episode 37 of the dsmsports podcast w/ katie cavender of the mountain west conference

Best Of...Episode 37 of the Digital Best Of...Episode 37 of the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcastand Social Media Sports Podcast

Episode 37 featured Assistant Commissioner, Strategic Communications at the Mountain West Conference -- Katie Cavender.

Cavender discussed the strategy behind promoting all conference schools, distributing video content, maintaining a consistent voice, and more.

What follows is a collection of snippets from the podcast. For the full episode, visit DSMSports.net

@njh287 DSMSports.net


Katie's career path

→ Originally from Elko, Nevada and played a lot of sports there through high school (volleyball and basketball) and also rote on the side for an online publications on Nevada HS sports – Nevada Prep

→ Writing got her interested in sports journalism school for college and she started at University of Nevada in 2001 in their journalism school, choosing an interdisciplinary degree with the school's different focus areas



Katie's career path [continued]

→ Katie interned with Nevada media relations office while an undergrad (great!) and became a full-time student assistant for the remainder of her time at Nevada; Katie also helped with student promotions (helped launch The Blue Crew), ticketing, and fundraising

“It opened my eyes that [I could not only apply] my skill set of writing in athletics, and [also] use them behind-the-scenes to get games out there and build buzz.”



Katie's career path [more]

→ In Spring 2006, Katie got a job as a webmaster with Mountain West Conference

“I pulled an all-nighter (before the interview) and (made) a presentation on things I would do to change and recommendations I had for the Mountain West as part of my interview...I got back to California (after interviewing) and learned the other candidate had gotten the job.”

On getting passed up for the job: “It was super eye-opening for me. A great learning experience for me to see what

skills I needed, which areas (in which) I needed to grow, and how to make myself more marketable.”



Katie's career path [final]

→ Katie then moved up to Boise, Idaho to be near brothers playing football at Boise State (that year was that of the famous Fiesta Bowl) and assisted in Boise State's athletics department and their bowl games

“The opportunity (there) was only temporary and I wanted something more permanent...In order to put myself in a position more marketable, I probably needed to go to grad school.” [Master's in education]

→ Katie attended a year-long program at University of Washington, which required heavy course load and an internship experience and Katie (again) interviewed at the Mountain West Conference and got the job there and started the week after graduating at UW

“That role started as a webmaster, but has definitely grown and expanded and change.”



Katie's career advice

Katie cites her PATIENCE AND PERSERVERANCE as serving her well as she came up on her career path

“A big lesson is to still have confidence, but to really examine things and have the cognizance to reflect on what skills you have, to be flexible enough to try new opportunities (in different areas) to see if that fits. I think it makes you a better leader...And to really push through and continue to push for things you have passion for.”



On decision to go to grad school:

“What appealed to me most about the degree at Washington, specifically, was that it was a degree in education, but with athletics at its core...That key focus is unique to it and what drew me to it specifically...

(Also) I'm kind of a bookworm and lifelong student...I also liked that it was a year-long program, as opposed to two, since I was looking for something more stable and permanent (in my career)...”

“I think more and more the higher education field has grown and evolved and has really found a place for some niche studies (cites social media classes now offered at her alma mater, Nevada)...For some folks, grad school may not be for them, but for me it was a life-changing experience.”



On her role and its growth with MWC

“The webmaster role was part of the media relations and communications team with the Mountain West...My role grew from strictly website-focused to handling a couple of sports...

I was always under the impression that social was about to hit brands...so I was always pushing our senior team leadership here about the possibility of having a brand presence on social media and got some push back on it. The great unknown is kind of scary...until after Utah played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in 2009...our commissioner had read an article in USA Today about brand presences and (gave the go-ahead for MWC to be on social media)...

“We started with one Facebook page. That grew to a primary Twitter feed and we've grown from there, as well...Then e also have a presence on Instagram and YouTube, as well.”



“We worked in parallel in terms of timing (of social media adoption with conference and schools)...It was such a mad scramble to get a presence, figure out what your voice was going to be...There was a lot of figuring things out on the fly and, meanwhile, developing the strategy.

On each of our campuses, the responsibilities vary (as to where they fall in the department, if not a dedicated digital department)...It's continuing to be an ongoing conversation on how we manage all those folks and stay on the same page with messaging...One goal in 2015 is to really have open dialogue among the whole league together on building strategies.”



On initial goals and KPIs for Mountain West social media

One of our key goals from day one has been to really build the camaraderie across the Mountain West...We're only 16 years old, so helping level the playing field a bit with some of the higher resource conferences (is important)...

