The best part of working in digital and social media is that we’re surrounded by examples every day. Examples of marketing, of sponsorship, of content, of ads, of engagement – every swipe and scroll is an opportunity to learn. I’m always trying to continue learning – it’s no secret these platforms are changing daily and new ones are popping up, too. The tactics, the metrics, the algorithms – you have to be a lifelong student. There’s also incredible talent and creativity all over, and it’s an excellent ‘free’ source from which to learn.
So, here are the latest Five Finds (examples of sponsored social media or marketing in sports and social/digital):
- Manchester City gave away a signed jersey via sweepstakes in its Instagram Story. The player whose jersey would be the prize was Vincent Kompany, whose thrilling goal was the game-winner. If you’re going to activate a sweepstakes, best to do so when more fans are paying attention and engaging, and IG Story views (in this case) will be above average. You may even throw money behind such a timely sweepstakes in the moment, to reach as many new fans as possible, too.Also, something that definitely stood out was the option to enter to win via Amazon. The Facebook and Google options are to be expected, but not often I encounter Amazon used for such a purpose – something to watch. I also imagine international clubs will other major platforms like QQ, WeChat, and WhatsApp, among others.
- Good stuff from the Boston Celtics, who have taken an asset they’re producing every game for social media – pregame entrances (aka in the NBA as the pregame fashion show) – and put a sponsor on them. Historic numbers and a proven commodity are attractive for partners looking for season-long awareness, and the JetBlue ‘runway’ tie-in (a la the fashion runway) works well here on Instagram (and IG Stories). Also always good to see digital and offline working together, as is the case here with on-site branding of the area players enter.
- Another example of a consistent, predictably performing digital asset – the starting lineup graphic for the San Francisco Giants, shown here on Twitter. While you can have some fun getting creative to showcase and activate a brand partner, when the one of the main KPI’s is awareness (as I’m guessing is the case here), this is perfect. If a dedicated fan sees that Biofreeze name/handle 75+ times during the season’s 162 games, chances are they’ll click to see what the heck it is eventually (I did! Their tagline is on the pic, too, so that gives some clues). Several teams brand their starting lineup like this.
- I wanted to jump to another platform for this example – a final score post on Facebook by the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL. There’s plenty of room for novelty and creativity with partnership marketing on social, but there are also classics like the final score to activate. After a win, these posts will get some good engagement organically and it doesn’t hurt many fans are seeing ‘Pedialyte’ late at night maybe right before (or the day after) a night out. (Pedialyte has not so subtly embraced one of its uses as a hangover aid)
- Even though my timelines and digital diet is chock full of sports, I know how helpful it can be to learn from other brands and other peeps. This cool promotion was one I read about online and my interest piqued further when Ad Strategist Jack Appleby posted a video sampling (see below) – Chipotle took to TikTok. The app – known as Douyin in China and owned by Chinese company ByteDance, and formerly known as Musical.ly in the US – is rapidly growing and teams and brands are taking notice. One feature are the hashtag challenges, where users create content (in the form of short videos) in response to a challenge. So Chipotle created the ‘Lid Flip.’ (read more here) These challenges can be fun, quirky and awesome highlights set to music do well, fun stuff like players dancing and high-fiving, and also the well-produced, uber-creative stuff that we used to love on Vine seem to have a happy home on TikTok.
The #ChipotleLidFlip: Chipotle’s TikTok influencer program to try to start a trend.
Looks like it’s rolling out today – curious to see how kids respond to sponsored trends (& ones that pretty much require you to buy a meal to play). Smart to get Dobrik – his fans love him. pic.twitter.com/dB5qqEuHFV
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) May 5, 2019
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