The Tipping Point, or as I would like to call it “social power,” is a must –read book written by Malcolm Gladwell. The book is two hundred fifty-nine pages and contains nine chapters of explanations of how the power of a few can change the outcomes of so many others.
Gladwell begins this voyage with basic scenarios about how a handful of people can manipulate the so-called ‘tipping point,’ in a direction with a few subtle changes.
His examination of a syphilis outbreak in Baltimore symbolizes that no matter how small your voice or efforts may be, you can make a significant difference. I’m sure you’re wondering how in the world syphilis is related in this book with the theme of ‘making a difference’ but it’s much bigger than that.
Baltimore was in the midst of a five-hundred percent increase in syphilis cases and health officials couldn’t find a solution to this epidemic. For years, the infection rate had seen minimal increases. Then, without notice, a tipping point occurred. An influx of crack-cocaine through needle use and the closure of a local clinic agitated this situation.
Gladwell’s case study uses the notion that viruses are ‘sticky’, but they move through a population at something like a snail-like pace until a ‘tipping point’ is reached and they morph into an epidemic.
Gladwell's synopsis of how an epidemic afflicts a community is merely a scientific overview of how social networking is an integral part of strategic communication.
Characteristics of a tipping point:
In an epidemic, the thing being introduced must be:
Widely dispersed.
"Sticky" enough to be retained by each new recipient.
Operating in an environment that nurtures it.
Gladwell goes on to explain about epidemics - They're spread by a very few key people with exactly three roles:
Connector — are people who seem not only to know everyone but to glide effortlessly across different groups.
Maven — takes the new thing being introduced, sifts through its real-world complexity, organizes and translates it down to the simple relevant new bit.
Salesman — gets the recipient to take in that relevant new bit.
Sometimes a single person can serve multiple or all three roles.
Connectors are catalysts of the tipping point lists several as, Gaetan Dugas, the French-Canadian flight attendant (AIDS Patient Zero) known to have had sex with 2,500 people in North America. Kevin Bacon, who is often associated with the term 'six degrees' because he has appeared in a wide range of movies.
I really enjoyed this book but more importantly I enjoyed how Gladwell explained the rules of social power by engaging the reader with life-altering case studies.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Online Gaming and its Potential for Strategic Communication
Introduction
Online gaming is a new media phenomenon that relies on interconnectivity between users as a form of entertainment.
Online games include a variety of genres, such as action adventure, role playing, sports and many more. Many of these genres give mainstream corporations various audiences to target, expanding their marketing reach.
Simultaneous gameplay between users allows this technology to be the focal point of many new media marketing campaigns. These games are played over some form of computer network, usually the Internet.
The most popular term often used for gaming is "video game,” which is correct but it also goes further than that.
Analysis of online games
An online game can be played through a connection to the internet, with other players in your own neighborhood or someone in another country. Some prominent examples are Battlefield 2, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platform. Examples are personal computers and video game consoles such as Xbox 360, Sony Playstation and Wii. These platforms can expand from large computers to small handheld devices.
Users interact with one another, coining the term ‘multiplayer online game.’ These multiplayer online games promote interaction to help form online relationships, whether it is basic friendship, a team of players, or a romance.
Multiplayer games allow users to cooperate and compete with each other, and sometimes to interact with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing hundreds of video game genres. Most of these games demand players invest significant amounts of time into the game.
Bad press has followed the technology since its inception. Research has found that these relationships foster isolation from the real world. [i] This research continues to stimulate an ongoing debate on whether online role-playing games actually connect users or polarize them from each other.
History
Computer games were initially meant for one player sitting at a computer. Games such as, NIMROD[ii], and Spacewar![iii] paved the way for this technology. By the 1960s, computers began to support time-sharing, which allowed multiple users to share use of a computer simultaneously.
When personal computers reached the general public in the 1980s, simple multiplayer text-based games gained attention and provoked further research for advanced games. As technology evolved, games turned to fantasy settings, using rules similar to the real world. Other styles of games, such as chess, scrabble, and other board games, became available. By the turn of the millennium, gaming consoles allowed the use of the Internet to promote relationships with other gamers regardless of their location.
Reasons for Adoption
What makes online games unique from other media are their ability to connect to many players, which allows users to interact with online communities making it a form of social activity.
