Enterprise 2.0 – Sports Marketing and Sponsorships

Enterprise 2.0 – Sports Marketing and Sponsorships
Consider the multiplyer effect of combining tangible marketing efforts and traditional marketing with the reach, speed and penetration of online CPM.  Even negative events drive attention online much more rapidly than in traditional media.  (Dominos, United Airlines etc.).  While both of these are also brand & reputation examples, the real key is in the viral activity that was created and the rapidity of the spreading message.    

Combining online marketing with traditional marketing generates substantial leverage for sponsors, teams, and fans/consumers alike.  The ability to identify, reach and penetrate markets and niches in ways never before possible and with measureable and quantifiable results as compared to traditional spends is the reason individuals like Chad Hurley (YouTube-Google) have become involved at the highest levels of motorsports. Social Media represents an infinite number of channels for reaching and interacting with groups and individuals that affect your business.  

Online media channels offer the ability to interact directly with costumers and business interests that drive corporate revenues and YOUR brand, using a variety of media and quantifiable micro channels.  Online strategies can provide your company with new sales opportunities, promotional leverage, and even Voice of the Customer influence on product designs and purchasing decision making – increasing revenues at very cost effective margins. 

Online campaigning provides cost effective acceleration of CPM, as well as additional ways to establish loyal customer communities and evangelists that influence purchasing decisions that involve your brand. 

Technology enables companies to not only listen to discussions about their brand and offerings, but to actively participate in discussions WHILE purchasing decisions or comparisons are being made. 

For the first time in our lifetimes, business intelligence can be direct – and both the demand and supply sides enhanced using a combined offline and online medium of exchange.  Sales cycles can be shortened, analytics used to establish how a brand or sale message can be in the right place at the right time, and predictive calculations can even be applied to predict market and customer movements. 

For marketers – this means budgets can be more effectively allocated, results determined more accurately, and promotions and campaigns designed for maximum effectiveness.  Using online mechanisms and multiplyer effects, a traditional spend can be amplified and longer tails of interest created and sustained.

Online market analysis can also tell you what your competitor is doing, and how effectively.  It may even uncover hidden vulnerabilities at your company and theirs that can be owned by the first mover.  You may even discover stealth projects and product launches that you never knew existed, and if tools are run on yourself – you may know where your own investment efforts might be compromised in order to take protective measures. 

Do you know what your competitors are doing and where they have had successes or mistakes?  How would you like to accelerate your learning, and avoid the costly missteps? Have you considered how to use your competitors marketing spends to actually drive attention in your direction? 

Brand monitoring and market monitoring policies and procedures effectively protect brand equity and massively reduce risk profiles.   Pre-emptive measures can be established for your brand, and knowing a competitors vulnerability – you can determine whether exploitation of a weakness is appropriate or not. 

For the first time ever, customers have a voice and are requiring companies to listen and act accordingly.  Those who do not embrace the online medium are rapidly losing market share to those that do.  In a Darwinistic sense, obsolescence is being greatly accelerated as the world changes. 

Is your company evolving? 

Keep in mind that customers can instantly search for information about your company, products, prices, services etc.  It is far better business to produce, control, and participate in this information flow than to either have a competitor provide dis-information, or let your corporate identity online be created by the masses.    

Do you know what the world is saying about your company and how it is impacting your bottom line?

Social Media “yeah, we have that covered”

This is commonly heard in our Digital Media practice at CLS Global Solutions. 

The euphemism is a great qualifier because it indicates a level of understanding of the digital marketplace.  Often the comment is followed by an abrupt change of topic due to discomfort. 

We then ask – “What do you measure, how do you measure and in what units” and “what data analysis techniques did you use to substantiate the business case and prioritization?”  “Did your agency or web team ask these questions”?

Then it dawns on them.  These are prudent business questions the company had never considered prior to charging off to chase the online market.  With squirming in front of the execs. 
More feebly this time,  “I think we’ve got that covered.”

“We were told we needed to be X% on Facebook/Twitter. No we don’t have a quantified business case or justification.”  

Sound familiar?  

Social Media is NOT a channel, and goes far beyond Facebook and Twitter. 
There are literally infinite combinations to consider that might fit business objectives more exactly.  Knowing your state of readiness, capabilities, where your target audience is and exactly how to engage with them is critical. This means doing your homework, architecting a plan and implementing precise tactics.  

Success is by design, and market responsiveness comes from a solid architecture.    
Every market entry should have a plan with goals, objectives, and measurable performance.   Perhaps there is simply a lack of understanding of fundamentals, processes and measurements.  Sometimes “coverage” consists of randomly initiated and disconnected approaches resulting in an ineffective online presence borne of online trial by error, ad-hoc efforts, lack of ROI focus and gap in comprehensive oversight.  Many companies start with DIY (Do It Yourself) – and rapidly realize red ink. 

Survey the land, design and build the bridge to suit, THEN cross. 
What would it be worth to KNOW what types of online investments make sense?  Would you like to design in the returns that match corporate objectives or find out by accident that they don’t? 

