Digital Strategy – Page 2

The Two Keys to Building a Successful Loyalty Program

kirk_wakefield 2014, CRM, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Relate, Social Media August 1, 2014November 1, 2018fans, goals, hockey, LA Kings, loyalty, message, new, NHL, principles, starting, strategy 0 Comment

by Kelly Cheeseman – August 2014

Everywhere we turn these days we are constantly reminded about loyalty. Every business seems to have a rewards program or a loyalty program. Case in point, on a recent shopping trip to the mall I made transactions at four stores and bought lunch. Four out of the five stops asked me to sign up for their loyalty program including the pizza place! All of the locations were offering perks in exchange for my information. As sports teams evolve and start entering in to this very crowded “loyalty” area of the business, we must not lose sight of what makes our industry unique: We already have loyalty with our fans.

Loyalty and pride of our teams is what our customer base is built upon. The connection with our teams and the memories that come from it is the foundation of the wheel that drives us. Our great fans are with us through thick and thin. Realizing this and leveraging this is an important step as we develop our loyalty platforms.

With the LA Kings and LA Galaxy we have started to establish new loyalty programs, and we strive to drive these programs with two key principles.

#1 Be transparent and authentic with goals and message

There is no doubt that the goal of every loyalty program is to gather more information about customers. Learning their habits and info in order to allow us to reach our business goals is an important part of how we can have success. Our mission is to make sure we are open with our fans that our goal is to gather this information to help make their experience better. If we simply just tell them that they will be rewarded if they attend games or buy tickets, we may not see the results we are looking for in this busy “Loyalty” marketplace.

#2 Return the favor to the fans

Through thick and thin our fans are with us and they expect us to be loyal to them. So asking them for their “loyalty” is a slippery slope that can be insulting if framed in the wrong light.

We need to return the favor with great service and experiences. Our goal with our loyalty program is to build upon this fandom and become fans of our customers. We can’t forget where we come from and we need to celebrate and support our fans by giving them experiences that fit their needs. To some people this may just be free items or discounts, to others this may be experiences you can’t buy. Diversity in their choices is important while recognizing them for helping us and updating them on our progress of improving their experiences. As we establish and run our programs these are the key principles we are shooting for to break through the noise of the evolving and growing loyalty marketplace.

What can teams learn from Manchester United? How to hang out with fans on Google+

kirk_wakefield 2014, Digital Strategy, Relate, Sell, Social Media, Sponsorships April 1, 2014November 1, 2018@Realmadrid, #FrontRow, community, global brand, Google+, hangout, Juventus, Manchester United, ManU, MLB, MLS, NBA, NFL, NHL, social media, sponsors 0 Comment

by Alex Stewart – April 2014

Manchester United is a global brand

Manchester United, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona, have the most fans outside their own country. They can count on fans in emerging markets, especially Asia and Africa.

The Red Devils may be suffering on the pitch currently, with the tenure of David Moyes, Sir Alex Ferguson’s anointed heir, currently a stuttering work of bathos, but their relentless commercialization shows no signs of abating. Indeed, it has become something of a running joke that United cannot seem to win much at the moment except for a slew of endorsements and commercial partnerships ranging from Japanese snacks to diesel engines.

Google+ Campaign

Manchester United has an active, if fairly staid, social presence, but they have recently become one of two clubs (Real Madrid being the other) to begin exploiting the burgeoning potential of Google+. With some 1.15 billion registered users, Google+ is a more dynamic, interactive social platform than the less agile social media such as Twitter and Facebook. United has hosted chats with the team on Hangout, and, most recently, launched Front Row, a campaign to encourage that global fan-base mentioned above to participate in the match day experience.

Using a hashtag-based competition, similar to Juventus’ #LoveJu fan choreography campaign, Manchester United invited fans to submit a picture via Twitter or Facebook using the #MUFrontRow hashtag to show their passion for the Red Devils. Winners were then selected from this group to participate in a Google+ hangout, which displayed their faces on the pitch-side advertising hoardings at Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United, during the showpiece match against north-west rivals Liverpool.

Why the hold up?

Google+ has been around a while, so why has it taken so long for football clubs to recognise and develop its potential?

Clubs’ use of social seems to fall largely into two camps:

the sometimes successful tongue-in-cheek conversation with fans via Twitter, and
the rather generic release of team information, photos, and match reports via all platforms.