Through this social activity, the rate of adoption continues to increase. ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, conducted a 2007 global study into online gaming, showing the number of unique visitors to these sites to have reached almost 217 million worldwide – a year-on-year growth of 17 percent. [iv]
The largest online games website, Miniclip, has 43 million unique users, according to Google Analytics (December, 2007).
The online games market is worth $4 billion and is expected to triple in the next five years, according to the latest Strategy Analytics outlook for the global online games market. [v] Online gaming is establishing itself as a major player in the world of strategic communications. The online games category is the largest category out of the three main online entertainment markets - music, games and video.
There are many reasons for playing these games. The motivations of these users determine what and how long they play. The statistics below are based on a survey[vi] of almost 2,000 online U.S. gamers suggesting that there are six different categorizations of player, based on time spent gaming and motivation and attitudes.
Power Gamer 11% - Represents 30 cents of every dollar spent in the gaming industry.
Social gamer 13% - Enjoys gaming for the social interaction.
Leisure gamer 14% - Spends on average 58 hours a month playing casual games. Interested in challenging and novel games.
Dormant gamer 26% - Loves to game, but doesn't have the time for it. Interested in challenging games.
Incidental gamer 12% - Spends on average 20 hours a month playing games. Motivated by boredom rather than any real love of games.
Occasional gamer 24% - Plays puzzle, word, and board games.
Demographics
Teenage boys have been perceived to be the main audience of on-line gaming but that isn’t true, according to a 2008 Entertainment Software Association (ESA) study.[vii] The average gamer is 35 years old. Twenty-five percent of gamers are under 18, 49 percent are between the ages of 18 and 49, and a surprising 26 percent are over 50. Forty percent of all gamers are female.
The average adult gamer has been playing computer or video games for 13 years. Thirty-five percent of American parents say they play computer and video games, and 80 percent of these play games with their children. Sixty-six percent of gamer parents feel that playing games has brought their families closer together. The usual gamer parent is 37 years old. The study also indicates that parents are present 94 percent of the time when a game is rented or purchased for their children.
Anonymity
A major characteristic of these games is the anonymity of the users. Anonymous communication in role-playing games is known to be positive, but not all players choose to participate fairly. When users know that personal actions will not be identified by others they become less inhibited and consequently become aggressive.
When the true identities of gamers remain unknown, many users act differently in their settings. Communication research in the field of social computing has indicated that people tend to behave differently when their identities are anonymous to others. They can choose what type of character they want to play and what they want him or her to look like. Many feel that it is an escape from the physical limitations of their true self.
Strategic communication
Online games offer some unique opportunities for strategic communication, such as:
In-game advertising – This refers to the use of computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. Last year, spending on in-game advertising was over $200 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $900 million by 2011. [viii] In-game advertising is seen by some in the games industry as offering a new revenue stream, allowing developers to offset growing development costs.
Numerous genres give advertisers a way to target specific demographics. One concept that is evident to all advertisers is that all gaming audiences are increasingly neglecting television in favor of computer and video games.
Many gaming networks see in-game advertising as greedy and unnecessary, suggesting it as a ‘big brother’ component like spyware. Spyware is software that is installed to personal computers to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's consent.
In-game ads have taken different shapes to reach its audience. Most commonly, they're simple billboards for things such as movies, soda, cars and the like. But now there are also interactive ads placed in online games, including full-motion video, branded cars and an endless variety of other options.
Social Gaming Networks – This differs in offering just games for users to play, although some do. These social networks are a place for gamers to make fully functioning sites with blogs, forums and chat rooms. Gamers can choose a template and then can go on to add an image, photo albums, videos and profiles, all interchangeable within their page. These Networks also integrate ratings and comments for games.
Within on-line gaming, there are four options to reach target audiences: branding, interaction, engagement, and sponsorship.
Branding is placing an advertisement in an area where it can be seen, such as walking past a Verizon billboard in the game.
Interaction allows gamers to use a product, as they would in real life which provides feedback to an advertiser.
Engagement is on customization of use, for example, so gamers can decide if their characters create their own Nike shoes.
Sponsorship includes special packaging and exclusives between advertisers and game programmers/manufacturers.
For further information:
Rollings, Andrew; Ernest Adams (2006). Fundamentals of Game Design. Prentice Hall.