Our team has always felt social can help the Mountain West get there with identification of the Mountain West and its brand...and also build healthy competition (among conference schools), too...paying attention to the rivalries and traditions we have...while also putting our conference champions in the best possible position for (championships).”



This episode's Helpful Tool: Free Scan to PDF

→ Free desktop program to turn any collections of images into a PDF file



[Katie discusses “The Mountain” TV network being the first conference sports network]

“As conference realignment started (though) and compiling that with the competitive relationship (among networks), The Mountain closed...But (since) it had limited our digital distribution of video, the opportunity for having digital video came back to light after The Mountain had closed.

With that new dedication toward digital video, we were able to start The Mountain [digital] network. It's all free and (widely distributed)...It's free to consume and as part of the way to monetize that, we signed on with our partner Volar Video, who provided the technical support for folks to switch and produce these broadcasts...The Volar solution is cloud-based, so you can switch cameras. And it also provides a cloud-based midroll solution...and midroll that is not burnt into the broadcast, which allows us to be more versatile (with midrolls).”

[cites ability to switch out ads game-to-game, etc., to update and target ads]Big distribution partnerships include Campus Insiders and Silver Chalice



“Another key goal for us is to extend the reach of The Mountain West Network to extend the research to (more) over the top set devices...We're also working on transitioning to a responsive website to help streamline our practices, too...And capitalizing on our mobile applications, so we can continue to extend the reach and build the audience for the network and the conference, as a whole.”



On balance of covering each conference school

“Fans are fans of their institution more than the conference they're in...Being able to serve all those in a positive manner and with a unified voice and to promote the objective of all institutions is always a difficult balance...And focusing on some of the successes across all Mountain West sports...Focusing on things that help the league as a whole...telling some of the back stories of student-athletes...

We've got to strike a balance between being equitable...giving each their chance in the limelight, while picking the successes out and not making anyone feel slighted.”

[Katie also notes the difficulty of conference realignment causing schools to come-and-go, and also noting historical achievements for the league even as member institutions change]



“Part of how rely on social here is to build that (conference) identity is for people to associate (schools with the conference) when we do have those big successes...

Because of the efficiency and effectiveness and reach it provides and the resources we have, social provides us the opportunity we might otherwise not have.”



“Social has offered the opportunity for professionals (in any industry) to open doors and share and reflect and provide case studies...I've got some great relationships with folks at other leagues and am in constant communication (with them)...Social really helps take those barriers down a little bit. The immediacy of it, the commonality of our interests, and our own personal touches we have on those brands.

It also helps with the higher-resource conferences...I have those (working and personal) relationships with them, too...I am constantly learning from all their examples (from all conferences, with their digital and social)...Because when the opportunity presents itself for the Mountain West, we can learn from those experiences and help see which things worked and which things didn't and what we can apply to our own (case).”



On how digital and social may evolve for the MWC in near-future

“We're still trying to wrap our heads around – we can measure audience, reach, and engagement, but how does that translate into actual dollar amounts? As part of the engaging of conference realignment, the Mountain West was able to renegotiate our marketing and rights contracts (reacquired from CBS), so we could sell and do some things and monetize on these (newer platforms).”

[Katie cites relationship between IMG/Learfield and conference and its schools]

[Katie also talks about rights sharing with Campus Insiders, which works with IMG to monetize their content]



“Taking it beyond slapping logos on things and having some smart ways to get (partnerships) included (in content)...

Identifying those folks that want to be aligned with the Mountain West and can help us get our brand out there is a key initiative as we head into the second half of the second year of the Mountain West Network and taking that even further into selling social and digital, too.”



This episode's Shareable Stat: 93% → According to a poll of worldwide Internet users conducted this month by

RadiumOne, 93% of those polled have used Dark Social at least once in the past month to share content

Katie on dark social:

“I'm interested to see how this trend starts getting applied by brands. I think there is great opportunity for folks to think about to make their content social so their followers are sharing it on dark social. And taking it one step further to see how brands are capitalizing on that. There is such great opportunities for one-on-one connection...I'd be intrigued to see how that translates into college athletics, specifically for recruitment and fund-raising, and also how it affects NCAA regulations for both of those areas.”



The biggest/most memorable campaign Katie has worked on while at MWC

A recent memory was huge success on Instagram from this past year's VIZIO Fiesta Bowl

“One fun thing we did was Boyz II Men sang the national anthem for our basketball championship a couple years ago that was (and still is) a huge success on our YouTube.”