Google+ requires thought in order not to be simply yet another platform on which to post the same pictures and comments. But, with thought, Google+ can be perhaps the most useful of all platforms for clubs.

Google+ fan interaction = community

Fans love nothing more than to debate and discuss, to put questions directly to their heroes, and to feel part of a community. This is especially so when it comes to fans of a team in a foreign country.

If you are a die-hard United fan from Thailand or Ghana, you might never get the chance to go to Old Trafford. Google+ hangouts allow a level of engagement and participation that is immediate, actual, and generates the kind of fan engagement that builds a genuine sense of community.

Circles = Global reach for sponsors

The use of ‘circles’ on Google+ also allows the content managers for United’s social team to tailor material specifically to fans in different countries. This, in turn, has an obvious benefit for a club with specific sponsorship partners in different locations. Those commercial tie-ins can be used only in the circles where the have an impact for the sponsoring partner.

The use of Circles is not the only benefit for sponsors. DHL already hosts the Hangouts with players. AON, the title sponsor of United, sees their logo emblazoned across shirts in every Hangout.

Customized messaging

The tailoring of commercial messages across specific circles can also benefit sponsors. The main plus point, though, is surely that Google+ allows fans across the world to feel connected in a way that other platforms cannot. It creates a direct, bespoke level of conversation, at times a genuinely two-way conversation, with a variety of content that realises and solidifies a fan’s passion for her team.

Football clubs benefit sponsors mostly by positive association rather than direct messaging. The global reach of Google+, married to its ability to create more of a genuine feeling of community than any other social platform, means it could be the most significant vehicle for generating earned media for clubs yet, with all the commercial benefits that entails.

Manchester United might be struggling on the pitch, but in the social space, they’re setting the pace.

Digital CRM is the New Ticket Sales

kirk_wakefield 2014, CRM, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Relate, Sell, Social Media April 1, 2014November 1, 2018CRM, customer relationship management, digital, digital ticket campaign, innovation, Property Consulting Group, revenue, social media, ticket sales 0 Comment

by Neil Horowitz – April 2014

The most eye-popping statistic shared at this year’s National Sports Forum (February 9-11, Dallas) came from Associate Athletic Director and Chief Marketing Officer at the University of South Carolina, Eric Nichols (@ericnichols):

A $38,000 digital media budget realized $922,000 in track-able ticket sales.

That number is astounding to be sure, but the point isn’t so much the level of success, but that taking shots in the dark in digital should be a thing of the past. Data is the new & reigning king in making marketing, sales, and activation as efficient and effective as possible. Companies like the Property Consulting Group who executed the digital CRM campaign for South Carolina are the wave of the future and the now.

Where do you start?

Before investing in some expensive data mining software or hiring an agency, the first thing to do is commit to integrating social, digital, partnerships, & sales. This means insights and ideas are shared across channels and inform best practices:

Is the sales staff ready for a new marketing campaign and the messaging coming from the team to its fans?
Does the marketing team know what questions, concerns, and suggestions are coming from sales leads and fans?
Are sales and leads acquired tracked by source so the value of digital dollars spent can be assessed?
Are analytics from social media content used to optimize messaging, campaigns, and calls?
Social CRM with Microsoft Dynamics

Integration = Sharing

“We’ve gotten better at incubating ideas for web and social media that sales can use in the future,” said Ali Towle, San Francisco 49ers Director of Marketing. A similar sentiment came from Jeff Meyer, Senior Vice President of Event Marketing and Sales for Feld Entertainment. “Our marketing and sales people are one and the same in our organization.”

That sounds all well and good, in an abstract kind of way. But, as is the common refrain in sports, it all comes down to execution. And execution begins with one simple concept: sharing. Sharing data, that is. We may be tired of hearing it, but as long as it’s true we must keep reminding ourselves to eliminate “silos” within our departments.

Understanding what drives sales, what works in marketing, what could be useful for partnerships – all of this data, and the insights drawn from it, should be consistently shared.

Start small and build

We can easily be overwhelmed with the amount of data available. Start with those on your team with the talent and willingness to share and collaborate to reach a common goal. Then begin to utilize big data to get more nuanced with:

specific marketing campaigns
targeted sales programs
sales lead scoring
customer relationship management
web and email marketing analytics
equipping partnerships with data to sell and renew clients

Every action a fan takes to interact with the team is a signal of intent, an insight about their personality, desires, lifestyle, activities, or opinions. The interaction with the customer is where it all starts.

