How Properties Can Best Take Advantage Of The Social Networking Phenomenon
IEG Sponsorship Report - 2006-12-11
By Bill Chipps
How Properties Can Best Take Advantage Of The Social Networking Phenomenon There’s no denying the immense popularity of social networking Web sites such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Classmates.com and many others. The sites have struck a chord with Internet users looking to join communities, make new relationships, stay in touch with old friends and share their experiences–and a bit of themselves–with the world at large.
The top 20 social networking sites have grown 32 percent year over year, increasing from 67.1 million unique visitors in October ’05 to 88.3 million this October, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.
Like many businesses, sponsorship properties observing this trend want to know whether and how they can harness it to help them grow their audiences, reputations and revenues. Based on the experiences of those who are tackling those questions, a number of promising options exist for rightsholders that want to explore social networking and community-building ventures.
Potentially, any property with a loyal, passionate and involved audience has much to gain from incorporating social networking into its online offerings. Specifically, creating connected communities can help rightsholders accomplish the following objectives:
•Provide fans, participants, members and other supporters an avenue for communicating with each other and sharing their interest in the property
•Attract younger, tech-friendly audiences
•Gain a marketing tool for promoting ticket and merchandise sales, volunteer opportunities, donations, etc.
• Create a year-round platform for annual or seasonal properties
• Capture relevant personal data from users that can be used to target offers, in addition to being aggregated as demographic, lifestyle and purchasing-habit information that can be incorporated into sponsorship sales efforts
•Generate incremental sponsorship revenue by offering partnership opportunities connected to the online community From a sponsorship standpoint alone, social networking initiatives can provide a host of new, valuable benefits, including the opportunity for viral marketing programs and other online activation efforts.
For example, Samsung Telecommunications America, LLP sponsored the Samsung Fresh Films teen movie-making competition (IEG SR, Sept. 25, 2006) in part due to the ability to promote its brand and connect to consumers through the property’s viral voting campaign.
“The success of the Samsung Fresh Films sponsorship is tied to social networking sites and the massive viral element that it brings to the table,” said Cinco Calfee, Samsung’s senior manager of strategic marketing.
“Social networking sites make properties more valuable because they provide sponsors more exposure and a connection to a targeted audience. It helps validate the decision to get on board,” said Issa Sawabini, a partner with youth marketing agency Fuse, which screens and implements deals on behalf of Gillette, Mountain Dew and other brands.
D-I-Y Or D-I-My(Space) The first major decision most properties face in addressing this issue is whether to simply use existing social networking sites to establish a dialogue with current and potential audience members or to build an online community component into their own sites. The choice is akin to the decision to own or rent. Although the “rental” option–setting up a page or profile on a site such as MySpace–is considerably simpler and less expensive, it doesn’t offer all of the advantages of owning and controlling a proprietary site. Many properties have gone the rental route, with the bulk of them relying on their pages to build interest and drive ticket sales for upcoming events, and maintain a presence during their off-seasons. Most do not actively involve their sponsors beyond mentions of top-level partners.
However, some industry executives believe it is simply a matter of time before those pages become a standard activation component for sponsors. “It’s a smart thing to do, and at some point it will become a part of everyone’s sponsorship packages,” said Wade Martin, general manager of the Dew Action Sports Tour, which has a MySpace page.
Although still a minority, a growing number of properties are choosing to “own”–developing social networking components or community portals for their own Web sites.
For example, The NFL Denver Broncos this fall launched BroncosCountry.com, while the NHL soon will roll out NHL Connect, a community it bills as the first league-sponsored social networking site. The NFL Atlanta Falcons and other pro sports teams also are gearing up to launch proprietary efforts. While it can easily cost six figures for a property to build and host social networking functionality, those that are going down that path say they are doing so for the flexibility and control, as well as the ability to incorporate sponsors more deeply and effectively, and thus be in a better position to monetize the program.
For example, The NFL Indianapolis Colts have made sponsorship a key component of the soon-to-be-launched MyColts.net social networking site. The team already has upsold existing team sponsor AT&T, Inc., which will become the site’s presenting sponsor.
Properties that load social networking pages or sites with sponsor ID and ads risk turning off visitors.
“Social networks are not the place for blatant in-your-face advertising,” said Kelli Feigley, partner and client marketing director with Dreaming Tree Films, which created and organizes the Samsung Fresh Films program. Rather than posting ads for or images of its phones, Samsung worked with Feigley on ads that tout how the company is empowering the program’s teen contestants’ filmmaking efforts.
“We’d lose all authenticity if we just slapped an ad up there,” she said. Property-related community sites that incorporate sponsors should have those partners provide something of value to the site’s users, say other practitioners. “The most successful brands that enter the social networking area are delivering something to users. You can’t just create a MySpace page for your virtual billboard,” said Fuse’s Sawabini.
Properties also should monitor visitor comments to ensure that sponsors don’t receive negative feedback. “No matter who is running your site, you still have to monitor it and protect your sponsors,” Feigley noted.