Mike Drucker (2003). "Gaming not just for dorks - Dawning of the era of the armchair QB.” Washington Square News
Matthew Yi (2005). "Advertisers pay for video games - Product placement tradition no longer free ride for business.” San Francisco Chronicle
[i] Study of Online Gamers by Nicholas Yee © 2002. www.nickyee.com
[ii] http://www.goodeveca.net/nimrod/
[iii] Computer History Month http://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/index.php?f=theme&s=4&ss=3
[iv] http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1521
[v] http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=PressReleaseViewer&a0=3569
[vi] http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10681
[vii] http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2008.pdf
[viii] http://www.yankeegroup.com/ResearchDocument.do?id=16395
Online gaming is a new media phenomenon that relies on interconnectivity between users as a form of entertainment.
Online games include a variety of genres, such as action adventure, role playing, sports and many more. Many of these genres give mainstream corporations various audiences to target, expanding their marketing reach.
Simultaneous gameplay between users allows this technology to be the focal point of many new media marketing campaigns. These games are played over some form of computer network, usually the Internet.
The most popular term often used for gaming is "video game,” which is correct but it also goes further than that.
Analysis of online games
An online game can be played through a connection to the internet, with other players in your own neighborhood or someone in another country. Some prominent examples are Battlefield 2, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft and Call of Duty. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platform. Examples are personal computers and video game consoles such as Xbox 360, Sony Playstation and Wii. These platforms can expand from large computers to small handheld devices.
Users interact with one another, coining the term ‘multiplayer online game.’ These multiplayer online games promote interaction to help form online relationships, whether it is basic friendship, a team of players, or a romance.
Multiplayer games allow users to cooperate and compete with each other, and sometimes to interact with people around the world. They include a variety of gameplay types, representing hundreds of video game genres. Most of these games demand players invest significant amounts of time into the game.
Bad press has followed the technology since its inception. Research has found that these relationships foster isolation from the real world. [i] This research continues to stimulate an ongoing debate on whether online role-playing games actually connect users or polarize them from each other.
History
Computer games were initially meant for one player sitting at a computer. Games such as, NIMROD[ii], and Spacewar![iii] paved the way for this technology. By the 1960s, computers began to support time-sharing, which allowed multiple users to share use of a computer simultaneously.
When personal computers reached the general public in the 1980s, simple multiplayer text-based games gained attention and provoked further research for advanced games. As technology evolved, games turned to fantasy settings, using rules similar to the real world. Other styles of games, such as chess, scrabble, and other board games, became available. By the turn of the millennium, gaming consoles allowed the use of the Internet to promote relationships with other gamers regardless of their location.
Reasons for Adoption
What makes online games unique from other media are their ability to connect to many players, which allows users to interact with online communities making it a form of social activity.
Through this social activity, the rate of adoption continues to increase. ComScore, a leader in measuring the digital world, conducted a 2007 global study into online gaming, showing the number of unique visitors to these sites to have reached almost 217 million worldwide – a year-on-year growth of 17 percent. [iv]
The largest online games website, Miniclip, has 43 million unique users, according to Google Analytics (December, 2007).
The online games market is worth $4 billion and is expected to triple in the next five years, according to the latest Strategy Analytics outlook for the global online games market. [v] Online gaming is establishing itself as a major player in the world of strategic communications. The online games category is the largest category out of the three main online entertainment markets - music, games and video.
There are many reasons for playing these games. The motivations of these users determine what and how long they play. The statistics below are based on a survey[vi] of almost 2,000 online U.S. gamers suggesting that there are six different categorizations of player, based on time spent gaming and motivation and attitudes.
Power Gamer 11% - Represents 30 cents of every dollar spent in the gaming industry.
Social gamer 13% - Enjoys gaming for the social interaction.
Leisure gamer 14% - Spends on average 58 hours a month playing casual games. Interested in challenging and novel games.
Dormant gamer 26% - Loves to game, but doesn't have the time for it. Interested in challenging games.
Incidental gamer 12% - Spends on average 20 hours a month playing games. Motivated by boredom rather than any real love of games.
Occasional gamer 24% - Plays puzzle, word, and board games.
Demographics
Teenage boys have been perceived to be the main audience of on-line gaming but that isn’t true, according to a 2008 Entertainment Software Association (ESA) study.[vii] The average gamer is 35 years old. Twenty-five percent of gamers are under 18, 49 percent are between the ages of 18 and 49, and a surprising 26 percent are over 50. Forty percent of all gamers are female.
