How New Media Gives Athletes the Opportunity to

Engage and Persuade

Professor Sab SinghProfessor Sab SinghFarmingdale State CollegeFarmingdale State College

March 30, 2013March 30, 2013

IntroductionIntroduction

• Online viewing, including on one’s mobile device, has increased the time we spend with media overall

• Sport is seen as the last and best hope against channel-flipping and the DVR phenomenon

• New media is redefining the way athletes are seen and how they are viewed

• The prominence of athletes, at all levels, is magnified in this new media environment

Opportunity: Athlete can leverage his/her role to champion a cause (engage and persuade)

Trends in the MarketplaceTrends in the Marketplace

• Athlete as Brand Michael Jordan (Jordan Brand), LeBron

James (The Decision), Lance Armstrong (Livestrong), Venus Williams (Eleven Clothing)

Made up of on-and off-the field activities

• Expectations are higher• Consumers are paying more• Athletes are earning more

• Communication is easier Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, etc. Email, Texting, Message Boards, Chat Rooms

Trend #1 – Athlete as BrandTrend #1 – Athlete as Brand

• Athlete is more than his/her playing statistics

• Athlete seen as an entityRepresents team, city, the fans

• That entity should contribute more to the fans and society at-largeComparable – Corporate Social

Responsibility• Brand/athlete can build up equity

with actions taken off the field Social media helps promote that activity

Trend #2 – Expectations are Trend #2 – Expectations are higherhigher

• Consumers are paying more The 2013 NHL Fan Cost Index average, the

price to take a family of 4 to a game, is $354.82, a 7.9 percent increase from 2012.

The 2012 NBA Fan Cost Index average, the price to take a family of 4 to a game, is $315.66, a 4.4% increase from 2011.

• Athletes are earning more Average NHL salary - $2.4 million; Average

NBA salary - $5.2 million; (Average MLB salary - $3.2 million; Average NFL salary - $1.9 million.)

Trend #3 – Communication is Trend #3 – Communication is easiereasier

• Methods Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, etc. Email, Texting, Message Boards, Chat

Rooms

• Communication has been “democratized” Facebook - 1.1 billion Twitter – 500 million Google+ - 343 million YouTube – 1 billion monthly users

• Happens everywhere Home, work, car, train, walking

Athlete Number of Twitter Followers (millions)

1. Cristiano Ronaldo 16.92. (Ricardo) Kaka 14.63. LeBron James 7.54. Shaquille O’Neil 6.85. Neymar 6.26. Wayne Rooney 5.97. Andres Iniesta 5.58. Ronaldinho 5.59. Gerard Pique 5.410. Chad OchoCinco Johnson

5.0

Athlete Number of Facebook “Fans”

1. Cristiano Ronaldo 56.02. Lionel Messi 44.03. David Beckham 25.64, Michael Jordan 22.65. (Ricardo) Kaka 21,76. Kobe Bryant 15.97. John Cena 14.48. LeBron James 13.89. Andres Iniesta 12.810. Roger Federer 12.5

Purpose Behind the Purpose Behind the ParticipationParticipation

• Athletes are using the various social media to be PIECI (“peachy”):

Promote – teammates, team, city, other athlete, event

Interact – opinion, news (fan and non-fan alike)

Entertain – joke, video, story Complain – opponent, officiating, Inform – “behind-the-scenes” info, Q&AWhat about “Advocate – Engage and Persuade?”

More places measuring more More places measuring more thingsthings

• The IBM Social Sentiment Index uses advanced analytics and natural language processing technologies to analyze large volumes of social media data in order to assess public opinions. The Index can identify and measure positive, negative and neutral sentiments shared in public forums such as Twitter, blogs, message boards and other social media, and provide quick insights into consumer conversations about issues, products and services. Representing a new form of market research, social sentiment analyses offer organizations new insights into Big Data that can help them better understand and respond to consumer trends. For more information about IBM please visit: www.ibm.com/social-sentiment.