Edition 3 of #BODSW, around the web…

We Want Wade – great digital campaign by Miami Heat to get fans behind Dwyane Wade to stay in Miami when the NBA’s big free agency scramble begins. Absolutely love the Do’s & Don’t’s for fans.  Expect social media to be big in NBA free agency.

Need more evidence that Google will be a big player in the sports market in the next 5 years? NYTimes reports on how Google scored runs with the IPL & YouTube.

Fox Sports Chairman Davis Hill disagrees saying online streaming of sports may affect TV revenues.  Sorry David, don’t agree with this one as online & mobile streaming offer a great opportunity to reach the fan on the move.

Twitter to open Business Center - Nice move by Twitter to allow business automatically get verified.

Twirdie fun little Twitter game guessing Twitter trends to play golf.

Will LeBron stay in Cleveland?  This will be the biggest story in the NBA this off-season.  Perhaps this jersey will fit?

Best On Ground

This week’s BOG is actually a Worst On Ground going to Phil Mickelson who was tripped up this week when praising burger franchise Five Guys.  He didn’t disclose he was an investor in Five Guys he was outed by fellow golfer Stewart Cink via Twitter.  Important lesson for sports agents and marketers need to understand how social media can impact an athlete’s marketability (both positively & negatively).

YouTube Clip of the Week

Conan O’Brien meets with Google, funny stuff from #teamcoco.

Book your ticket for SRG Conferences
Got your ticket yet? HUGE lineup with speakers from Real Madrid, NBA (Trailblazers & Timberwolves) & Tottenham…
Engaging Fans & Participants in the Digital Age Sydney – Star City – July 13 & 14
Sport is Fantastic 2010 Auckland – Eden Park – July 19 & 20

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A look at the AFL pre-season Sports Social Media Index (SSMI) developed by Sports Geek sees a vastly different ladder than most AFL pundits are predicting for the 2010 AFL Season.

Bombers, Dees & Kangas lead

Essendon are front runners in the social media stakes engaging their fans via Twitter & Facebook then backing it up with “The Hangar” developed to bring fans to the club web site.  With an updated website expected soon look for more improvements from the Bombers.

Melbourne is proving itself in social media led by CEO Cameron Schwab (@CamSchwab) tweeting news and presenting Demons strategic plans on YouTube on Whiteboard Wednesday.

North Melbourne have a well rounded approach to social media they even have a Facebook fan page for CEO Eugene Arocca linked from their Facebook fan page.

Hawthorn had success on YouTube with a video poking fun at the new myki system getting 24,000 views even though it may have caused president Jeff Kennett some grief.

Middle of the pack

Some of the clubs in the middle of the SSMI ladder have gone through the steps on setting up on social media platforms such as Facebook & Twitter but are yet to truly engage with their online fan base.  Sports Geek will be keen to see what social media advances these teams make in the 2010 season.

Social Media Cellar Dwellers

Brisbane, Western Bulldogs & Geelong are dragging their feet with little or no social media presence.  They already find themselves behind AFL newcomers Gold Coast & Greater Western Sydney who are both developing fan bases via social media.

About SSMI

Sports Geek has developed the Sports Social Media Index (SSMI) to rate the performance of sports franchise using social media. The SSMI cover the key platforms of sports social media, how each platform is used and how they engage their fan base.

The key to the SSMI is not about comparing Facebook fans or Twitter followers but how teams connect with their fans and increase the value of their brand using social media.  SSMI was developed after meeting with US franchises in the NBA, NFL, MLB & NHL seeing how they are engaging fans using social media. US sports franchises are reaping the rewards from social media efforts securing sponsors for social media driven events as well as high fan satisfaction ratings from fan surveys.

If you want more information on SSMI please contact Sean on 0407047200.

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One of the biggest challenges many teams face is differentiating themselves whilst adhering league brand guidelines.  It was a common theme with the teams I met with on #sportsgeektrip.

Many leagues across the globe follow a similar digital model.  League web sites are developed and team web sites are created under the league umbrella.