The average adult gamer has been playing computer or video games for 13 years. Thirty-five percent of American parents say they play computer and video games, and 80 percent of these play games with their children. Sixty-six percent of gamer parents feel that playing games has brought their families closer together. The usual gamer parent is 37 years old. The study also indicates that parents are present 94 percent of the time when a game is rented or purchased for their children.
Anonymity
A major characteristic of these games is the anonymity of the users. Anonymous communication in role-playing games is known to be positive, but not all players choose to participate fairly. When users know that personal actions will not be identified by others they become less inhibited and consequently become aggressive.
When the true identities of gamers remain unknown, many users act differently in their settings. Communication research in the field of social computing has indicated that people tend to behave differently when their identities are anonymous to others. They can choose what type of character they want to play and what they want him or her to look like. Many feel that it is an escape from the physical limitations of their true self.
Strategic communication
Online games offer some unique opportunities for strategic communication, such as:
In-game advertising – This refers to the use of computer and video games as a medium in which to deliver advertising. Last year, spending on in-game advertising was over $200 million, and this figure is estimated to grow to $900 million by 2011. [viii] In-game advertising is seen by some in the games industry as offering a new revenue stream, allowing developers to offset growing development costs.
Numerous genres give advertisers a way to target specific demographics. One concept that is evident to all advertisers is that all gaming audiences are increasingly neglecting television in favor of computer and video games.
Many gaming networks see in-game advertising as greedy and unnecessary, suggesting it as a ‘big brother’ component like spyware. Spyware is software that is installed to personal computers to intercept or take partial control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's consent.
In-game ads have taken different shapes to reach its audience. Most commonly, they're simple billboards for things such as movies, soda, cars and the like. But now there are also interactive ads placed in online games, including full-motion video, branded cars and an endless variety of other options.
Social Gaming Networks – This differs in offering just games for users to play, although some do. These social networks are a place for gamers to make fully functioning sites with blogs, forums and chat rooms. Gamers can choose a template and then can go on to add an image, photo albums, videos and profiles, all interchangeable within their page. These Networks also integrate ratings and comments for games.
Within on-line gaming, there are four options to reach target audiences: branding, interaction, engagement, and sponsorship.
Branding is placing an advertisement in an area where it can be seen, such as walking past a Verizon billboard in the game.
Interaction allows gamers to use a product, as they would in real life which provides feedback to an advertiser.
Engagement is on customization of use, for example, so gamers can decide if their characters create their own Nike shoes.
Sponsorship includes special packaging and exclusives between advertisers and game programmers/manufacturers.
For further information:
Rollings, Andrew; Ernest Adams (2006). Fundamentals of Game Design. Prentice Hall.
Mike Drucker (2003). "Gaming not just for dorks - Dawning of the era of the armchair QB.” Washington Square News
Matthew Yi (2005). "Advertisers pay for video games - Product placement tradition no longer free ride for business.” San Francisco Chronicle
[i] Study of Online Gamers by Nicholas Yee © 2002. www.nickyee.com
[ii] http://www.goodeveca.net/nimrod/
[iii] Computer History Month http://www.computerhistory.org/pdp-1/index.php?f=theme&s=4&ss=3
[iv] http://www.comscore.com/press/release.asp?press=1521
[v] http://www.strategyanalytics.com/default.aspx?mod=PressReleaseViewer&a0=3569
[vi] http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=10681
[vii] http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_EF_2008.pdf
[viii] http://www.yankeegroup.com/ResearchDocument.do?id=16395
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Online Strategy Report
Taking a step away from sports, I have decided to analyze the U.S. Army's online recruiting campaign. http://www.goarmy.com/
Analysis
By the turn of the millennium, the United States Army was in the midst of its worst recruiting drought in several decades and needed a new approach to target young adults who were either finishing high school, needed money for college or were looking for a new challenge in their life. Increased marketing budgets were viewed as a cure-all but failed miserably. TV commercials, radio ads, and in-school recruiters just weren’t getting the job done. The U.S. Army needed to establish a new strategy and a set of tactics to reverse this trend.
Strategy
The Army currently had a website that explains who they are and what they do but what they didn’t have was an interactive website that engages visitors and gives them examples of real life scenarios when enlisted in the Army. Realizing that young Americans are the reason for today’s influx of Internet use, the Army created a separate site, http://www.goarmy.com/, to reach them.
