Case Study: Golden State Warriors – Playoff Ticket Scavenger Hunt

GSW Scavenger Hunt

This year was Golden State’s first time in the playoffs since their incredible run in 2006-07.  The years between appearances resulted in placing of 3rd and 4th in their division and missing the playoffs.  Sean was lucky enough to be in town just as they clinched for the 2013 playoffs.  Their absence over the past couple of years has elevated fan excitement and the Golden State Warriors have used this to their advantage and have taken to Social Media to interact and engage with their fans through an exciting competition.

The Playoff Ticket Scavenger Hunt is a contest which the Warriors ran giving away a range of prizes in the ten days leading up to their first home playoff game.  The contest revolves around all social media and digital platforms for the Warriors including: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Mobile App, Insider email, Insider mobile and Youtube.  Each day there would be clues and challenges published on one of these platforms, which required you to respond to win.

Having a contest which incorporates all digital platforms has given the Warriors an opportunity to develop and improve their reach with their fans. If fans wanted to increase their chances of winning, the best opportunity is to sign up or follow all of the Warriors 8 digital platforms so they don’t miss out on the clues or challenges posted. This in turn possesses as an incredible opportunity for the Warriors to develop their fan base in a digital sense, but more importantly allows the organisation to interact and engage with followers in the future.

Let’s now look at how the Golden State Warriors used their Social Media platforms for the Playoff Scavenger Hunt.

Day 1: Engaging Facebook Fan Base

The Warriors started the scavenger hunt contest with Facebook, which has the most amount of followers at 458,384. Starting with their most popular platform is a great way in informing their largest base of followers of the competitions commencement. It also allows for Facebook users to become aware of other social media platforms the Warriors use regularly throughout the season.

The day 1 challenge started off with an easy assignment for followers which required them to ‘LIKE & SHARE’ the below post. Winners were chosen at random and announced the following day. The post received 6,983 likes and 6,815 shares.

WarriorsFBHuntImage

Day 2: Driving a Twitter frenzy

Following Facebook the @Warriors took to Twitter, their second largest following at 219,348, for the hardest challenge in the competition. The Warriors did warn that this challenge was ‘Extra Challenging’ in their first tweet. The challenge required followers to find a clue within their ‘Gameday Photo Galleries’ from the season.

Golden St. Warriors  warriors  on Twitter

Followers on Facebook who don’t have twitter received a clue via a photo post of Stephen Curry wearing a ‘@warriors – #letsgowarriors’ t-shirt. The picture also featured the twitter logo over the top of the Warriors logo. For followers on Facebook who don’t know what twitter was, hand no idea what the clue was, as comments of “blue jays carrying them over the bridge” and “a mocking jay?” featured throughout the comments section. Other fans where nice enough to direct those lost to twitter to follow the challenges instructions.

This is where the challenge gets tricky. There are 24 galleries per page and 17 pages of gallery photos since the start of the season with numerous amounts photos in each gallery, I guess the Warriors really wanted fans to work for their tickets. I have to be honest I didn’t manage to find the clue through the galleries as I gave up after close to an hour of searching, as did many others who didn’t have time to search.

Day 3: Driving Fans to Mobile App

Mobile App Clue

Day 4: Everyone loves Bobbleheads

The day 4 challenge was for Oakland residents to head down to a specific Lucky Supermarket and find a Klay Thompson bobble head. Once found you were required to take a photo with the bobble head and post it on Twitter or Instagram with the #FoundKlay hash tag.

This is a simple challenge which incorporated Lucky Supermarkets, who are the official grocery store sponsor of the Warriors and the Oakland Raiders. A great way of using sponsors in the social media competition to increase brand awareness for the grocery store.

Day 5: Show some love on Instagram

Instagram was the sole target of the day 5 challenge via their account @officialwarriors. The challenged prompted fans to be as creative as they can while impersonating player Kent Bazemore’s famous three point celebration named ‘Bazemoring’. The photo had to be tagged with #bazemoring hash tag for winners to be picked. Entries featured poses on top of cars, outside Oracle stadium and where ever the opportunity presented itself for fans.

