• by Charlene Weisler , Op-Ed Contributor, December 4, 2013

Innovative cross-platform marketing has been part of the sports marketplace for years. Now, with the ability to leverage social media and partner with a variety of brands, sports is heralding in a new era of cutting-edge partnership and measurement efforts. The recent Promax Sports Media Marketing Summit showcased some of the more ground-breaking campaigns from a range of programmers, brands and advertisers.  You can view some of the speakers in this video.

With digital fragmenting the media landscape, there is an opportunity to forge interesting and successful joint ventures from the most unlikely partners. Take for example the CBS, Turner, NCAA, Coca-Cola integrated marketing campaign, which was very successful in the past. Recently some local elements were added and another advertiser, AT&T, was asked to join the partnership. Even the language has changed as Katie Miller from Coca-Cola Company noted, “We talk of partnerships and joint plans, not sponsorships.” Sales has certainly evolved.

Behavioral research and data is not left out of this evolution. Rich Riley of Shazam spoke of how you can use the Shazam platform to receive information such as competitive scores and standings of games. It brings the billboard to life, as commercials are Shazam-enabled and viewers can interact with products and create a call-to-action. 

Facebook is also involved in leveraging sports enthusiasts through the use of its data. Ashley Bradbury stressed the importance of mobile for this group and made the following recommendations to strengthen a brand’s messaging:

1.   Get on a news feed. It drives return on served ads.

2.   Focus on engagement. Know how your ad looks on a mobile device and create a clear call to action for shareable content.

3.   Use mobile app ads for installs and engagement.

4.   Use your data to target your own customers via Facebook users

John Ford of SyncSense offered a Nielsen-provable approach to optimizing video content, such as sports promos, through the use of neuroscience.   This tested methodology works on all forms of short-form video such as promos, show opens, closes and billboards and improves viewer retention, engagement and call-to-action and has increased commercial pod ratings without changing the creative or the branding.

Nielsen’s Stephen Master explained Fanalytics, which includes Fanlinks that match consumption with viewership. It offers clients a glimpse into sports fans’ product purchasing and store visits. In addition, NScore helps answer the question of who is the best spokesperson for your product. You may be surprised.

Sports engenders great loyalty and it tends to be viewed in real time. So it is in a prime position to not only optimize real-time social media connections where fans share their enthusiasm but can also help brands connect with these passionate consumers at a time of greater viewer engagement and involvement.  And it is all measurable, via the array of research offerings that track and monetize this passion and engagement across all platforms.