In 2006, the Army launched this interactive site to give viewers a virtual experience of Army ‘life’ and what it entails. Streaming video of career opportunities, combat training, weapons and vehicles supply viewers with powerful messages that are distinct and effective. The content is very engaging and relevant to the entire recruiting campaign. Anyone who would have an ounce of interest in the Army would leave this site almost wanting to join.
Interaction
I have never had an interest in joining the Army or learning much about it. Before I researched this site, I only knew that if I enlisted I could receive a certain amount of money towards my college education – G.I. Bill – and I would have give them a certain amount of time every year. After my research, it is evident that Army is much more than that. The site explains commitment options, post locations, levels of rank and provides career training in over 150 professions. My opinion of the Army has changed dramatically. I actually bookmarked this site because of the interactive videos.
Video testimonials of current soldiers allow the viewer to identify with their own reasons for maybe joining. The soldiers have various stories of why they joined and how they have benefitted from it. The testimonials also include excerpts from parents explaining how the Army has made their child into a model citizen.
The sight strategically placed a series of menu bars on the right to give the viewer the opportunity to contact them at any time. Requesting information, asking a question, chatting with a virtual guide, chatting on a discussion board and applying for enlistment are all services supplied by the site.
The Army’s commitment to create such a site expanded its recruiting efforts across the country. The Army has long been known to target young Americans rural backgrounds as opposed to city kids. This site actually creates a new public for their campaign and has helped increase their recruitment goals.
Recommendations
I was moved by this site. If I were in high school, contemplating my future, then I would consider joining. The videos were educational and also captivating. The only concern I have is the virtual guide, Sgt. Star, I asked him several questions and many of his answers were off base. The Army put forth a lot effort behind this site and it shows. It has been a pleasure reading about them.
Analysis
By the turn of the millennium, the United States Army was in the midst of its worst recruiting drought in several decades and needed a new approach to target young adults who were either finishing high school, needed money for college or were looking for a new challenge in their life. Increased marketing budgets were viewed as a cure-all but failed miserably. TV commercials, radio ads, and in-school recruiters just weren’t getting the job done. The U.S. Army needed to establish a new strategy and a set of tactics to reverse this trend.
Strategy
The Army currently had a website that explains who they are and what they do but what they didn’t have was an interactive website that engages visitors and gives them examples of real life scenarios when enlisted in the Army. Realizing that young Americans are the reason for today’s influx of Internet use, the Army created a separate site, http://www.goarmy.com/, to reach them.
In 2006, the Army launched this interactive site to give viewers a virtual experience of Army ‘life’ and what it entails. Streaming video of career opportunities, combat training, weapons and vehicles supply viewers with powerful messages that are distinct and effective. The content is very engaging and relevant to the entire recruiting campaign. Anyone who would have an ounce of interest in the Army would leave this site almost wanting to join.
Interaction
I have never had an interest in joining the Army or learning much about it. Before I researched this site, I only knew that if I enlisted I could receive a certain amount of money towards my college education – G.I. Bill – and I would have give them a certain amount of time every year. After my research, it is evident that Army is much more than that. The site explains commitment options, post locations, levels of rank and provides career training in over 150 professions. My opinion of the Army has changed dramatically. I actually bookmarked this site because of the interactive videos.
Video testimonials of current soldiers allow the viewer to identify with their own reasons for maybe joining. The soldiers have various stories of why they joined and how they have benefitted from it. The testimonials also include excerpts from parents explaining how the Army has made their child into a model citizen.
The sight strategically placed a series of menu bars on the right to give the viewer the opportunity to contact them at any time. Requesting information, asking a question, chatting with a virtual guide, chatting on a discussion board and applying for enlistment are all services supplied by the site.
The Army’s commitment to create such a site expanded its recruiting efforts across the country. The Army has long been known to target young Americans rural backgrounds as opposed to city kids. This site actually creates a new public for their campaign and has helped increase their recruitment goals.
Recommendations
I was moved by this site. If I were in high school, contemplating my future, then I would consider joining. The videos were educational and also captivating. The only concern I have is the virtual guide, Sgt. Star, I asked him several questions and many of his answers were off base. The Army put forth a lot effort behind this site and it shows. It has been a pleasure reading about them.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The First Digital Olympics
I had some trouble this week trying to find something relevant to new media techniques and sports. Thankfully, I remembered that the Olympics just began in China and I decided to search for related stories. This article in Business Week just about covered what I was searching for.