#bazemoring Favourites

Kent Bazemore is known as the NBA’s number 1 towel-waver and bench hype machine, who continually displays his game long energy celebrating player’s shots. This signature move of celebrating 3’s was used by the Warriors as a Facebook check in competition for fans at a home playoff game to receive a 3 point foam finger, drawing on the ‘Bazemoring’ and ‘Splash Brothers’ hype. This is another impressive opportunity which the Warriors have used to their advantage to engage and interact with their fans. The Winner of the challenge was announced on Twitter and can been seen below

Day 6: Mobile promotion using SMS

Day 7: #DubNation pins down Pinterest

The Warriors Pinterest page has the least amount of followers out of all social media avenues used for the Warriors. As a result the scavenger hunt competition stands as a great way of promoting and increasing followers. The challenge was for users to create a ‘board’ labelled ‘#DubNation’ and required you to post 20 things that creatively display your Golden State Warriors pride.

As Pinterest is continually growing and relatively new to sports teams, the ways in which teams interact and engage with fans and supporters is different. Pinterest has a large female following and the inclusion of this platform in the scavenger competition is an excellent way for the Warriors to reach their female fans and supporters.  Check out our Sports on Pinterest board.

Pinterest Pin board #DubNation

Day 8: Share and Like the team you love on Facebook

We are back on Facebook with the 8th challenge looking at fans relieving their favourite moments from the season. To officially enter the challenge followers needed to again LIKE & SHARE the post and provide a comment on their favourite moment.

An easy challenge to complete which provides an opportunity for fans to talk about the amazing season the Warriors are having so far and continues the hype and excitement leading into game two of their round 1 matchup against the Denver Nuggets.

I thought i should also provide my favourite moment of the season. I feel sorry for the rookies . . . . .

Day 9: Crowdsourcing fan video on YouTube

The final day of the Scavenger Hunt continued on from the favourite moments challenge from day 8 and fans needed to get the camera out for YouTube. An extra two tickets were up for grabs and fans needed to film a 30sec clip of a re-enactment of their favourite play, people #Bazemoring, the Landry flex, putting up some 3-point goggles or wearing some Warriors merchandise.

Final Challenge

This challenge was promoting their YouTube channel and needed fans to submit their videos via the Warrior’s website. Riding their playoff excitement fans really produced some impressive videos in the short time they had. Below are two of my personal favourites

Day 10: Integrating Adidas with Twitter and Instagram

The Warriors weren’t done yet and threw in a BONUS day, giving away a Harrison Barnes jersey. The final challenge used Instagram and Twitter once again getting fans to take a photo of themselves with a mannequin wearing the jersey at the Adidas store in San Francisco. Once again we see an opportunity for a sponsor to be involved in the competition.

Bonus Challenge

Final notes

In summary most of the challenges were fairly easy to follow and complete, the only challenge which maybe and should have been altered was the day 2 challenge. This could of been improved with the inclusion of a clue indicating which date the gallery clue might be from. This could have saved a lot of time for followers and been more engaging and positive, as many people commented that they had given up as it was too hard.

The challenges throughout the scavenger hunt were fair as most challenges were not a race. This made each challenge available to all fans and supporters as everyone who entered had an equal chance of winning. The majority of the challenges were different as some involved appearing at stores and then using Instagram to the basic sharing and liking posts on facebook.

Using their most popular social media platforms as the primarily avenues to inform followers of clues and challenges was a great way of promoting other developing platforms such as Pinterest and their Mobile app. Drawing on key moments through the year such as the #Bazemoring poses, continually keep fans excited leading into the playoffs.

The only question which remains is, how active will these users be if they have only signed up to win playoff tickets, will they be influencers in the future?

What did you think?  Let me know in the comments.

"First of all, great post Curtis I like how you followed the promotion from the fan's point of view.  Great job by Kevin Cote as his team at the Warriors for executing a campaign like this to engage in midst of a exciting (and very busy) playoff run."
Sean Callanan, @SportsGeek

NBA’s @MNTimberwolves help fans #GETCLOSER

Kevin Love signs autographs for fans to kick off the Get Closer campaign

Kevin Love signs autographs for fans to kick off the Get Closer campaign

The Minnesota Timberwolves, like many other professional sports organisations, use multiple social media platforms to engage and interact with their fans and supporters. Recently, the team has used to their YouTube channel to support and promote their innovative ‘Get Closer’ season-ticket renewal strategy.