“Over the summer, we worked on campaigns to help fans share their memories of (recently deceased SDSU baseball coach and MLB Hall-of-Famer) Tony Gwynn and his effect on them...[Katie also discusses naming an award after him]”

“And in 2012, I was able to join Boise State in Las Vegas at Opportunity-Ville, which helps folks with mental disability...We followed Boise State's engagement in that activity as part of their bowl experience and it was such a memory maker for me. There were a couple (kids and staff) that latched on to the Boise State players and had some really great interactions...It's great video, messaging, and great human interest.”



Coolest digital/social promotion a MWC school has done during her tenure

- Recently helping to promote CSU WR Reshard Higgins for Bilentikoff Award and did some cool promotional content to support that campaign

- Also at SDSU, the Aztecs did 'Aztecs Ignite The Night' with banks-y styled graffiti across the town, which started as digital content → “It worked really great on a local level and got a lot of national buzz, too.”

- Katie can't resist discussing her hope UNLV or Fresno State do a Sharknado promotion to play off Jerry Tarkanian (former men's basketball coach known as “Tark The Shark”)



The sport that has grown in relative popularity the most since Katie began at MWC

“It seems like the national prominence of Mountain West men's basketball has grown exponentially since I joined in 2007. It seems like we're always talking about how we can make the championships better in Las Vegas. Our finals and semifinals are some of our most engaged (times).”



The most unusual or notable tradition among MWC schools

“The Air Force Academy has so much pageantry around it. The military component around it is really unparalleled.

We're [also] really fortunate to have some longstanding rivalries [cities 'The Border War' between Wyoming-Colorado State as oldest interstate rivalry in the west]...

The ROTC of the visiting team (in the game) runs the game ball to the Wyoming-Colorado border, then the ROTC home team runs the ball from there to the stadium...If anyone is familiar with the terrain and climate in Wyoming and Colorado, you will know it is not really a small feat to actually run the game ball from Laramie (Wyoming) to Fort Collins (Colorado) and vice-versa.”



On winning an Emmy award for the Mountain West Network

“To be recognized in that regard with that level of professionals was (a big honor)...In 2013-14, alone, we had over 15.1 million viewers from over 130 countries watch our content...

It's huge, especially for a league in the Group of Five...It's huge. And to be recognized for doing that amongst linear television – it blows my mind. I still don't believe it.”



On whether being a female in the sports world has mattered

“I'm fortunate in that gender hasn't played as a big a factor in my career as my age has...I was really lucky in my (early) years to get some hands-on experience...I felt like I had a lot more years on me when I was hired (at 24) at the Mountain West. But I don't think gender has been a hindrance at all and I'm grateful to that, for sure.”



The pro league or team that best utilizes digital and social and why

“I lean on some of the folks in the pros for help [cites Bryan Srabian of Giants, Jeramie McPeek of Suns, Megan Ryan of Red Sox, Kenton Olson of Seahawks, Julie Phayer of Warriors, as helpful peers]...They're so helpful and I appreciate all of them.

“I'm always taking screen shots and taking notes (on what others are doing).”



The coach and/or player in the MWC that does the best job on social/digital

“I'll start with former Mountain West coach, Tim Miles (ex-basketball coach at CSU)...He worked super great with the marketing folks there and media relations folks there.

Mountain West football coaches, in general, have been super, to really use social as a way to get folks to feel like they've got inside access to their programs. And they've also used it well in recruiting...And that has translated to their assistant coaches and their staffs.”



The best food Katie has had in the MWC cities

Katie's list:

Green chiles in Albuquerque, NMBasque food in Boise and RenoSeafood in San Jose, San Diego, and HonoluluAll the restaurants in Las Vegas



Katie's predictions for league champ and league player of the year for MWC men's basketball

Our league in men's basketball is more wide open that it has ever been...It's going to be really exciting. All I will say is I hope things will continue to be as competitive as they are so we have a great, buzz-worthy championship week in Las Vegas.”


Katie's social media all-star to follow

Katie lists several great follows (listen!) and recommends

Kevin Deshazo + Fieldhouse Media, especially his Fieldhouse Leadership project@KevinDeshazo + @FieldhouseMedia

Katie gives high praise to their leadership emails and all their content. [I agree!]




Where to find Katie and the Mountain West Conference

@KatieCavender on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram

@MountainWest on Twitter (and other accounts)

Mountain West Conference on Facebook and Instagram

MountainWestConf on YouTube

Find more info at TheMW.com


Thanks so much to Katie Cavender for sharing her time and knowledge on the Digital and Social Media Sports Podcast!

Listen to the podcast and get more info and content at DSMSports.net (And subscribe in iTunes). You can also follow me on Twitter @njh287



episode 37 of the dsmsports podcast w/ katie cavender of the mountain west conference

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