We’ve been out of the mix in terms of being an advertiser in the Super Bowl for more than a decade (12 years to be precise). This past Sunday, we changed that in a big way – debuting two new ads (Lunch Room and Generations) during the game and again in the post-game show (which we were also the primary sponsor of). Not only did we have an exciting game to watch, but as an Intel employee it gave me a great sense of pride to see our name on such a grand sporting stage. The team that I work with did a great job of pulling all of this together – we’ve all been working very hard to make this happen and to see it come off without a hitch was fantastic. If you haven’t seen our newest spot, featuring Jeffrey the Robot, I’ve embedded it below. We also spent a great deal of time promoting through the social graph, as ComputerWorld notes in an article released Monday.
Social Networking is, as Charlene Li says ‘Like Air‘ – ubiquitous and everywhere. We are in a culture where every demographic on the planet is involved in some capacity or another. Some of the most visible? Athletes – especially professional athletes. Social Media is a way for the athlete to share a little bit of their ‘off court’ or ‘off field’ persona with those that support them most – their fans. From a fan’s perspective, this is an amazing peek into the everyday lives of their sports heroes. Is it always good for the athlete? No.
Then, comes the flip side. Using social media to make a complete mockery of themselves. Case in point… this week, Portland’s own Greg Oden. There are multiple incidents that are embarrassing for athletes that have a very public persona – and some of the ramifications are career threatening, in the case of Gilbert Arenas. In many cases, it is simply kids making a mistake that is extraordinarily public (Brandon Jennings on Twitter and Video). Remember, these athletes are often times not even of drinking age but making millions of dollars…with plenty of free time on their hands. You know what they say about idle hands…
From my perspective, the moral here for professional athletes to take care with their use of Social Media. You have an incredible opportunity to extend your influence for good and to give the people that ultimately pay your salary (the fans) the ability to take a peek into your ‘off field’ persona. Be careful of what you ‘Tweet’ – it could come back to bite you…
There is a 3 week span in July each year where I am virtually worthless at night. I find myself spending massive amounts of time on my couch – remote in hand, watching 180 of the fittest athletes on earth climbing mountains on two wheels, racing through the countryside faster than the average commute, and literally wrestling each other to the finish line in an all out pedal mashing sprint. This year, Versus has nearly perfected their online presence for their coverage of The Tour de France. They offer several levels of quality – from low quality via the free selection to a full HD experience, on demand, with their paid season pass.
Versus brings a very strong social element to the site – pulling in the Twitter feeds of Lance Armstrong, Team SlipStream, and the official TDF tweet stream. Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen, Bob Roll and others on the broadcasting team each contribute semi-regular blogs during the 3 weeks the tour rolls through France. Additionally, there is an extremely active communitycontinously interacting on the message boards – debating the likes of who is the odds on favorite to win the individual stages, sharing photos from the action, and kibutzing the team dynamics of Team Astana.
While I still spend hours on my couch each night watching these men on wheels fly through French countryside, I find that a quick peek (ok, sometimes it’s a bit longer than that if the stage is exciting) on Versus’ site makes for a great viewing experience as I kick off my work day…
Ok – admittedly, I am just ramping back up in the digital universe after being on holidays for the last two weeks. I did find this as an appropos way to re-enter the V/Speak blog and add a little humor to the new week. Enjoy.
It’s Finals time. Not in the NBA – in Fantasy Basketball. I’m not in them (no surprise there – I never seem to be, despite my best efforts) but that doesn’t stop me from following them ardently. What is interesting this year in the NBA is the rapid adoption of Twitter by some top names in the league. Shaq, Baron Davis, and Paul Pierce. My favorite – Charlie Villenueva. He’s probably one of the most prolific NBA players on Twitter…with his most publicized ‘tweet‘ coming at halftime of a recent game against the Celtics.
What I find intriguing about this is that it gives unprecedented access to our sports heroes. Shaq and Paul Pierce routinely give out tickets to games via the micro-blogging service. With Shaq, it’s the first person to find him in the NBA city he’s playing in and touching him after he tweets. He recently visited my hometown, Portland, and put the tweet out for tickets against the Trail Blazers. It took 4 minutes for someone to find him and win the tickets. His response to his followers? “100 people n the prtland area just came for tickets wow portland twitterers r niiiiiice“…
I’d be remiss if I didn’t call out my current opponent, who is not ashamed of using the power of Twitter to gain an edge in his matchup. Fab Fish – this one’s for you…. way to game the system.
Somone has gone to a lot of work to find and verify accuracy of sports figures on Twitter, which they list in a spreadsheet for the public to see. Who will you follow?
I’ve often said that if I could get SportsCenter and the plethora of sports I watch through my PC, I’d ditch my paid TV subscription. From what I can see – we are getting closer and closer to that. Last year we saw NBC broadcast their Sunday night games with the option of several different camera angles that allows you, the fan, to customize your viewing experience. Major League Baseball has come up with much the same play, however they have added features that make the offering even more compelling – like the ability to ‘overlay their favorite radio broadcasters onto the television feed‘ which harkins back to the days when families sat around the radio and ‘visualized’ the scene as Vin Scully would bring the game to life by his colorful commentary.
Perhaps the most engaging thing to come out of Sports and the Web is the social aspect. I follow Adam Ostrow of Mashable on Twitter and notice that he is as avid a sports fan as I am…. in a recent article, he posed the question “Can Social Media Get You to Watch the NBA Playoffs?” He goes on to outline the massive social media campaign Turner Sports is launching in hopes of reversing the declineof ratings in the NBA’s postseason. Smart. The league and its broadcasters are embracing you, the viewer, with more access than you’ve ever had before. It’s made me a more engaged fan – will it do the same for you?
Social Networking is, as Charlene Li says ‘