The campaign draws on sports fans’ desire to be as close to the action as possible, but also embodies a sense of appreciation for fans who have continually shown their support. Driven by the hash-tagged #GetCloser slogan, this theme of ‘appreciation’ is consistent across all mediums, and herein lies the strategy’s uniqueness and effectiveness.

Instead of promoting season ticket renewals directly or giving away merchandise, the Timberwolves are showing how they have and will continue to give back to their fans and the community through, player/fan events and behind the scenes access. This gives us a sense that the fans are as important as the players are which is particularly evident through their recent series of videos on YouTube:

Behind the scenes access:

As you can you see from the videos above, Minnesota gave season ticket holders an opportunity of a life time to be part of their campaign commercials. The videos portray fans with players in a real life conversation discussing topics not relating to basketball. This shows another side of the players rather than their athletic abilities which are usually on display for the fans, but insight on a personal level, in a very comical way (Andrei Kirilenko’s ‘Get Closer:  AK’ was a personal favourite).

There are also a couple of videos which give fans a behind the scenes access of their jet, inside the TV Truck, interview with Wolves radio host Alan Horton and Player outing coverage. There is also a special playlist dedicated to season ticket holders who have renewed their membership with a special message from individual players, again going above and beyond for their support.

As we can see Minnesota has been very active and measured through their Youtube channel when showing fan appreciation and continually offering an experience even when the final buzzer has sounded.

To improve the campaigns effectiveness and reach the Timberwolves have effectively used their other digital platforms. Facebook was used to show the benefits and access the Wolves give to their fans which is the experience unlike another teams offer:

Timberwolves - Get Closer Fan Experience 1

Timberwolves - Get Closer Fan Experience 2

Twitter was also used with the #GetCloser hash tag to group and follow tweets:

 

 

Event coverage was seen through Instagram:

Nikola Pekovic Free lunch @ Jimmy Johns

Last but not least Google+ and Vine have also been used to support the season ticket drive:

One final note, Social media platforms all have their own unique way of engaging and interacting with followers and users, this provides opportunities for Sports organisations to establish deeper connections with fans and supporters. The Minnesota Timberwolves have executed a thorough campaign involving a range of platforms to show how they give back to their fans who give so much.

"Love this promotion by my mates at Timberwolves, despite a difficult season on court the Timberwolves make sure the fan is the centre of everything they do.  Congrats to Ted Johnson, Jeff Munneke and Bob Stanke for a great campaign."
Sean Callanan, @SportsGeek

Sports Geek at the MCG – Where are your fans?

Sean Callanan founder of Sports Geek was profiled by TechFluff.tv & Newspepper.com after being awarded Melbourne’s Top Tweeter.

Shot at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, Sean talks about digital marketing strategies sports can use to connect and engage with their fan base.

Sean discusses the advantages of building a digital fan bases using social media platforms to provide value to fans and sponsors alike.

We are releasing this promotional video on the day of the AFL Grand Final you’ll know it as #AFLGF on Twitter.

In a couple of years time we want to see a Sports Geek advert on your TV during the NFL Super Bowl coverage ;)

Thanks to Bronja, Chloe & Kat from TechFluff.tv and Newspepper.
Big thanks to Shane & Katy from the MCG for letting me use such an awesome venue. Follow them on Twitter @MCG_News

Want to discuss your sports digital strategy?

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Video recap of @SportConference

Sports Digital Marketing conferencesWith speakers from Real Madrid, NBA & Major League Soccer to name but a few the Sport Research Group Conferences in Sydney & Auckland were a massive success.

Don’t believe me?  Check out the video below to hear from delegates & some of the speakers involved.

Keep an eye on the SportConference channel on YouTube.

Follow @SportConference for updates from the conference and news for 2011.