I really can’t remember the last time I was interested in watching the Olympics. Maybe it was when the NBA sent its ‘dream team’ of players back in 1996 to win the gold or when Tonya Harding ordered Nancy Kerrigan to be attacked just before her performance at the U.S. Olympic qualifier. No matter the sport, it seems that the media tries their best to capture the public’s attention with the best headline.
Since ‘new media’ is my flavor of the month, I focused on something other than the competition and analyzed how media outlets are strategizing to deliver the Olympics to viewers and the new media techniques being used.
I’m sure you are familiar with the term ‘new media.’ For me, the term means; a medium that is not as traditional or widely accepted as other mediums but is gaining momentum. You may not see that definition in textbooks but like I said, it does it for me.
‘Younger audience’ is pretty much synonymous with ‘new media’ so I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that media networks will be targeting this younger audience with new media techniques. Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube will be playing most of the competition to engage this audience and increase their exposure to a variety of sports. Google has publicized a new mobile search tool to help track Olympics results from mobile phones. It also set up a mobile Web site specifically so viewers of the games can check results and events.
NBC and the NY Times have created podcasts to allow interested viewers to recap past news, sights and sounds that have already been reported. The creation of an Olympic wiki by the Olympic Committee has enabled officials to create real-time schedules and starting times for these events. This same wiki also keeps officials, fans and media current with possible venue changes, meetings, and upcoming news. NBC will also stream 2,200 hours on-line video across 25 sports on NBCOlympics.com. The Web site will recycle these events already seen online and TV channels into thousands of hours of on-demand encores of full events and highlights.
These techniques not only bring the Olympic Games into the digital age but it also forces the advertising agencies to use these techniques in order to reach their audiences. Increased mediums of communication also mean increased advertising revenue for these media outlets.
According to the AP, before the Olympics started, NBC earned more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the event for which it spent $894 million to acquire the U.S. broadcast and digital rights. I wonder what NBC has made since the Games began.
Seems that strategic communication is alive and well.
I really can’t remember the last time I was interested in watching the Olympics. Maybe it was when the NBA sent its ‘dream team’ of players back in 1996 to win the gold or when Tonya Harding ordered Nancy Kerrigan to be attacked just before her performance at the U.S. Olympic qualifier. No matter the sport, it seems that the media tries their best to capture the public’s attention with the best headline.
Since ‘new media’ is my flavor of the month, I focused on something other than the competition and analyzed how media outlets are strategizing to deliver the Olympics to viewers and the new media techniques being used.
I’m sure you are familiar with the term ‘new media.’ For me, the term means; a medium that is not as traditional or widely accepted as other mediums but is gaining momentum. You may not see that definition in textbooks but like I said, it does it for me.
‘Younger audience’ is pretty much synonymous with ‘new media’ so I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that media networks will be targeting this younger audience with new media techniques. Social networking sites like Facebook and YouTube will be playing most of the competition to engage this audience and increase their exposure to a variety of sports. Google has publicized a new mobile search tool to help track Olympics results from mobile phones. It also set up a mobile Web site specifically so viewers of the games can check results and events.
NBC and the NY Times have created podcasts to allow interested viewers to recap past news, sights and sounds that have already been reported. The creation of an Olympic wiki by the Olympic Committee has enabled officials to create real-time schedules and starting times for these events. This same wiki also keeps officials, fans and media current with possible venue changes, meetings, and upcoming news. NBC will also stream 2,200 hours on-line video across 25 sports on NBCOlympics.com. The Web site will recycle these events already seen online and TV channels into thousands of hours of on-demand encores of full events and highlights.
These techniques not only bring the Olympic Games into the digital age but it also forces the advertising agencies to use these techniques in order to reach their audiences. Increased mediums of communication also mean increased advertising revenue for these media outlets.
According to the AP, before the Olympics started, NBC earned more than $1 billion in advertising revenue for the event for which it spent $894 million to acquire the U.S. broadcast and digital rights. I wonder what NBC has made since the Games began.
Seems that strategic communication is alive and well.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Sports coaching goes viral
My son and I were preparing for the upcoming youth soccer season by watching a few soccer games on ESPN. I wanted him to pay particular attention to the technique and style of the teams so he could get a feel for what might be expected of him this coming season. Instead of watching the footwork and skill of the players, he just watched whoever had the ball and commented on how hard they kicked it.
