outpost. The first store with the new format is expected to open this fall in Union Gap, Wash., near Yakima. The new stores are smaller, about 40,000 square feet, and will be built in currently underserved markets. The Sidney, Neb.-based chain says it believes the new concept will work especially well in the western U.S. and Canada. Stores will target towns with populations of less than 250,000 people -- too small to support a full-sized store, but likely to have plenty of people avid about hunting, fishing and camping. The smaller stores will include online order kiosks, as well as free shipping to Cabela's Outposts, with an in-store pickup program. Visually, the company says Outposts will still have the chain’s signature rugged outdoor look and theme, but will feature seasonal product assortments in a more flexible floor plan, which can create very different looks throughout the year. Digital signage will also be an important part of the interior layout. "This is an entirely new concept for us, and that is what is so exciting," CEO Tommy Millner says in its release. "They will extend our footprint into smaller markets and increase the range in which the Cabela's retail experience reaches our loyal customers." The company is also expanding its next-generation stores, with five set to open in 2012, and with three scheduled to open in 2013: Columbus, its first store in Ohio; Grandville, Mich.; and Louisville, Ky. Each will feature a Gun Library, Bargain Cave and Fudge Shop. So far, Cabela's operates 34 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Separately, the company turned in record earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter, with total revenue climbing 5.4% to $983.7 million, and same-store sales increasing 1.7%. And net income jumped 25% to $75 million, compared to $59.9 million in the year-ago quarter.
Mazda North American Operations is partnering with Universal Pictures for a promo centering on the 3D version of “Dr. Seuss' The Lorax.” Irvine, Calif.-based Mazda will associate with the film, which opens March 2, to tout its Skyactiv technology, which boosts fuel economy. The partnership gave Mazda access to the Lorax film’s designers to help with a co-branded national commercial spot. The ad, in 30-second and 45-second versions, features the 2013 Mazda CX-5 small crossover. The company says that the crossover is depicted in "Seussified" form: It's an animated version of the CX-5, although the company says it won’t have the outrageous bric-a-brac appearance that conveyances tend to have in stories like "Green Eggs and Ham." Mazda's U.S. design chief Derek Jenkins hunkered down with the filmmakers to create a look for the CX-5 that did not violate the actual vehicle design or the Seuss aesthetic. Jenkins reviewed storyboards and helped the movie's animators pen a version of the vehicle for the ad. Mazda's advertising agency, Garage Team Mazda and Chris Meledandri's Illumination Entertainment and the Paris-based animation house Illumination Mac Guff also created the ad, wherein the CX-5 travels through the "Truffula Valley." Around each curve in the road viewers see one of the animals featured in the story, while also hearing Mazda product benefits. The Lorax is also featured in the spot, with distinctly Loraxian actor Danny DeVito doing the voice, as he does in the film. "This seemed to be a natural fit,” said Don Romano, Mazda's U.S. CMO, in a release. “The collaboration and integration that went into creating these custom-animated spots…is unprecedented." The ad broke Feb. 17 on national networks. Then, on March 2, the 30-second spot will run in all theatres playing PG titles. Between Feb. 20 and April 2, Mazda North America will donate $25 per test drive, up to $1 million in total, to the National Education Association (NEA) as part of the organization's Read Across America Program. As part of the "Read Across America Tour - Driven by Mazda," which focuses on getting the book version of "The Lorax" to students, Mazda will provide Lorax-wrapped CX-5 and Mazda3 vehicles. The effort is integrated online, per Mazda, with digital assets and social media applications promoting the film and test drive donation program. There will be a co-branded Facebook page, a shareable applet and a call-to-action banner on www.mazdausa.com.