Send out a Twitter testimonial what you loved about the @SportConference#scau or #scnz

Additionally if you want to connect with sports marketers then join these Linkedin Groups – Asia Pacific Sport Marketers or Sports Geek on LinkedIn.

Thanks to the speakers

  • David Kirk – Hoyts
  • Dan Harbison – Portland Trailblazers
  • Shane Harmon – Rugby World Cup 2011
  • Alistair Gray – British Swimming
  • Pedro Duarte Gonzales – Real Madrid
  • Kirsten Corio – NBA
  • Umberto Righetti – Sporting Pulse
  • Dennis Mills – Major Events International
  • Paul Barber – Vancouver Whitecaps – MLS
  • Eric Fernandez – Medialink
  • Ted Johnson – Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx
  • Richard Burnett – Essendon Football Club
  • Chris Yates – Tennis Australia
  • Jeff Collard – Omnivex
  • Paul Paoliello – Mnet
  • Christine Stoffel – SEAT
  • Horden Wiltshire – Mnet
  • David Friend – Shared Services Solutions
  • Nigel Cass – Rugby World Cup 2011
  • Clare Wolfensohn – Rugby World Cup 2011
  • Daryl Macguire & Bindi Perkins – Populus
  • last but not least Sean Callanan from @SportsGeekHQ

Well done Simon

Congrats to Simon Arkright from Sport Research Group for a successful 2010 conference.  Connect with him on LinkedIn.

See you all in 2011.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
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to activate your sports brand & connect with your fans

5 Twitter mistakes to avoid

As more and more people, brands, sports teams & leagues hop aboard the Twitter train I continue to see the same mistakes being made.

5. The Not Reply – @TwitterHandle will be making an BIG announcement!

This became an issue when Twitter changed the manner by which we see people’s replies (or @) on Twitter.  Now you only see a reply if you follow both Twitter accounts.

Therefore the tweet below from @GoldCoastFC would have been only seen by followers of @GoldCoastFC AND @KarmichaelHunt. Understandable there may be a big overlap between the two but why take the chance?  Adding “Welcome” at the start of the tweet would have ensured ALL @GoldCoastFC followers would have seen the tweet.  It should be noted further tweets and RTs did mention @KarmichaelHunt so GCFC fans definitely knew about it.

@karmichaelhunt first official GCFC media appearance! More pics and video to come soon. http://twitpic.com/1smx6vMon May 31 02:06:33 via Twitpic

4. Twooshes or long tweets

Call me old-fashioned but I like the “old” RT method, that’s right something from 12 months ago is now old!  The “old” (or “Edit then Retweet” in TweetDeck) method allows you to add your comments before the RT.

If all your tweets are twooshes or too close to 140 characters you maybe losing RTs from people who want to pass it on with their short comment attached.  Keep it short and allow people to ADD to the conversation like below.

Wow… Smart strategy! RT @Peter_R_Casey @Brendanmeyer: i love how @gatorade bought keyword Powerade on google (via @SportConference)Mon May 31 13:06:25 via Twitterrific

Sports Geek Tip: Check out TweetStats.com to see how many twooshes you have. (I’ve had 175, as sometimes the opposite is true and you don’t want that comment ;) )

3. Lck vwls 4 140 chrs

If you can’t fit it into 140 characters without using vowels or butchering the English language then it shouldn’t be a Tweet!  Write a blog post!

Twitter teaches you to be direct & succinct, it can be said in 140 characters if you just think a little.

Don’t even get me started about TwitLonger.com, laziness!

2. Auto Direct Messages

Unfortunately, this seems to be a staple of internet marketers but more and more I am seeing others be sucked into using the Auto DM.

Firstly, it is completely impersonal and secondly it’s rude when they don’t follow back and you can’t reply!  I know a LOT of people who immediately unfollow any account that sends an Auto DM.  You’ve been warned!

Sports Geek Tip: By the way if you want to stop most of them you can follow these instructions to opt out  from SocialOomph who send most of them!

1. Broadcasting not conversing

This is the main issue with most brands, leagues or teams on Twitter is the lack of conversation.  They promote the “Join the Conversation” tag line of Twitter but do not LIVE it.

