How are YOU Capitalizing on the Latest Sports Marketing Trends?

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on September 6, 2010

Fantasy football is one of my current favorites because the people who are into it… are REALLY into it! Some play in several leagues, some just play in one hardcore league with a lot of cash in the pot for the season winner.

Here lies a great opportunity for restaurants, bars, and even retailers to cash in on this consumer trend for several reasons.

1 – If you’re a restaurant or a bar that caters to sports fans, you’re a great option for a host venue!
No messy cleanup, no need to worry about bringing a cooler of having enough space in the host’s fridge… a restaurant or bar makes it a no-brainer for draft party attendees to show up, have fun, and then head home. This option requires the least effort on the part of the attendee or fantasy league commissioner. When you’re marketing primarily to men… this is a major selling point, in my humble opinion.

2 – If you’re a restaurant or a bar that offers carryout or catering orders for draft party favorites like wings, bar-b-q, etc., you’re a great option for party attendees who don’t cook!
Not all leagues are going to opt for the option to host their party at your bar or restaurant… and that’s ok, just make sure they still have the opportunity to spend money with you! My other half’s league had their party in our home last night and of the 10+ attendees, only three of us (that I was aware of) cooked their offerings at home prior to the party. (Truth be told, even though I did cook most of what we offered at home, I did send Nick out to our neighborhood Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q(R) for bar-b-q, sweet tea, and hush-puppies… “because it’s just not a tailgate without the bar-b-q”!)

3 – If you’re a retailer – what draft party supplies can you carry or special order for your customers leading up to the big event?
Nick ordered his team’s draft board and supplies (stickers, rosters, etc.) online, but I’m sure I could have convinced him to Shop Local had someone been touting their merchandise offerings for draft party must-haves to local leagues. But alas, I’m not aware of any local retailers targeting this niche market.

4 – Work the concept for a different market!
When my gal pal Denise and I were hanging out yesterday, she mentioned that a local radio show host (Kentucky Kristin on G105) had been talking on-air about the Emmy’s Draft Party that she and her girlfriends had recently had a lot of fun participating in. The girls created their event around pairing Hollywood’s hottest with designers they were likely to be wearing. During the red carpet premiere, attendees scored points for correctly pairing Emmy attendee with the correct designer they were wearing! How fun? If you’re a bar or trendy restaurant, this sounds like a great opportunity to upsell girly cocktails, show the celebrity-studded event on your televisions, and attract vendors and sponsors wanting to target this in-demand niche with great giveaways, swag bags, and more.

So, how are you planning to capitalize on this sports marketing trend next year?

Can’t wait ’til next year? Target teams who have already drafted (pre-season games end this week) to come in and see how their teams shape up on a weekly basis in your bar or restaurant! The good news is that you haven’t completely missed your opportunity as this is an on-going promotion that gets more exciting by the week for fantasy league faithfuls.

You can read more about how national chains like Buffalo Wild Wings (and local restaurants like Garner’s Cleveland Draft House) are putting this trend to work for their businesses from the News & Observer online at https://www.newsobserver.com/2010/09/04/663556/chains-score-with-fantasy-football.html.

FYI for Bloggers and Brands

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on December 11, 2009

Unless you’ve been hiding from media headlines since October, there’s a good chance to heard something about how the FTC (Federal Trade Commission – whose job is to “(work) for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them”) is changing how bloggers and brands can represent each other online.

To read the full news release from the FTC, visit https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.

The changes actually affect all testimonial advertising, bloggers, AND celebrity endorsements. But let’s just assume you’re not a celebrity, or hiring a celebrity, for a moment 😉

So how does this affect you?

The short and sweet is that when a review is given with non-typical results, typical results must be clearly outlined. The other point is that the connection between the consumer and brand must be disclosed. ie: The posting blogger must disclose that he/she was contacted by the brand and what the terms were, if it’s a brand they’re personally representing, doing it for a family member, etc., etc.

And for Heaven’s sake, never create misleading content. It’s a big no-no in advertising and blogging crosses into that territory.

Of course, this blog post in no means constitute any sort of legal advice and you should always, ALWAYS read the rules for yourself and consult your own legal counsel if you have any questions about how to interpret any guidelines.

Visit https://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm and look under “related items” to download the latest guidelines for endorsements. (These are always subject to updating and revisions, so I’m not posting a link to the current document – instead, I’m telling you where you can find the most recent version.)

But Target, I Didn’t Buy Anything… I Swear!

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on October 28, 2009

I thought it was fairly interesting that I received an email from Target.com this morning with the subject line, “Thoughts on what you bought? Write a review.”

I thought to myself, “When did you buy something online?” (Because I haven’t.)

And then I thought to myself, “Are they now emailing me after I buy in store?” (And then I realized they don’t have any sort of loyalty tracking cards (like Best Buy’s Reward Zone), and I don’t have a Target credit card, so that couldn’t be it, either.

Inside the email there was a graphic encouraging me to write a review and a list below of some of my “latest buys”. Unfortunately, it was blank… because I said before, I haven’t made any online purchases.

While I think this is a GREAT email campaign to send a few weeks after an online purchase (giving the customer time to receive and use their purchased items), it really isn’t effective when there is no purchase made to back it up.

I, as a review-reading consumer, definitely don’t want customers writing review for products that they haven’t given any thoughtful use to personally – and I can’t imagine Target does either if they value the quality of their peer review system.

But What Do I Know?: The "Local" Concept

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on June 23, 2009

Maybe it’s just the OCD in me that gets me irritated when I see campaigns that don’t really drive the message home from start to finish… I don’t really know. But whatever it is, IT’S ALWAYS ON and “I can’t turn this thing off” (attributed to a few of my college friends who used that statement for everything, often leading to very funny results).

