Digital Media Delivers Dollars In New Ways That Make Sense

             One of the biggest complaints about digital marketing, and social media in particular, is that it can often be very difficult to monetize investments. While return on investment (ROI) metrics such as clickthrough rates, cost-per-click, number of fans / followers, etc. are often used to measure brand engagement through digital channels, many sports managers still cannot see how money spent on digital media leads to new revenue. In fact, many people still see television, radio, and newspapers as “safer” choices for their marketing, advertising, and promoting dollars. For example, advertising on television allows sports decision makers to target large audiences to the demographics who are watching these shows. Yet, television viewing can be a passive act, and it is unclear how much audiences engage with the message.   

            This dynamic is what makes Facebook’s new custom audiences feature potentially a game changer for digital media spending. According to Facebook, custom audiences, “let marketers find their offline audiences among Facebook users. Using email addresses, phone numbers or Facebook user IDs to make the match, you can now find the exact people you want to talk to, in custom audiences that are defined by what you already know.”

Many sports organizations have collected an enormous amount of data about different audiences through a variety of different sources. This includes information from sources like Google Analytics and Facebook Insights about the people most likely to interact with a brand’s website, social media, or mobile presences. In addition, many sports organizations are using customer relationship management (CRM) solutions to help mine this data for information about what drives purchasing decisions. Yet, it is not always clear how sports marketers can use this information. For example, if I know that certain fans buy tickets to games against a specific opponent, how can I create a promotion that only targets these fans when that opponent comes to town?

            Facebook custom audience allows sports organizations to accomplish this goal. Sports organizations can now provide demographic information along with highly relevant promotions, messages, and advertising to Facebook. Then, Facebook will ensure that these ads are delivered to these audience members that sports organizations have identified as their most lucrative customers through its news feeds and promoted ads. In addition, sports marketers can track the interaction with their brands in real time. For example, they can see when a user clicks on a link for a specific promotion.

            B6A wants to make it clear that we do not own Facebook stock or have any financial interest in the company. The larger point is that custom audiences is part of a continuing trend of digital marketers to show why their services should be used instead of more traditional channels. While television, radio, newspapers, and other traditional forms of advertising can be effective, they cannot ensure that you will be able to target and track specific individuals in the ways that web, digital, and mobile providers allow. Digital media spending is no longer about connecting with large audiences who may or may not click on a banner advertisement. It is about sports organizations using the information they have collected to reach targeted audiences who are most likely to buy their products and generate revenue.

            To take advantage of these new opportunities, sports organizations need to have their own infrastructure in place to collect and gather information about specific audiences. For organizations that lack CRM solutions or do not track sponsorship, media, or promotions spending, B6A provides solutions that can help address these issues.  

Mistargeting Sports Voters

             After the Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the Labor Day Weekend, many political pundits believe that the Presidential campaigns begin in “earnest”. No, this does not mean that the campaigns can seem to be as ridiculous as the plotlines in an Ernest movie like Ernest Scared Stupid. Despite the millions of dollars spent by each campaign, only now do many voters start really paying attention to the Presidential race. Therefore, both the Obama and Romney campaigns are looking for ways to connect with people to win their votes for the November election.

            One common strategy that campaigns have used in the past to present their candidates as “regular guys” was to have them attend sports games or watch games with fans at local bars. In a recent Politico article, Jonathan Martin and Maggie Haberman describe how this can be a particularly effective tactic for President Obama in showing how he is different from Governor Romney. While the President is enjoying a White House Honey Ale (yes, the White House now does brew its own beer) with Washington Nationals fans, he can remind voters about who does not seem to like bars or sports: “It’s the other candidate running for president, the guy who happens to be a teetotaler and who refers to ‘sport’ as though he were doing an impression of Mr. Burns or an English Olympics official.”

            Martin’s and Haberman’s point is that watching sports is a great way for the President to establish himself as a regular guy because the Average American loves to watch sports. There is just one problem with this analysis. The average sports fan is not really the average American. Despite what many people may see and hear on sports talk television and radio, the average sports fan is usually more affluent and more educated than the average American. According to 2011 NHL league data, “the average household income (HHI) for an NHL fans is $104,000, highest of the four major sports, followed by Major League Baseball ($96,200), the NBA ($96,000), and the NFL ($94,500). Sixty-eight percent of NHL fans have attended college, a significantly higher percentage than the other three sports (ranging from 60.4 percent to 63.6 percent).” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median household income for the United States was $50,054 and the median percentage of people who attended college was 44 percent.  

And this does not just count fans of the four “major” professional sports leagues – the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL. According to Scarborough Sports Marketing, “[Mixed Martial Arts] fans have sound financials. They are 15 percent more likely than the average American adult to have a household income of $75k+ and 10 percent more likely to own a second home.”

We are not questioning whether political campaigns should present their candidates as “regular” people. We are questioning whether using sports is an effective channel to connect with “regular” people. The reason that this practice will likely continue to occur is the popular perception that sports fans and average Americans are the same type of people. Therefore, campaigns and the media should portray candidates watching, participating, or commenting on sports as a way to prove that they are “regular” people.

Taking this approach to sports fans can and often has backfired with political campaigns. For example, John Kerry famously said that “I just go for Buckeye football, that's where I'm coming from,” while talking to crowds in Michigan. Governor Romney said that London might not be prepared to hold the Olympics only days before the event. Neither of these candidates may have made these gaffes if their campaigns did not try to use sports as a way to connect with “regular” voters.   

   Sports organizations can also learn a lesson from these mistakes and misperceptions. Many sports managers do know that their fans are affluent and educated. It is usually part of their ticket, media rights, and sponsorship sales documents and agreements. Yet, they can often fail to complete an audience analysis when it comes to other elements critical to the fan experience. This can lead to organizations making significant investments in areas that have little value for audience stakeholders. For example, many sports organizations are making significant investments in wireless and location based technologies at their venues. Yet, technology may actually be taking away from fan’s enjoyment of the game. As Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban states, “I can’t think of a bigger mistake than trying to integrate smartphones just because you can. The last thing I want is someone looking down at their phone to see a replay.” 

            Again, we are not saying that sports organizations should not invest in technology. It is critical, however, to make sure that technology is actually what its customers, fans, and stakeholders want to improve their experience. Whether it comes to politics or sports, completing an audience analysis is critical to ensuring your organization employs the right strategy and tacti

B6A Welcomes SMG at Soldier Field As A New Client

Block Six Analytics (B6A) has been selected by Soldier Field to implement a customer relationship management (CRM) solution for all events happening at the venue. B6A’s proprietary CRM Platform will provide Soldier Field with the ability to automate all contact management processes and track progress of potential and current clients throughout the event lifecycle. In addition, this solution provides SMG at Soldier Field with a company-wide calendar and customized reports to track internal performance metrics.

“We are excited to be working with Block Six Analytics,” Soldier Field Director of Sponsorship & Media Luca Serra said. “This solution provides us with new ways to enhance our internal processes while finding better ways to engage with our customers. Block Six Analytics technological and process management capabilities in this space were what Soldier Field was looking for in a CRM solution.”

Block Six Analytics provides its clients with innovative technological and consulting solutions that allow for organizations to identify new revenue generating opportunities while eliminating operational costs. Its proprietary solutions include the Partnership Scoreboard™, Media Spend Module, CRM Platform, and Billing Platform. For more information about B6A service offerings, contact Adam Grossman at adam.grossman@blocksixanalytics.com.