You have a choice: lead or lose

Leaders in the field of sports recognize that mass marketing campaigns and ticket reps pounding out calls to single-game buyers lists from 2009 are old-school.

As David Peart, Senior Vice President of the Pittsburgh Penguins, shared, “There will be a digital transformation. In the next five years, we see marketing as primarily digital and social media and ticket sales relying more heavily upon CRM and analytics, as we interact with fans on a 1-to-1 basis where they are and in the way they want to be reached.”

Those clinging to the status quo will be left hanging by a thread. Those who see the future of digital and big data have already begun the transformation. Where will you be?

Cover photo courtesy of the Digital Traffic Squad.

#LoveJu: How Juventus & Jeep Partner to Target the Digital Fan

kirk_wakefield 2014, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Relate, Social Media March 1, 2014November 1, 2018activation, brand, communication, Creative sponsorships, engagement, fans, Juventus, Serie A, soccer, social media, sponsorships, Success, twitter 0 Comment

by Alex Stewart – March 2014

#LOVEJU

Juventus, la Vecchia Signora of Italian football, may be one of the most established brands in Italy, but she recently showed the sort of innovative approach to earned media that many newer, more agile brands could only sit back and admire. Using a multi-platform approach to social media, Juventus ran a competition to design a vast choreography within the stadium during the heated match with fellow soccer grandees Inter Milan.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foKIndrO6Uc

Users uploaded their suggestions via a Facebook app for a placard-based design to be rehearsed and performed by the Juve faithful as the teams took to the pitch. The app received:

3122 suggestions,
over 4000 registered users,
290,000 views, and
over 18,000 users voted for their favourite submission online using the #LoveJu hashtag.

This hashtag is itself a superbly crafted example of digital interactivity, a homophonic pun that is simple and appealing, and works on a platform where English is still the most used language.

During the game, the interactivity continued, as tweets using #LoveJu were displayed on the stadium’s massive screens. Many events now have this form of interactivity and it surely cannot be long before most stadiums in Europe follow suit, with the appropriate levels of screening, obviously.

[dropshadowbox align=”center” effect=”lifted-both” width=”650px” height=”” background_color=”#ffffff” border_width=”1″ border_color=”#dddddd” ]

“This was a great initiative, yet another example of Juventus’ modernity and innovative thinking. A number of clubs are embracing social media in Italy and doing a really good job at engaging with their support. The other clubs that spring to mind are Milan, Roma, Fiorentina and Parma with Inter and Napoli probably a touch behind though not by much. To return to the #LoveJu initiative, though it looked great and was a real success, I do think fan choreography is at its best when it’s spontaneous and designed by the supporters rather than the club.” ~ James Horncastle[/dropshadowbox]

Proper planning

Juventus’ initiative was over three months in the planning. They have had a digital department for two and a half years, which is longer than many clubs in Europe. I asked whether there were plans to follow up the choreography event and was told, perhaps a little cagily, that “it’s something that could perhaps be considered, but we view this particular event as more of a one-off”. Of course, with the app already produced and the hashtag well established, the nuts and bolts of such an initiative are in place, so any reactivation would be fairly straightforward. Indeed, one might ask why, given its undoubted success, it would not be something that the club would commit to. I suspect that it is an example of comms smoke and mirrors, rather than a genuine likelihood that it was a one-off.

Connecting the dots for sponsors

The Juventus spokesman I spoke with stated that “one of the aims of our social media initiatives is to give visibility to our sponsors.” Of course, this is achieved by repeated visual exposure to the shirt and its sponsor, Jeep. Beyond this, though, and the obvious positive brand association with a widely covered and ground breaking social media initiative, it is difficult to see any immediate, tangible benefit accrued by sponsors.

The predominant benefit for sponsors, anyway, is visual earned media and positive association for fans of the club with that brand. So, in that respect, something which is globally reported and talked about as a viral event achieves that aim. Nonetheless, I suspect that clubs and sponsors are working hard to maximize the earned media potential of social media engagement.

Building the digital fan base

The Juventus spokesman told me that social media is for the club is about:

building a closer relationship with our fans and football aficionados,
understanding their needs and opinions, and
gaining and reaching out to new international fans worldwide.