You do need a strategy in place to understand why you are on Twitter and how you want to interact with fans but you should be polite to reply to simple customer service questions.

Look at the simple chart the US Airforce uses to manage blog comments which could easily adapted to Twitter replies. (hat tip to @georgiawatson)

Sports Geek Tip: Don’t have a strategy in place? You should start with a Sports Geek Workshop.

What Twitter mistakes have you learned from?

Swarm achieved – Connecting sports fans at the G

Well it was fun to see AFL fans from Collingwood & Essendon join in the foursquare fun at the MCG to get the Swarm badge for #anzacswarm.

#anzacswarm success

A few takeaways from this experience.

1. It’s a new world and it’s shows that social media is a small but developing market.  With 90,070 fans in attendance at the G the goal was to get 50 people checking in represented less than 1% of the crowd using foursquare.  It shows that fans currently using foursquare are early adopters that have embraced the technology, they are needed to create momentum for a social network.  It is also interesting to note that the Geelong Vs Carlton game registered over 30 check-ins on Monday so I expect the swarm badge to be a regular occurrence at many sports events by the end of the year.

2. Sports is a great connector, I’m sure others were keeping a close eye on the numbers as we got closer to the magic number 50. It’s a great way to find sports fans.

3. Great social media publicity for the event as the swarm badge was activated many Melbourne based twitter streams & Facebook news would have been flooded with messages like this.

Activating the swarm badge was a small success in showing how social media can enhance the sports experience as well as how it can connect like-minded sports fans.  As I stated in my last post, “Connected & active fans are the most valuable online fans as they give sports team the ability to crowd source your promotions with retweets or likes.”

Not on Foursquare yet? Get on board, here’s how. I’m looking forward to this week’s Row Show looking at the NJ Nets case study with Gowalla & Vanyermedia,

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek
to activate your sports brand & connect with your fans

Follow up on SSMI

Your fans show passion in the stands, help them show it via social media!First of all thanks for the feedback and coverage from the launch of the Sports Social Media Index (SSMI).  The last 2 days have been spent discussing SSMI with people across Australia, from Brisbane (yes Lions fans they plan to enter the social media fray) to Perth (thanks for article WA Today) and part in-between with the guys at 5aa in Adelaide discussing the SSMI index.  The interest back in the US was terrific as well.  Yes, I will be looking at other leagues in the future and expect another AFL SSMI assessment mid-season when in-game social media work can be included.

Why SSMI was developed…

After returning from Sports Geek Trip I collated my notes from the franchises I met with in the NBA, NFL, MLB & NHL.  After seeing the tools & techniques being applied behind the scenes I wanted a way to compare each franchise on the key success factors they had identified proved successful for them.

SSMI looks at 4 major things

  • Implementation – How each social platform is set up
  • Fan Engagement – Are the fans part of the conversation?
  • Content – What content is provided on each platform? Is there variety? Is it delivered when fans want it?
  • Innovation – Pushing the boundaries creatively & via different technologies.

Once teams are solid on the fundamentals of social media platforms the “cool stuff” can begin, that’s where Sports Geek excels.  You can then activate your fan base to bring great results to your events, merchandise sales and sponsor initiatives.

Ask yourself these questions

Do you want to raise sponsorship revenue from social media efforts?
Can you increase sales have you made via social media?
Want more fans turning up to your events?
Need to grow your fan base?

If you answered yes to any of those questions please contact Sports Geek or call 0407047200.
If you didn’t congratulations, you’re a social media rock star!

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
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for more info on what “cool stuff” you can do.

Stay tuned for a big announcement from Sports Geek soon…

Building community via sport

Last night I presented to club presidents at the Southern Football League about the impact social media can have on local sports.

It was great to see the passion for the game at grassroots and it will be great creating a strong social media strategy for these clubs.

Social media can allow sporting clubs to become an online community hub for sports, families & local business if executed correctly in the same way they have been an “offline” community hub for many years.