Consumers are looking to on-demand video programming more and more, but the pay-TV operators who generally control those offerings may be facing some disruptive challenges in the near future. According to The NPD Group, video-on-demand revenues from pay-TV services hit $1.3 billion last year, with 15% of consumers age 13 or older having used the services at least once in the 12-month period between August 2010 and August 2011. All told, there were about 40 million users of video on demand during that 12-month period, according to NPD (formerly National Purchase Diary.) However, a competitive set of Internet video-on-demand options is growing at a healthy clip as well. Revenues from Internet video-on-demand hit $204 million last year, and the channel (which includes offerings from iTunes, Amazon, Vudu and others) hit seven million users by August 2011. According to NPD, one out of every six (16%) paid video-on-demand movie rental transactions were attributed to Internet sources in 2011. With the increase in Internet-connected video devices (particularly TVs), that number could accelerate quickly. “Internet-connected everything will absolutely accelerate adoption, and it wouldn't be surprising to see doubling of iVOD in a year to 18 months,” Russ Crupnick, senior vice president of industry analysis for the NPD Group, tells Marketing Daily. Moreover, the evidence suggests that more consumers are choosing to forgo the pay-TV services for the Internet services. According to NPD, iVOD users reduced the time they spent watching television shows, news and sports via pay-TV companies by 12% between August 2010 and August 2011. According to NPD, consumers perceive iVOD movies to be a better value than those offered by pay-TV companies and that the Internet offers greater availability of titles. “Cable companies need to improve the user experience, become better marketers of VOD, and work with [production companies and studios] on getting ‘most favored nation status,’” Crupnick says. “Consumers will ultimately use a variety of services so there is opportunity for cable to be one. But there also risk they get shuffled out.” “iVOD distributors are effectively using CRM, free trials, and other promotions to gain trial usage of their services by new customers,” Crupnick said. “With this new competition eating away at revenues, pay-TV operators need to be equally aggressive with promotions, in order to instill a habit of movie buying among their subscribers.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, Presbyopia is a condition in which the lens of the eye loses its ability to focus, making it difficult to see objects up close. I’m afraid that many in my generation are also at risk for social presbyopia: the inability to acknowledge the seismic shifts in behavior driven by social media -- and worse yet, the reluctance to personally embrace these changes themselves. Sure -- baby boomers are catching on to Facebook, but I still find tremendous resistance to the notion that social media is more than another dot-com fad. To quote one such reader of my recent MediaPost article on the future of social shopping: “Sheesh. There is nothing -- NOTHING -- solid out there, yet, to suggest that social media (SOCIAL MEDIA!!!!) is going to have much of an impact on, well, anything.” Clearly, this particular gentleman is fed up with all the social media hype, or perhaps he’s simply overwhelmed by the seemingly endless drivel he sees on Twitter and Facebook. But regardless, he does have an acute case of social presbyopia -- one that is undoubtedly aggravated by his inability to focus on what’s happening below the surface. You, however, can avoid this problem with the following prescriptive steps. When in doubt, scan the search results On the surface, Google+ is a classic example of over-hype. Its rapid enrollment of 100 million users seems mythical; its purpose is not easily differentiated from Facebook; and its role in the marketing mix is still unclear. But stopping here would miss the point. If search results matter to you, as they do to 99.9% of brands, then consider who owns and operates this social network. Google is already indexing Google+ posts -- quite favorably it seems -- so frankly, it’s be there or be missed. Peek beyond the pictures After attracting over 12 million unique visitors last month, Pinterest has become the poster child of the next new thing. Given the simplicity of this online “pinboard,” which simply aggregates pictures people find “pinteresting” into virtual scrapbooks, it would be easy to dismiss it as the domain of young women with too much time on their hands. In truth, many enlightened brands like Oreck, Chobani, Mashable and GE have discovered that Pinterest is a traffic-driving dream come true. (Shareaholic reported that Pinterest ranked 4th in referral traffic in January -- just behind Google!) It’s time to start seeing double Social TV is one of those emerging ideas that gives traditional couch potatoes fits while the CE industry and start-ups from the Valley to the Alley try to figure out how to integrate social media with TV viewing. Considering that over 12 million comments were shared socially during the Super Bowl, including a vision-blurring 10,000 tweets a second in the final three minutes, it is apparent that having a second screen open while watching TV is a new behavior worth monitoring. Clearly, waiting for the water cooler to share reviews is simply passé -- and also, it’s time to take a closer look at social TV apps like GetGlue and Miso. Keep your eyes on mobile MoSoLo is not a new neighborhood in Manhattan, but rather an acronym for the dynamic combination of mobile, social and location-based applications. Unfortunately, with FourSquare’s growth out of the headlines, this trend also could be dismissed as a fad and marketers might be tempted to throw the mobile social baby out with the location-based bathwater. Bad idea. Over 50% of shoppers consulted their mobile devices while at retail this past December; therefore, having a multi-tiered mobile strategy is essential for just about any brand. If your Web site isn’t mobile-friendly, fix that. Next, think about apps that deliver genuine value, integrate social and capitalize on mobile functionality like barcode scanning, GPS and voice. Don’t get trapped in the current fog about blogs Blogging -- one of the early wonders of the Web -- has been losing steam lately, particularly among B2B marketers. Some are undoubtedly distracted by newer social channels, while others find the commitment to generating quality content on an ongoing basis a bit overwhelming. Big mistake. Blogs are still among the best ways to improve natural search results, as well as provide genuinely useful information to ultimately appreciative prospects and customers. Final Note: Optical presbyopia is far from fatal and typically corrected with glasses, contact lenses and even laser surgery. Similarly, social presbyopia is hardly terminal and can be fixed with a steady diet of social experimentation and the vision to see past the naysayers.