The digital age has spawned what I like to call the digital fan, someone who may live on the other side of the world, but who feels part of the supporting community and lives that support as part of a connected web of fans, using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to participate in the supporter experience.

Before you might have been able to buy a club shirt and watch the occasional game on television, but now clubs can generate and drive support and engagement with social media. Fans feel actively part of the community through chat rooms, forums, and other online discussion platforms. Games can be watched on a wide array of satellite channels or live streams online. A digital fan can be almost as engaged as a season ticket holder who sits in the stands every week, and may even be more knowledgeable and active in their online life.

The #LoveJu choreography initiative was clearly designed to tap into this digital fan base and did so, registering interest from all corners of the globe. It is important for the digital fan to feel connected and so the participation rates for effectively planned events are high. Since this captive market puts itself forward to be part of an event, what sponsor wouldn’t want a piece of that action?

Opportunities for global brand partnerships

More and more events of this nature will be coming from clubs with a global fan base. Global clubs and brands may partner to activate on each other’s websites and feed back into the clubs’ other communication channels to increase visibility and brand engagement. The potential is too big to ignore; where the Old Lady of Turin has led, others will surely follow.

How Can Teams Use Social Media To Build Brand, Develop Fans & Tell Their Story?

kirk_wakefield 2014, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Relate, Social Media February 1, 2014November 1, 2018digital, Dodgers, fan base, personality, social media, super-fans, tell a good story, twitter, University of Miami 0 Comment

by Neil Horowitz – February 2014

Before the days of social media, the frequency and avenues of touch points between brands and consumers, and teams and fans, were few and far between. Beyond media broadcasts and ads, team slogans printed, and in-venue experiences, the concept of building a brand and using it to develop fans and partnerships was an afterthought. But times have changed and the ubiquity and depth of social and digital media in sports has made brand building not just a possibility, but a necessity. Teams and their brands are live entities, speaking to, and interacting with, fans on a daily basis.

Why should sports teams care about their brands?

The most successful teams in terms of marketing have fans with whom they’ve built emotional ties. These fans understand:

What the team stands for,
Why they support them, and
The need to evangelize on their behalf.

Do your team’s fans understand their roles in the community? Have you intentionally empowered them by clearly communicating the core values of the team and engaging them in the task of building the fan base? Without a strong brand purpose, this very real and effective value is lost.

Go ahead, make their day

“If we [interact with a fan on social media], 99% of the time we’re making their day, said University of Miami Associate Athletic Director Chris Yandle (@chrisyandle).”Small stuff like that can make fans feel part of the program and that’s ultimately how we build brand ambassadors who help (further) build our brand…They’ll help amplify our message and fight for our cause.”

While brand ambassadors can deliver direct return by convincing a friend to go to a game, talking up the experience with the team, and generally just promoting awareness and interest for the team, there is more. These super-fans proselytize and spread the team brand even more, developing more fans in the community and defining the team. The Dodgers used social media with great effect to this end, as they sought to win back a fan base that had felt alienated.

Tell a good story

“I’m trying to tell a story and it’s the Dodgers brand story,” explained Los Angeles Dodgers Coordinator of Social Media, Josh Tucker (@joshbtucker). “It’s having a voice…but staying on brand. You can still have a personality on behalf of the brand; it’s just understanding and finding that voice.”

There is a proliferation of teams trying to cultivate a “personality” on social media, often of an irascible variety, pioneered primarily by the Los Angeles Kings Twitter account. Ultimately, the most effective brand building for teams comes down to trust – developing a lasting, emotionally invested and trusting relationship between fan and team.

Trust doesn’t just happen

Trust cannot happen with a shower of marketing messages and one-way broadcasting; it takes proactive, two-way engagement. Tampa Bay Lightning Director of Digital and Social Media James Royer (@jamesroyer) spoke of the importance of forming this relationship in order to get the most out of social.

“We saw [social media] as ‘Let’s interact and engage with our fans,’ said Royer. “Let’s earn the right to market to our fans, by engaging with them first.”

What about you?

Think about your favorite pro sports teams. Think about the team you work for. Do you have an emotional attachment? Can you define the brand? Tell the brand story? Are you a fan evangelist? Are your fans brand evangelists?

Social and digital media bring the brand to life, opening opportunities for fan development like never before. Understand its value, use it correctly, and use it strategically. Then that’ll be a story worth telling.