After realizing that this process of teaching wasn’t what I envisioned, I considered buying instructional tapes to give him an early advantage and hopefully advance his learning curve of the strategies. Before I searched websites, which offer these videos for purchase, I decided to check YouTube and analyze their offerings. Goodness!
I was overwhelmed to find that YouTube had instructional videos for every sport imaginable, even badminton. There wasn’t a need for me to use my credit card and wait a week before I could view the intricacies of soccer and explain them to my son. I was able to analyze what these coaches were saying and the terminology they used, and then apply them to my son’s workout. Awesome, I saved money (something I am always interested in) and I was able to assist my son that same day.
After the instruction, I wanted to investigate how many more instructional videos were available and what the viewers were saying about them. After further research, I noticed that the rate of adoption with this innovation of using viral methods for sports instruction was quite swift.
YouTube has only been around for maybe three years and many of these soccer enthusiasts saw an opportunity for free publicity. Not only were individuals placing their knowledge of instruction on YouTube but many of them used this method as a tool to demonstrate their advance knowledge of the game. Sort of like a resume for future advancement within that respective sport.
Viewers used the message boards to ask if the instructors had other videos for different strategies within that sport. The message boards were used as a means of communication by the creator of the video and the person reviewing it. This type of instant feedback usually resulted in additional videos from the creator. Also, many of the video creators gave about five to ten minutes of instruction to later tell the audience that they can purchase their full instructional video at a specific website. Marketing genius if you ask me. Opinions of the instruction were evident as many viewers loved to apply their two cents – “Thanks, this was helpful” or “don’t buy this guys video, it’s a waste” were a few.
Viral video, I thought, was a place for many teenagers to act themselves when school let out or when their parents left the house to go to the grocery store. I have found that viral video can be used as a marketing tactic to inform the masses about your knowledge of a sport and also be used as a quasi-letter of recommendation that you have the goods to coach the sport.
Now that YouTube has helped my son become a better soccer player, let’s see if it can help him with his homework…..
Friday, July 25, 2008
Sports & PR - A Long Term Relationship
Whether you agree or not, professional sports are the economic cornerstone of this country. In down times, it is the only industry certain to remain robust. On a global scale, total sports industry revenues are expected to be nearly $100 billion in 2008. Whether talking at the water cooler about Lebron’s dunk or breaking the ice with your girlfriend’s father by criticizing Gilbert Arenas’ new contract, sports is a culture to which everyone can relate.
You say you aren’t a fan? Actually you are. In today’s world of image branding, many of today’s most profitable businesses are using a professional athlete to help usher in a new product to its target audience. McDonalds, Coca Cola, Pepsi and even Wal-mart have walked down this path of advertising to reach new heights with their consumers. I have even witnessed athletes being used in bottled water spots these days.
There have been studies over the years which suggest that if a consumer should see a particular athlete in a commercial endorsing a product then that consumer is more inclined to make a purchase.
Remember Michael Jordan and Nike? Considered to be the poster child of all sports endorsements, both parties are considered icons in their own right and their harmonious relationship resulted in a multi-billion dollar effect on the global economy. Sure, there will probably never be another athlete endorsed campaign that will ever match their results but there are now hundreds that try their best to emulate them.
Have you had the opportunity to take in a Redskins game at ‘Fed-Ex Field ‘or even a Wizards game at the ‘Verizon Center?’ Take a second look at the names of the venues to which you need to see these teams play. Fed-Ex and Verizon are major players in their own respective industries but went out of their way to inform these sports-goers that their businesses are alive and well and just in case you missed the one-hundred or so commercials about them on the television last night, they decided to remind you once again. (Can you hear me now?)
Unfortunately, this saturation of advertising is a tactic used by many businesses and professional sports franchises. 19th-century department store entrepreneur John Wanamaker pretty much summed it up, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted. The trouble is, I do not know which half.”
Why you say? Why do these businesses target sports-goers in such a way? Money. Professional sports franchises, as explained earlier, are a gold mine. Not only do they receive money from spectators buying tickets and purchasing over-priced food within the venue but also receive a separate flow of income from television networks to broadcast the event. So you see, it doesn’t matter if you aren’t a fan of sports. You will always be exposed to the PR practices of these businesses when they use a professional athlete as an advertising tool.
Hey, could you step to the side, the game is on.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
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