MLB.com, NBA.com,  NHL.com, AFL.com.au are some examples of these Leagues that follow this “Umbrella model”.
(*edit thanks for comment: Essendon stand alone as an exception running independently of the AFL very successfully with EssendonFC.com.au)

If you take a look at team websites e.g. LA Dodgers Vs New York Yankees or Collingwood Vs Hawthorn you’ll see some team customization but they are locked into a League framework.  The NBA follows a similar model but teams are using custom landing pages (or splash pages like the Mavs do) to offer fans special deals.

Other leagues like the NFL.com & PremierLeague.com have decoupled the League’s web deal from the teams.

What’s better?

The “Umbrella model” makes administration of League branding much easier and sometimes can lead to a better sponsorship deal as it is league-wide.  However, it can be restrictive both creatively and financially to the teams who want to push the Web 2.0 envelope.  From a technical prospective a league wide CMS (content management system) does reduce the need for in-house web staff for teams but many people who use these systems find them too restrictive.  Leagues that abandon the “Umbrella model” face the problem of a potentially creating a tech gap between the have and have-nots.  Some teams like those run by MSG (Knicks, Rangers, Liberty) help promote their teams outside the standard team’s sites through the stadium (TheGarden.com), then again with so many sports properties MSG is a unique business.

What are your thoughts?

• Does the ability for league’s to secure deals outweigh a team’s desire to innovate?
• Would teams do a better job if they could go it alone?
• Would small-market teams struggle maintaining own website?

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I’ve been in New York for a few days now, absolutely amazing city. The city is abuzz about the J-E-T-S who take on the Indy Colts in the AFC Championship game this Sunday. I’m looking forward to attending a pep rally in Times Square tonight.

Madison Square Garden as they say is “The World’s Most Famous Arena” you can feel the history of the place as soon as you walk in. I caught the Knicks play the Pistons on Martin Luther King holiday. The MSG old feel & intimacy is stark contrast to the Staples Center in LA which was a terrific facility but fans were not as close to the action. However it was at the Rangers game that I saw the famous New York passion, the fans made the Garden come alive as they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-2.
However, a highlight for the #sportsgeektrip for me was meeting Knick legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier before the Knicks game.

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Well with under a week to go on #sportsgeek I thought I’d give a quick recap of the trip so far…

I started with a Sports Geek Bucket List…

Here’s just some of what I’ve done so far:

• Attended a College Tailgate but also the game! BCS Championship Game at Rosebowl with 94,000 of my closest friends.  Go Longhorns!
• Got my picture taken with the BCS Coaches Trophy.
• Saw the NBA’s best player Kobe Bryant (3 times) unfortunately he hasn’t been at his best but does enough to win.  Including a cross town match against the LA Clippers with Baron Davis at his best & Aussie Andrew Bogut’s Bucks who unfortunately had no fight left in them.
• Watched Dirk Nowitski score his 20,000th NBA point against the Lakers from the a private suite at American Airlines Center.
• Saw Mark Cuban at Mavs game unable to meet him he is too excited about his Mavs in season.
• Toured the American Airlines Center with CEO Brad Mayne including the terrific facilities the Mavs in their locker room.  Terrific facility Brad, best HD scoreboards I’ve seen (excluding the ridiculous screen at Cowboys Stadium).
• Fell in love with the beauty & history of Dodger Stadium, will be back for a game.
• Jaw dropping amazement of the magnitude of the Cowboys Stadium with the Cowboys on the field practicing!
• Saw Big Ben Wallace from the Pistons turn back the clock against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.  Great history in that arena, even walking around met Walt “Clyde” Frazier & John Starks.
• Watch some great hockey thanks to the LA Kings at the Staples Center & Dallas Stars at American Airline Center.

That is just the venues, games & sports stars you may know but I’ve met a lot of cool people as well. All the time taking notes on the promotions, marketing and watching offline fans to see how to best connect them with online fans.

If you’re in New York come & say G’day as I’m hosting a #sportsgeektweetup on Wednesday night 7pm at ESPN Zone.