Why you should go to the Digital Sports Fan Engagement Conference

kirk_wakefield 2014, Digital Strategy, Marketing, Relate, Social Media January 1, 2014November 1, 2018Dallas, digital conference, engagement, experts, fans, interactive, sports 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – January 2014

The Digital Fan Engagement Conference to be held March 3-4, 2014, in Dallas (TX) looks promising.

Q1 Productions, a leading organizer of research-based, education program content, shared some content with us from some of the leading presenters. These interviews are posted in full on the Q1 productions blog and highlight the conference content.

Why should we go?

1. Best practices. The conference will highlight best practices in connecting with sports fans through advanced digital and social media strategies. The upshot is you’ll be more likely to develop content applicable and engaging for fans.

Speakers for the program represent leading experts among teams, universities and brands.

Tyler Tumminia, Senior Vice President of the Goldklang Group notes, “I am most looking forward to hearing and sharing the best social media practices, industry-wide. From Adidas to Nascar and everywhere in between, the Digital Sports Fan Engagement Conference will feature an array of experienced organization that leverage social media to create valuable content.” Tyler continues, “The conference is a tremendous resource for both fans and industry professionals to learn valuable practices on engaging fans via social media. Conferences where everyone is a creative sponge often lead to the best new ideas and adaptations.”

2. Interaction. All presentations will incorporate time for dialogue between the presenters and audience. So, the conference is, well, engaging. Brainstorming and knowledge sharing will allow for the opportunity to discuss and learn from shared experiences.

As Chris Yandle, Assistant Athletics Director, Communication at the University of Miami Athletics notes, “Social media is a telephone, not a megaphone. To be a successful brand, you can’t stand on your soapbox and just scream what you want to convey. You have to actively listen and communicate online. In order for your brand to be successful you have to provide customer service and give the digital sports fan content they can’t get anywhere else.”

We can learn from each other on what we’ve found works best in communicating with our fans.

3. Unique focus. With so much to discuss on trending topics, the conference will offer value and interest to teams and organizations throughout the sports industry. Focusing directly on fan engagement will allow for a unique and targeted discussion unlike any other conference program in the industry that we’re aware of. Here’s a look at just the first morning of the conference:

See you there

Who else plans to be there? Let me know (@kirkwakefield) and we’ll get together. For more information regarding the Q1 Digital Sports Fan Engagement conference, visit the Q1 website at www.q1productions.com/sportsfanengagement.

About Q1 Productions:

Q1 Productions designs and develops webinars, training courses, conference programs and forums aimed at specifically targeted audiences, including the life science and sports industries. Through a highly structured production process focused on research calls with end-users and key stakeholders in the industry, our team is able to understand the immediate business concerns of today’s leading executives. Whether focusing on new or pending legislative and health policy issues for the life science industry or upcoming marketing trends in the digital and mobile space for sports organizations, our programs provide solutions to the urgent educational and information needs of our attendees.

How would you describe your social media fans to sponsors?

kirk_wakefield 2013, Digital Strategy, Learn, Relate, Research, Social Media August 1, 2013November 2, 2018description, fans, monetize, percentage, quantified, research, social media, sponsor, study, who are 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – August 2013

Brands highly prioritize social media engagement when partnering with sports properties. But who are these social media fans? Who are we reaching with the team’s social media?

Earlier this year we sampled registered users from a professional franchise (N = 469). The chart below displays the results of a cluster analysis grouping fans based on similar characteristics within the group, but significantly different between groups. These groups are not significantly different from each other in terms of ethnicity, household size or income.

Group 1: Passionately engaged

About a quarter (23%) of those studied frequently(66% of the team’s games) used social media (including texting, Facebook, Twitter) to send or receive information related to the team and games. This extremely passionate group (Passion Score = 95) is relatively young (M = 40) compared to other registered users of this team (M = 49). That the database skews older reflects typical season ticket holders, but may also indicate the need for teams to attract younger fans or at least get them to sign-up.

Looking at the chart, what else do you see? This group is more likely to follow on the team’s website, watch games on TV, and listen to games on the radio.

Since most of the sample are males (69.5%), the results show this group (64% male) is more likely to include females than the other three groups. They’re more likely to be single (61%) than the other groups. And, they’re relatively likely to have some form of season ticket plan (35%) and live within the metro area (e.g., within 20 miles).