Knowledgeable executives:
• Know the online world touches every aspect of their company.
• The pace and fluidity of the online marketplace and have done their research.
• Engage expert guidance in order to generate business intelligence and ROI based road mapping.
• Know that “reactive” and “planned” are contradictory.  This is a new paradigm and change is constant. 
• Require that their employees understand every touch point their company has with the digital world.
• Avoid agencies that gloss over metrics and measurements, or fail to demonstrate quantified business cases 
• KNOW how each aspect of their business is perceived online and what daily activities are taking place. 

The decision makers who track their credit score and investment performance to the minute using online resources – fail to understand that this same empowerment exists with regard to how their company interfaces with social media.  We show them HOW at executive and functional levels.  

Have you “got it covered”?
Where does your company fall on this spectrum? 
Are investments made based on business cases supported by factual data, or are they guesswork? 
Why take the risk and waste dollars on trial and error? 

What is covered? How do you know?
• How is the business case and roadmap constructed?  How does this map to objectives?
• What research was conducted? 
• What were the information resources – and where did they get the information from?   How is it validated?
• How did you prioritize and select that investment? What are the competitive factors used?
• How are you measuring ROI? What metrics are being used? How do you know these are the right ones?
• What types of contingency plans and policies are in place?  Are there any gaps or variables? 

Social Media Intelligence
Intelligent Social Media is the Web Strategy practice of factual business case construction, starting with comprehensive benchmark. 

Every activity undertaken on the web can be digitally monitored and measured.  A web strategy recognizes that social media consists of thousands of channels and matrixes that need to be custom fitted to a business objective roadmap and implementation plan.  When executives are provided a web strategy based on a quantified business case, they understand how ROI is derived and measured, they understand the exact state of “social media readiness” and they know the steps and investment necessary to be successful.    

Are you Social Media Intelligent? 

What is your state of Readiness? 
• How are you doing business online right now? Is it producing the measureable results you desire?
• Do you have a plan in place with milestones, roadmap sequencing and coordination across all departments?
• Are there any revenue streams that you haven’t tapped?  How do you validate this today?
• How do you identify, monitor, quantify and manage risks? 
• Do you know exactly what and how your competition is doing?  Why not?
• Do you know where you are vulnerable?  (Your competition may…)
• Do you have appropriate policies and procedures in place across all functions of your organization? 
• Are you aware of every possible touch point your company has and what these represent?   
• Have you conducted an objective audit of activities to validate online assumptions, opportunities and risks? Do you audit expenditures frequently and adjust toward cost effective digital solutions? 

What makes us different?
CLS Global is a professional services firm specializing in digital/web strategies and interim technology leadership.

We always kick off our projects with a benchmarking.  ALWAYS. 

We generate relevant online business intelligence first and then provide our client with a prudent planning and implementation structure based on corporate objectives.  You would question a physician who prescribes a pill without conducting diagnostics, wouldn’t you?

We specialize in several areas of Web Strategy:
• Online Competitive Intelligence
• Online Marketing Audits
• Brand and Reputation Management
• Product and Services development for Internet based companies

Our methodology is proven to:
• Increase revenues and revenue growth streams
• Increase margins
• Decrease costs, misalignments, risk
• Increase brand and brand awareness

Compensation is based on a fee based structure and a % of the increased revenue growth or cost recovery.

The Big Squeeze

Social Media Sites are squeezing out traditional media in terms of time, advertising and audience.

In terms of advertising impressions in the US, sites like Facebook and Myspace account for more than 20 percent. These sites are the aggregation of the longtail of marketing, so LongTail is alive and well, however consolidated.

The Long Tail of the Internet is largely being aggregated by social media sites that offer a platform for the huge number of small content generators. This is putting pressure on portals and the traditional media in terms of advertising because their shares of both time and page views are declining.

So what is the way forward? Instead of trying to challenge these sites, traditional media should find a way to benefit from the attractive platforms.

By combining the mediums, a variety of multipliers can be brought to bear.

We at CLS Gobal have been blowing this horn for some time. Yet we also recognize the cycle of centralization/decentralization and the societal resistance to conformity or domination by a few entities, regardless of type.

How do you know what’s attractive for your business? 
Make sure that you do a VERY comprehensive online intelligence sweep that includes your interests and those of your competitors. 

Armed with data about where your targets are and how they want to be communicated with, you can construct a roadmap of engagement. 

Without the research – you are simply guessing. 
And the last time I checked – guesswork didn’t come with a predictable ROI.

The last time Madison Avenue was in control was in the 60’s, and there were controllable media networks, only three in television.  These are the braintrusts attempting to convince you they have Social Media figured out. 

My 13 year old knows more about online media placement than most agency execs.  Her question is – Why don’t they just do their homework?  

If you feel caught in a quandry, give us a call.  We provide the real world online analysis so that you can build and implement viable strategies that have highest ROI and lowest risk.