I have to admit, the FA Cup Semi-final Portsmouth versus Spurs was the best live football experience I’ve ever had. Obviously I hope that the FA Cup Final will be an even better experience. Play up Pompey.
Sadly, I know of one thing that won’t change, and that’s the poor mobile phone reception within Wembley. And I find it annoying. But most of all, it’s another example of football not embracing the newest forms of marketing yet.
Having the pleasure and privilege to work closely with Portsmouth FC and at the same time to attend some industry gatherings and talk with representatives of other clubs, it struck me how few clubs really act as a brand and how easily they could increase their impact by embracing some of the newer marketing methods and by moving them to the heart of their organisation.
Mobile & Social Media
At live events like Wembley, mobile and social media have a symbiotic relationship – without mobile reception, no engagement. This is a wasted opportunity. If there was a connection, people not at the event could engage with activities before kick off or half time. People at the event would act as ambassadors and as a back channel. The commercial opportunities and the level of engagement for the clubs with fans are incredible. Or let’s go even a step further and treat bloggers like journalists – let them spread the word, use the power of the social web, get real connection to the fan base. It happened at business events such as SXSW, so why not at sporting events.
Opening up these channels would give live events a completely new dimension. It would bring even more energy and most importantly whet the appetite of all the people that are not in the stadium and consequently drive attendance for live matches in general.
It follows the argument Symerziak and Kuper make in their book “Why England loses” – the more games are shown on TV, the more live attendance increases. That’s why I would also actively embrace YouTube. It’s another marketing channel, another level of engagement for every club, league and association. It’s not only a way of growing the number of active participants in your brand’s network but makes complete commercial sense as it drives additional attendance and therefore revenues.
Location based social apps
But it’s not only at live events that the social media and mobile combo would work wonders. Just imagine a football club actively involved with foursquare – that just makes so much sense. Foursquare describe themselves as “a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide and a game that rewards you for doing interesting things”, in other words it’s like a location based – and therefore more dynamic – mix of TripAdvisor, Facebook and a loyalty card.
Integrated into a club’s eco system it would be of real value to the supporters at home and away games, the visiting fans, the commercial partners and the club itself. The opportunities are exciting and endless, for example, how about using foursquare as a CRM tool that enables active, real world engagement with the fan base?
Video Games
EA Sports FIFA 10 is a treasure chest full of gold for a marketing person. Go, have a look at FIFA Earth – on this site you can see which clubs are the most played in the world (Portsmouth by the way is currently 64th). That’s utterly amazing, isn’t it? And the gamers’ activities are linked to the matches that are played in the stadium. So if Liverpool plays Arsenal, you’ll see an increased number in the 24 hours before and in the 24 hours afterwards. You even know how many gamers have set which team as their favourite one.
I’d immediately strike a deal with EA Sports that let’s me interact with my teams’ gamers straight away. Suddenly, you have the possibility to connect with brand ambassadors across the globe in a relatively easy and incredibly meaningful fashion. I’d bridge the gap between online and offline by inviting key gamers from other countries to the real club, to attend a game, to play a game against a player, etc. The world’s your oyster…
So, I am now going to send a tweet to the FA and ask for my accreditation as a blogger for the FA Cup final – you’ll know if I was successful just based on the number of tweets from me during the match itself.
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Another very insightful and thought provoking post – is Tommy Smith tweeting from his iPhone from the bench??
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Thanks Paul. I was under the impression that social media activity during the game is frowned upon. If Tommy did tweet, then he’s my man.
Twitter: Topbananas
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The problem is traditional media embracing change. From the large media perspective each new social network or four square is a potential fad that threatens the media owners content value. I have not looked, but I have never heard much noise from Sky or ITV on Twitter etc? When these companies (including the FA) realise the speed of evolution on the web is 100mph they will cotton on to the point that by the time the next fad hits there low tech radar it is evolved into the next platform.
Wake up!
Twitter: mickrigby
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Another thoughtful piece Felix. On a practical level your comment about connectivity is vital, if people can’t use their mobile device at events then it completely defeats the objective of having them. I guess the reception was so bad at Wembley because everyone was using their mobile, it’s an issue that the carriers and the wider tech companies are looking at and the likes of 4G and wifi phone connectivity are all solutions that will be in place soon(ish). This should help.
The added dimension that twitter et al bring to events is really exciting, not least allowing an extra level of entertainment and enjoyment whilst you are there, as well as being able to share the feeling of being there with others in real time.
Off piste, but I believe relevant to the topic, are the recent leadership debates where people have been settling down to watch them with a pizza, a few beers and their twitter buddies. One of my colleagues created a list of comedians, commentators and mates who would be tweeting their insights and thoughts (and abuse) during the debate, the kind of stuff she wanted to be overlay her viewing pleasure.
This layering of personal entertainment is becoming the norm for a few that will then be taken to the many.
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Mick, this layering of personal entertainment is so cool. Watching everyhing on split screen will make it even more powerful and interactive. I can just imagine the television viewing of the future with completely personalisation & interactvity. Awesome.
Twitter: mickrigby
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We’ve been bouncing a few ideas around with our tech partner along these lines. It is possible now to create real time interaction with your telly using your phone via the Mnet or an app. For example you could have a voting mechanism that plays live on the TV during the debate where any individual using the phone site no matter where they were could deliver real time votes that would accrue across all individuals. It could also be used for purchasing, downloading further information/digital music or even placing a live bet. Exciting thoughts, huh?
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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A couple of days after publishing this post, @ashread14 sent me this very interesting article about New Jersey Nets and Gowalla trialling an intergration http://ow.ly/1BAag similar to the own I described with foursquare. Very interesting and exciting. The Nets are really on the forefront of experimentation and innovation. Well done.
Twitter: lesanto
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Some organisers see the ability to post live pictures or tweets from an event as a threat to their revenue models. This is wrong thinking and could end up with them being as far off the mark as the recording industry found themselves in the early days of electronic distribution of music.
Events, venues, rights holders and even the competitors need to understand that amateur ‘live reporting’ from events via any medium strengthens the event’s appeal – not weakens it. And a few tweets from the FA Cup Final will not stop MILLIONS watching it on TV.
Instead of seeing such activity as a threat, they must understand that it is free advertising. Getting a tweet from someone on the terraces at Wembley not only didn’t stop me watching the game live on TV, it also made me want to be there so bad it almost hurt!
Twitter: FelixWetzel
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Glenn, I so agree with you. & that’s why I would say to the Premier League and the FA, send your commerical teams to talk to youtube, not your lawyers!
I really like your post on how Moto GP mishandled exactly this situation and lost out – must read: http://lesanto.com/wordpress/?p=102
Twitter: brownsam
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Loving the idea of EA + the brand ambassadors which is a subject close to my heart. I recently wrote a case study on social media and amateur football which be of interest (http://brown727.co.uk/case-study-social-media-and-amateur-football/)