Social Media Fan Groups

*Percentage of all games in a season

Characteristic	Passionately Engaged	Distant Lovers	Passionately Disengaged	Dispassionately Disengaged
Social Media Usage* Send/receive text messages about the game Post messages/comments on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Websites) about the game.	66%	36%	10%	11%
Passion for the team (100 max)	95	90	90	63
Games reported attended*	23%	8%	21%	11%
Team Website: Visit the team website before, during, or after the game.*	73%	68%	47%	22%
Radio: Listen to games on the radio or internet.*	54%	29%	25%	13%
TV: Watch games on screen (TV, Internet, DVR).*	65%	49%	51%	24%
News: Follow the results in the newspaper or internet.*	78%	89%	85%	23%
Distance from venue (miles)	20	113	19	25
Age	40	46	49	40
Males (Overall: 69.5% male)	64%	81%	72%	68%
Married (Overall: 52.5% married)	39%	66%	64%	47%
Fan base (% of fans surveyed)	23%	10%	32%	34%
Season plan member (partial or full)	35%	13%	45%	29%

Group 2: Distant Lovers

Although not a large segment (10%), this passionate (Passion Score = 90) fan group travels in from outside of town (average distance of 113 miles) a few times a season to attend a game or two. These somewhat older (M = 46) fans sometimes use social media (36%) to find or share information about the game, but they’re most likely to follow the team news through the newspaper or online (89%).

This group is less likely to tune in to TV (49%) or the radio (25%), which may be more a function of availability in their distant markets than interest. Consequently, the team’s website (68%) is a good way to reach this crowd, in addition to the relatively frequent social media use compared to the next two groups of fans.

Group 3: Passionately Disengaged

Although this group is as passionate as the second group (PS = 90) and attend about as many games as the first group, they rarely engage via social media (10% of games). This older group (M = 49) really don’t pay much attention to games on the radio (25%) even though they live in-market (~19 miles). Nor are they particularly avid viewers of TV broadcasts (51%). They do faithfully follow the team through the news, either print or online (85%).

This group is most likely to have some form of season ticket package (45%), particularly full-season.

Fans in this segment need to be energized as team partners to engage with the team. One suggestion is to partner with your local Apple store to offer fan workshops, perhaps specializing in the use of team apps. My 85 year old mother is on Facebook all the time, but would benefit from knowing what else to do with her iPad. The size and age of this segment suggest efforts like these could be worthwhile, because they also have higher discretionary income that would otherwise be spent on their grandchildren.

The Houston Astros target this older season ticket base by providing a headquarters for STHs, equipped with multiple iPads and other devices. And, as you can see from the cover photo, it’s sponsored.

Group 4: Dispassionately Disengaged

This relatively young (M = 40) are not particularly passionate fans (PS =63) and they show it by not following the team through virtually any media. They attend games (M = 9)a bit more than the out-of-towners in group two and live a little further out (M = 25 miles) than the two most frequently attending groups (1 and 3).

This group is the most likely to have mini-plans among the four groups, which suggests they get packages to occasionally go to the game–perhaps to entertain clients or go with friends–but they aren’t big fans.

One of the best ways to enhance fan passion is to provide direct contact between players and fans. Targeting this group with relevant events may be a way to move them into one of the other passionate groups, which in turn leads to more media usage and better fans for your partners.

What does it really mean to delight premium customers?

kirk_wakefield 2013, Digital Strategy, Relate, Sell, Tickets July 1, 2013November 2, 2018boxes, customers, delight, fans, luxury, premium sales, satisfaction, selling, suites, VIP 0 Comment

by Kirk Wakefield – July 2013

Sports franchises may draw some of the less-discerning masses with dollar hot dog night and all-you-can-ingest seating sections, but luxury seats and suite buyers expect intimate personalization.

You can’t get intimate with an advertised special or promotion night. As with any other relationship in life, intimacy doesn’t lend itself to just anyone who makes an offer. As customers, we are only willing to commit ourselves to those who take the time to get to know us, understand what we like or prefer, and are interested in our past. Then, maybe, we can talk about having a future together.

What does it mean to delight customers?

Consumer psychologists have studied the concept of consumer delight–the consequence of surprise mixed with joy–for over two decades. Not all surprises are good, of course. Surprise mixed with anger results in outrage. Good to avoid those types of surprises.

More aggressive, proactive properties now go beyond trying to satisfy customers to interact on a very personalized basis. Why?