And because the Slideshare – YouTube embed seems to playing up here is the video I played, an oldie but a goodie for people who are not quite understanding the impact social media is having on the world:

Sports Geek Social Media Workshop comes in 2 forms:

Social Media Heavy Hitters – Comprehensive workshop targeted to leagues, franchises & facilities who want to grow and manage their social media presence.

Small Sports Big Opportunities – Sports Geek gives back to local clubs & leagues to help them find new sponsorship opportunities via social media.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop for more info.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek
about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

Sports, social media & impro…

or How to create engaging social media content in sports…

Brad goalI am lucky enough to learn Impro from the talented group at Impro Melbourne (@ImproMelbourne). Impro is all about creating something (a story/scene) from nothing or at least very little.  In impro workshops we are taught different techniques and games in telling stories.  One of these games is called Action, Colour, Emotion where the one person tells a story to a partner.  The partner listening to the story calls for more action, more colour or more emotion to reflect what they want to hear in the story.

You can apply this same game to identify the social media content produced by sports teams.

Action Updates

Action – keep the story moving, don’t get stuck in the same place.

Keeping your fans up to date with your sport is a goal of you social media plan (You do have a plan don’t you? If not contact Sports Geek) these updates are staple of sports communications but fans expect more than just news clippings & score updates.

Colour Updates

Colour – description required, give me more in-depth detail.

Fans love finding out the news they don’t normally get from newspapers or sports radio reports.

What do fans want?  These example may seem minor but not to the fans.

  • Updates on player injuries
  • Notice when players or coaches will be appearing in media
  • Changes to team lineup
  • News when team in on the road

Emotion Updates

Emotion – tell us how you’re feeling in the story we want to feel it too.

Emotion may be the toughest to convey via a tweet or a status update but it connects with your team with fans the most.  It may be a simple as a picture shared of the team in celebration after a big win or an empty locker room after a disappointing loss.  The fan feels the elation with winning & pain of losing sometimes moreso than the players, social media allows them to share that passion.

Did we get the puck in the net?

OK I got caught up in the Canada-USA gold medal game.

Next step is to track which content hits home the most that way you like the impro game you’ll find out what the listener (your fans) want to hear more in your social media content.

What do you track?

  • Replies/Comments – How many fans responded directly to you content with support or questions?
  • Retweets or Shares – How many fans promoted your message to support the team?
  • Traffic – How many views or visitors did you receive from each kind of message?

Need help tracking your social media response?  At Sports Geek we can assist you in tools & techniques to use to give you the information you need quickly.

Additionally I can’t recommend Impro Melbourne enough, do yourself a favour and check out a show or workshops.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop to learn more about sports & social media.
Contact Sports Geek
for more info on our Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.

Social Media explained – Sports Geek style

If you work in the ever changing world of sports communications you maybe:

  • wondering “what’s all the fuss social media about?”
  • starting to use Twitter but not sure what to tweet or why to tweet or when to tweet?
  • the administrator for a Facebook Fan looking for strategies to grow your fan base?
  • aware of some social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), heard of others (Foursquare, LinkedIn) but wondering how to tackle them all with an integrated approach.

Well what you need is the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop!

After the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop you’ll understand how social media can keep your fans connected.

Some of the topics covered in the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop include:

  • How to monitor your brand in the digital space
  • How to find your fans using social media
  • What platforms your fans are using
  • How to engage your Twitter following
  • How to make sales via social media platforms
  • Creating engaging social media stories

You’ll also receive some useful information on:

  • Social media usage in USA garnered through recent Sports Geek Trip
  • How the New York Knicks integrated their “I Declare” campaign with social media

Sports Geek Social Media Workshop comes in 2 forms:

Social Media Heavy Hitters – Comprehensive workshop targeted to leagues, franchises & facilities who want to grow and manage their social media presence.

Small Sports Big Opportunities – Sports Geek gives back to local clubs & leagues to help them find new sponsorship opportunities via social media.

Check out Sports Geek Social Media Workshop for more info.

Connect with Sports Geek on Twitter, Foursquare, Facebook & LinkedIn
Contact Sports Geek
about the Sports Geek Social Media Workshop.