This Saturday (Feb 20, 2010), the 15th edition of the Nissan Verbier Xtreme by Swatch (full name), the final stage of the Freeride World Tour, will take place in the eponymous internationally-renowned Swiss Alps resort. I plan to attend, as it is just an hour’s drive away from my place -- and is usually very spectacular. If you wonder what the fuss is all about, check out the video below.
As I was checking the event’s website (link above) and listening to radio ads promoting it, I asked myself how well the event organisers, sponsors and venue were leveraging social media.
So here’s my totally subjective “Social Media Scorecard” for the 2010 Verbier Xtreme.
Event’s website interactivity: auto-play videos + video gallery; decent image gallery; small “news” and “community” sections; no real visibility of/interactivity with sponsors >> 7/10
Facebook fan page: only for the Freeride World Tour (FWT); few fans, little activity; also Facebook group, only for the FWT; many more group members; frequent/interesting group posts; no customisation of design; little interactivity (discussions) >> 7/10
Dedicated YouTube channel: only for the FWT (FreerideWorldTourTV); customised channel design, comprehensive video footage, sizeable subscribers Nr>> 9/10
Dedicated Twitter account: only for the FWT; no custom design of Twitter profile; account only tweets out info.s, no interactivity>> 6/10
Title sponsor-specific promotions/buzz: production of a few sponsor-themed TV shows; otherwise just banner ads on website’s homepage + at the end of videos >> 5/10
Overall score: 6/10
What do you think? Which other criteria would you take into account? Shae your suggestions and impressions in the comments !
Jason Peck (if you haven’t done so yet, subscribe to his excellent blog, www.jasonfpeck.com) has put together an inspiring compendium on “Sports and Social Media Projections, 2010″, in which a dozen US-based contributors provide a brief summary of their perspective on how the sports sector will leverage social media in 2010.
Here’s a short (highly subjective) list of my favorite quotes from the compendium:
“The keywords for 2010 will be adoption, convergence and usage. ” (Dan Beeman, Sponsorship Insights)
“If 2009 taught us anything, it’s that social media is not a fad, rather, it is an essential part of a marketing and communications strategy.” (Trevor Turnbull, Sport-Fan Connect)
“Sports and social media are a perfect match.” (Darren Heitner, Dynasyt Athlete Representation)
“Share… Stop self-promoting and start listening.” (Espree Devora, ZexSports)
“If those in sports are not continuing or starting to invest in social media by next year, they are missing out on opportunities to grow.” (Lewis Howes, Sports Networker)
“2010 could very well be the year in which we see some teams moving social media from the periphery to the centre of their marketing strategies.” (Pat Coyle, Sports Marketing 2.0)
“Controlling the message means active participation and some level of transparency to allow deeper, more sustainable audience engagement.” (Rob Katz, iAudience)
“Mobile is the future of social media and sports media consumption.” (Steve Cobb, Activ8Social)
Regardless of the accuracy of the predictions, Jason and his fellow contributors have made it very clear that sports cannot ignore social media – in Europe as much as in the US.
Have you read Jason’s compendium ? What do you think ? Share your comments with the readers of the Sports Management Blog !
Gabriel Mangano defines himself (on Twitter) as an "entrepreneur, social-media fanatic, consultant, coach, sportsman, sports manager - all rolled into one."