Selling suites and luxury seats caters to an expert clientele dissatisfied with what everyone else gets.

Fans with limited resources and experiences (novices in terms of sport & entertainment consumption) may be excited just to see a game from the upper deck. But expectations are much higher in premium sales situations and it takes much more to truly delight expert consumers.

Start with knowing your customer

Steve Massi, Director of Marketing and Client Strategy at International Micro Systems, explains, “Customer delight is driven by one primary insight: Know Your Customer. At IMS, we transform our customers’ businesses through unique utilization of real-time customer-centric data, resulting in more relevant customer engagement, customer experiences and organization-wide ROI.”

How can this kind of technology lead to delighting customers? The STADIS© Data Integration, Promotions and Engagement Platform empowers properties to use customer data two primary ways:

First, to drive real-time behavioral engagement and incremental revenue at the transactional “moment of truth,” and
Second, by making this customer-centric data accessible and actionable to develop more relevant offers, communication, and customer experiences.

Mass/group focus vs. Individual focus

Pre-planned, scripted elements of the event experience are aimed at masses or groups. No surprise there. And no delight.

Venues with commercial messages seen on TV surprise no one. Bored or annoyed would be more like it.

Groups brought on the court for special occasions are expected. The only possible delight is when the little kid in the dance squad performs in some unexpected way. Of course, those in the group benefit from belonging, connecting, and recognition (see Fan Intimacy matrix). Semi-scripted portions are more enjoyable.

We only begin to make real progress when we begin to reward and acknowledge individuals with meaningful, relevant methods illustrating our understanding of the customer as an individual.

Personalization

Brandon Steffek, Director of Sales at Full House, helps properties delight customers by incorporating variable information into the designs and content of email and direct mail collateral. Through analyzing market and customer data, Full House can use variable information such as surnames, demographics, company names, industry specific images and content to appeal directly to the behaviors most applicable to customers. Brandon emphasizes, “This approach creates a more personalized and meaningful touch to our email and direct mail efforts both internally and for our customers.”

The Oakland Raiders, for instance, can personalize emails and mailings to individuals who’ve leased a suite in the past or are identified as potential suite customers.

First thing to do

The first thing you must do to delight premium customers is simply to understand that’s the goal. If you think it’s just to sell them space in a seat or suite, provide an entertaining experience, and good service, they can get that at a lot of places. If you continue to do only what expected, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.

The second thing you must do is take advantage of the technologies available to us today to market, sell, and service on an individual personalized basis. We’d love to hear your ideas and examples of ways you’ve found to truly delight premium buyers in your markets. Leave a comment or tweet to us @BaylorS3 and @KirkWakefield.

Download our Sales and Technology Presentation from the 2013 ALSD Conference.

S3 Leadership Spotlight: Dave Nottoli @GM

kirk_wakefield 2013, Digital Strategy, Integrity, Lead, Relate, S3 Spotlight July 1, 2013November 2, 2018activation, Cadillac, digital marketing, GM, leadership, Manchester United, ManU, sponsorships 0 Comment

by Blake Cargill – July 2013

Dave Notolli, Regional Sales and Marketing Manager at General Motors, has worked for GM for over 30 years. A graduate of Purdue University, Notolli has enjoyed the automotive business from the moment he became a part of it. The automotive business has a unique, challenging aspect to it because of the competition and fast paced environment.

Managing the Escalade brand

Pinned as the first brand manager of GM, Notolli was given the difficult task of promoting the Escalade in the early 1990’s. This proved to be a challenging time for Notolli as he learned different roles and responsibilities.

The goal was to establish Escalade as its own brand. In order to do this, Nottoli said, “I had to try to change the mentality of the company and think of each car line as an individual brand.” Notolli was extremely successful, and the Escalade remains as a leader in the premium SUV category today.

Sponsorships fuel global expansion

Internationally, GM signed a record deal (Reuters estimates the seven-year deal at between $60-70 million a year) as title sponsor of Manchester United. Chevrolet is looking to make a huge push internationally, as its jersey sponsorship with ManU begins in 2014.

Chevrolet is the fastest growing brand in the world right now. Nottoli stated, “It is very important to be a global brand and get global recognition given where markets are growing.”

Regarded as one of the most popular and recognizable soccer teams in the world, Manchester United reaches over 650 million fans worldwide. This new sponsorship is an excellent gateway into growth and sustainability worldwide.