Here’s this week’s “but what do I know?” feature (enter sarcasim here): I noticed on my daily drive this week that Citgo is running a new billboard campaign emphasizing locally owned stations with something along the lines of “Local. Loyal. (the way it should be)”.

Maybe it’s just me, but I think that campaign would have a little more “umph” behind it if it featured a local owner standing in front of his local station. I know, I know… there’s more work and possibly a little more cost involved in running different prints instead of one same print everywhere, but we’re talking effectiveness here. Citgo’s probably shelling out millions in monthly marketing expenses – might as well make it good, right?

(Plus, I’m sure there are tons of local owners who’d be glad to have their station pictured on a billboard. Maybe even right below it or across the street? I know they’d do it for free and I sure don’t think they’d even need to help contribute to the cost, but I’m sure some would.)

I’ve always been very cynical of the fuel industry and its marketing (we have some great family friends who own a few stations and they make the majority of their money… you guessed it… in the store itself and not on gasoline), but if you’re going to try and tap into the local movement, at least put some crediblity behind it, ok? Pretty please? Thanks.

The Next Post Won’t Be About Twitter…

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on May 12, 2009

…promise!

But this one will be, simply because one of my recent “tweets” (posts on twitter) garnered a lot of attention and feedback.

My Initial Posts:
ncsulilwolf: 60% of Twitter users don’t hang around. https://bit.ly/BlmhL
ncsulilwolf: The original report about Twitter Quitters is here: https://bit.ly/hs7Rb

Tagged Responses:
DeirdreReid: Here’s my take on that – https://bit.ly/14WjWQ RT @ncsulilwolf: 60% of Twitter users don’t hang around. https://bit.ly/BlmhL

CommunityMGR: RT @ncsulilwolf: The original report about Twitter Quitters is here: https://bit.ly/hs7Rb

zacktm: RT @ncsulilwolf 60% of Twitter users don’t hang around. https://bit.ly/BlmhL

flipfloplisa: I bet the didn’t follow cool people like I do- RT @ncsulilwolf: The original report about Twitter Quitters is here: https://bit.ly/hs7Rb

Deirdre’s blog is a great read. IMHO (in my humble opinion), a 40% adoption rate is not cause to abandon twitter. In fact, in the internet world… I’d say that’s pretty darn successful.

Why?

Twitter is not for everyone. Neither is facebook. Or email. It doesn’t mean they can’t be valuable tools though that can contribute added value as part of an integrated marketing communications plan.

(Plus, I’d like to think that one day, the spammers and non-value adding twitter-users will make up a good portion of that 60% that end up jumping ship.)

Twitter for Businesses

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on May 7, 2009

This is a really great summary of just why Twitter CAN work for your business from the National Marine Manufacturers Association… that can really be applied to ANY industry.

Twitter = Customer Service? Really?

You’ve heard the buzz about Twitter and, like many, are thinking it’s just another internet trend. Maybe. But, in the meantime, if you’re not using Twitter you’re missing an opportunity to manage your brand and communicate directly with the estimated 25 million people using Twitter worldwide. Most users are over the age of 25, meaning Twitter is not your teenager’s internet trend.

Instead of telling you how it can be your newest (and free) customer relations staff, let’s show you: Go here and type in your company or brand name. In real-time you receive a list of “tweets” or comments about your brand, from people within the 25 million-strong crowd. You can respond directly to complaints, quell rumors on the spot and address misconceptions about your product line. You can also reward loyal customers by sharing special offers.

Discover Boating and NMMA use Twitter to take the pulse of the news media (hundreds of reporters and producers use it to get story ideas and share what they’re working on) and understand consumers’ daily mood to determine the best way to communicate with them each day.

Just remember this: once you join Twitter, generating posts of VALUE to your followers and engaging in conversations with them is what will ultimately bring you the most return on your time invested.

PS – You also shouldn’t “protect” your posts… unless you don’t want any followers. Good rule of thumb is that if you need to “protect” your posts or “go private” on your blogs… it probably shouldn’t be written on the internet TO BEGIN WITH.

You Want Me to Do What?

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on March 31, 2009

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking when they hit “send”. Now, I won’t ever being to claim that every email I’ve ever sent has made total sense or been flawless… but I was really thrown today when checking my email.

A local business (who shall remain nameless) sent me an email about participating in Earth Day with them. I could receive a special discount by bringing in items to donate and presenting my email coupon… that must be printed and surrendered to redeem offer. (Not in those exact words, but I’m trying not to incriminate the shameless here, since it’s not really about being green… it’s about bringing in business.)

Exactly how is asking hundreds, potentially thousands of customer to print something very eco-friendly?

Here are some alternatives: “say this password (insert clever marketing message here) at checkout“, “text this message (insert also clever message here) to your self and your friends and present it at checkout“, etc.

Or you know, just a simple “no need to print – just reference this email”. Whatever floats your eco-friendly boat.

I am very, very happy to say that two of my clients use this tip very successfully. They make me so proud!

Oh Twitter

Lisa Jeffries Nobling on March 31, 2009

Thoughts for Tuesday:

“Curious and cantankerous, Steve dived into social media and started making delightful observations about his experience on Twitter. He recently sent me this comment about a power user he had started to follow: ‘His constant, not-so-subtle harangue to get word of mouth going about his new start-up have made me very skeptical of Twitter … so easy to be maudlin, so easy to pollute.’

I had a simple answer for Steve: Quit following the annoying bastard. Let’s not forget that technology gives us both the power to connect and the power to pull the plug.” – Death by a Thousand Tweets, Phil Johnson

SUCH a good perspective on Twitter. I mentioned in the article’s comments that I rarely echo sentiments on social media word for word with others, but Phil hit the nail on the head for me.

Take five minutes to read his post. Not only is it a quick read, but also a must read.