Branding & storytelling go hand in hand, they are one,
you can’t have one without the other, at least in the sports industry. Your
story develops your brand and every sports property, athlete and organization
has a unique story that makes them who they are. This story is what resonates
with consumers and fans, which in turns becomes your brand. Your brand is what
you stand for but most importantly it is how your fan base or consumers
perceive you. As we mentioned from the beginning you tell your story through
your brand and thanks to the Internet and digital marketing, communicating what
you stand for (A.KA. your brand) is easier than ever.
Digital marketing has revolutionized the way we interact
with brands, we now hold an actual conversation and we choose what we want to
watch. Consumers now hold the power and they follow the brands they love. The
good news about this is that it is now easier to tell your story with engaging
content through different platforms and see actual benefits! With channels such
as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter you can easily track and measure
the success your marketing strategy is having and the overall level of
engagement people are having with your brand.
Now that we understand this, how do we do all of it? From
telling your story, choosing the channels and measuring the success of your
campaigns? It sounds daunting but through a great example from the world of
sports we will show you how easy it is!
-MLS:
Source: Major League Soccer (February, 2015)
MajorLeague Soccer is one of the most active sports leagues on the digital marketinglandscape, with channels on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google
plus, the amount of content they create is unbelievable! The main objective
with their content is to engage & connect with fans in order to grow their
fan base, which in turn translates into more ticket sales, bigger TV ratings and
more merchandise sold. MLS actively
promotes all of the teams’ brands with great storytelling content through their
YouTube channel:
Source: Major League Soccer(May,2015)
Through YouTube, MLS leverages the way their fans
communicate and their appetite for content and stories (just as we mentioned
before). The video above talks about one of Toronto FC’s star players an Italian
playmaker named Sebastian Giovinco, through his story coming to Toronto FC
adapting to the team and life over there MLS creates an emotional bond that reaps
marketing benefits for them, which can be measured in this way:
First they look at KPI’s,
for example:
1.Number of views, comments and shares
2.Attendance and ratings increase after the release of the
video in the next 6 months.
With these KPI’s MLS will set specific targets, for example
100 views, comments and shares and a 10% increase in attendance and TV ratings.
MLS starts tracking the performance of the content, measuring every interaction
and this is where the real revolution of digital marketing happens in the sports
industry! Everything can be measured, everything can be tracked and with
engaging content such as sports it is easier to increase the overall brand value.
Digital marketing also allows switching from online to offline, this content
strategy is online but it has a ripple effect on the offline world, and
everything can be measured! MLS can actually see if the video had the response
they were looking, through engagement and also measure their ROI. Based on this
data they can adapt their strategy to reap more benefits! This is the beauty of
a digital marketing strategy!
People don’t choose a brand or team because of their benefits;
they choose them because they connect with the story and values the sports
property shares with them. Sports organizations have something truly unique and
that is PASSION; fans don’t just like them, they love them and sports organizations
need to leverage this in their favor with great stories and content.
Through branded storytelling using a digital marketing
strategy, the success can be enormous. As in the case of MLS they understand
the importance of telling a story, putting that story on the right platform and
eventually create a powerful love brand.