Digital marketing

What marketing methods seem to be working best now for GM? Notolli pointed towards two fundamental changes related to digital marketing:

Product: Equipping cars with technology and digital components to reach a younger crowd.
Promotion: GM’s most successful dealerships effectively use digital marketing and promotions and individual GM brands activate through sports & entertainment sponsorships integrated with social media (see Cadillac inset).

Leadership qualities

Notolli believes team goals always take priority over individual goals. This philosophy contributes to the development of teamwork and collaboration within the GM organization. However, Nottoli believes first and foremost, “We must show integrity in everything we do, being honest and open.”

Nottoli is known for his consistent ethical and moral values as a leader. Ken Mussmann, Chevrolet Field Manager adds, “There are three things about Dave that come to mind when I think about his leadership: First, he is trustworthy. Second, he has an intimate knowledge of the business. And, third, he really cares about the people that work for and with him.”

Stephen Flynn, Chevrolet Marketing Manager believes, “Dave’s work ethic and decision making are always based on his moral compass. Do the right thing, be honest with others, and act with total integrity.”

Differentiating GM from its many competitors is not an easy task. Nottoli regards having great products, customer service, and marketing as the three contributors to making GM stand out among the crowd. Nottoli believes in his product. He put it best when he said, “What’s good for GM is good for America.”

Where is the next tech battlefield? Predicting the future of sponsors on the field

kirk_wakefield 2013, Digital Strategy, Relate, Sell, Social Media, Sponsorships July 1, 2013November 2, 2018Google Glass, IFAB, Microsoft, NFL, prognostication, sponsorship strategy, Surface, trends 0 Comment

by Eric Fernandez – July 2013

Microsoft Surface on the sidelines

In May, the NFL announced a ground breaking partnership with Microsoft that would bring interactive features to fans watching at home through the X-box One console (in-game Skyping, split screen to view game feeds with stats and fantasy updates, etc) and provide a significant tech upgrade to the field of play.

Until now, with the exception of headset communication, all technology had to be turned off 90 min before game time. Coaches used Polaroid images, static play sheets and wipe boards as in-game teaching aids. With the Microsoft agreement, the Surface tablet will make its way to sidelines allowing coaches a new, dynamic medium to provide players feedback and coaching in real-time. Additionally, referees will use the Surface tablet to monitor replays from the sideline.

Sponsors getting on the field

From a branding standpoint, the NFL field-of-play is arguably the most premium available real estate – a three hour engagement opportunity with no brand clutter. Branding opportunities have been limited to three categories:

player uniforms and coaches apparel (Nike),
isotonic drinks (Gatorade) and
coaches headsets, which until last season was owned by Motorola, but is currently available, and noteworthy that is was not part of either the Microsoft agreement or recent Verizon NFL extension.

Tech brands are finding the field-of-play, in particular the NFL gridiron, as the battleground for building their business and brands with consumers. Consider some recent examples and what might happen in the future:

1) Now: US Women’s tennis player Bethanie Mattek-Sands using Google Glass as a training aid for her Wimbledon preparation. As a player, it providers her coach a first-person viewpoint of how she’s reacting. As the video lead-in shows, in addition to providing her training benefits, it provides a unique and intriguing camera angle for TV viewers (which is not available…yet). Or just check out Victor Oladipo at the NBA draft. The Future: Imagine NFL referees wearing Google Glass or better yet, quarterback’s helmets equipped with Google Glass to provide a unique TV camera angle.

2) Now: I.F.A.B., soccer’s preeminent lawmaking body, announced in 2012 that chip technology would be implanted in balls to identify when they’ve crossed the goal line. Using Hawk-Eye and GoalRef technology, the English Premier League has tested the technology to aid referees. The Future: The NFL should not be too far behind since one of the most controversial, and time consuming, officiating decisions is goal line touchdowns.

3) Now: Technologists are developing brain sensing pads that can be placed in NFL headgear to measure hit impact for concussions. The Future: Still in the early phases, given the NFL’s focus on game safety, I’d anticipate this rolling out by 2014.

Given the scale and deep engagement of the NFL, I’d anticipate more tech companies looking to use the NFL as a platform to build their business. If they can integrate their technology to improve the game and the fan experience, it can serve as a relevant content platform that would be better than any form of paid advertising.