Like a good session with friends, Social Media is all about connecting on a personal level. It makes your audience feel like they are part of your crew. BROADER is here to help Action Sports brands, athletes, and events listen, understand and most importantly engage in Social Media.
If you would like to talk about how we can help you, feel free to contact us!
We are stoked to announce that the Swiss snowboard brand YES. now board has elected to work with BROADER! YES. now board is a young rider-owned snowboard company with an incredible potential! Brain child of Jim Zbinden, owner of legendary Geneva skateshop Pulp68, Romain De Marchi, JP Solberg, and DCP, 3 riders that have for sure blown your minds, YES was launched at ISPO and SIA early 2009 and received an acclaimed welcome!
Our mission will be to help YES:
develop it’s presence on the major Social Media Networks,
integrate it with their online strategy
advise JMZ, RDM, DCP, JPS and VJP on how to engage efficiently and build authentic relationships with fans.
Working with YES is an exciting opportunity as there is so much momentum behind the brand already!
We look forward doing the best we can to come up with genuine Social Media concepts that will help establish YES. now board as a solid and recognized snowboard brand.
Nice and smart move by Rome Snowboards (@RomeSDS) with the launch of their “Ask The Riders series” live on Twitter!
The series will start this coming Wednesday, June 17th, with Bjorn Leines. Rome’s pro shred will be on Twitter to answer all the questions from fellow riders in real time.
The independent, rider-driven action sports website 5ones.com (@5ones) kicked of this kind of live Twitter interviews a few weeks back when with Professional Skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. They got their readers to submit some questions as comments on their blog post and used some of them for the Twinterview (perfect term seen on of the comments by the way).
Rome’s approach is more direct, letting the fans take the lead and ask the questions. This is a perfect opportunity for riders to have a “conversation” with one of the most talented American pro-riders and get him to talk about things that they never read about in classical magazine style interviews.
Rome has prepared everything right by advising the people to use the #Rometeam “hashtag” to track the conversation both while it happens, and as it will continue over the coming weeks, giving it an afterlife on the Web.
Of course, Rome put in some incentive to be sure to attract participants as well with a new pair 2010 Rome Folsom boots to win in a draw.
Smart move from Rome then because:
they are the first snowboard brand to do it – others will be seen as copycats
they will increase their number of followers on Twitter (only 400 as I write), which is positive for reaching out to more people in the future
they are offering a totally unique, interactive experience to the participants, and really engaging with them in a conversation about snowboarding via their pro-rider
Now doing this also presents some risks:
Rome really needs to let the conversation naturally evolve around their brand and products and NOT push products at the participants during the Twinterview
They have to be ready to face hard questions and answer them honestly
They need to graft Bjorn Leines with a couple of additional hands to keep up with the flow of questions that will come down!
The “Twinterview” is a great example of how to use Twitter to engage with your followers.
There are many other ways to do it, and BROADER is here to help you set up these kind of experiences that will definitely earn your brand the credibility to participate within the Twitter community, gain advocates and ultimately increase sales through word of mouth.
Looking forward participating in the Rome Twinterview on Wednesday!
In 20 years, the web has evolved from it’s “static” state in the 90ies, to becoming increasingly “social” these past years. It is now entering a new stage dubbed as the “real-time web” fueled by Twitter and Facebook Status updates. Robert Scoble is naming it the “2010 web” and you should read his blog as well to keep track of his explorations.
Twitter revolves around three key elements: social networks (the principle of followers); live searching (gives you a real-time view onto the chatter of just about any topic imaginable); link-sharing (to longer articles, discussions, posts, videos…) and, as these two articles are emphasizing, is increasingly making an impact on every aspect of our daily life.
Put together these three elements are the reasons why every major channel of information will be Twitterfied in one way or another in the coming years:
News and opinion.
Increasingly, the stories that come across our radar — news about a plane crash, a feisty Op-Ed, a gossip item — will arrive via the passed links of the people we follow. Instead of being built by some kind of artificially intelligent software algorithm, a customized newspaper will be compiled from all the articles being read that morning by your social network. This will lead to more news diversity and polarization at the same time: your networked front page will be more eclectic than any traditional-newspaper front page, but political partisans looking to enhance their own private echo chamber will be able to tune out opposing viewpoints more easily.
Searching.
As the archive of links shared by Twitter users grows, the value of searching for information via your extended social network will start to rival Google’s approach to the search. If you’re looking for information on Benjamin Franklin, an essay shared by one of your favorite historians might well be more valuable than the top result on Google; if you’re looking for advice on sibling rivalry, an article recommended by a friend of a friend might well be the best place to start.
Advertising.
Today the language of advertising is dominated by the notion of impressions: how many times an advertiser can get its brand in front of a potential customer’s eyeballs, whether on a billboard, a Web page or a NASCAR hood. But impressions are fleeting things, especially compared with the enduring relationships of followers. Successful businesses will have millions of Twitter followers (and will pay good money to attract them), and a whole new language of tweet-based customer interaction will evolve to keep those followers engaged: early access to new products or deals, live customer service, customer involvement in brainstorming for new products.
In the Action Sports world, Tony Hawk is definitively the hottest Twitter user (@tonyhawk), and his now famous Twitter Hunts got him to get featured in TIME’s article. Why should Twitter be more widely used within the Action Sports community? These are few hints for athletes, brands, contests and event organizers that came to mind after reading the articles:
Athletes.
Micro-blogging is perfect for you. It’s short (only 140 characters), and easy to use (like sending a text message and you can do it via your smartphone too). But the best part is the intimate connection you can build with your followers, turning them into your ultimate fans. Just imagine you are strapped in your snowboard, standing on top of a gnarly line in AK, or about to hit your last run at the X-Games’ Half-Pipe skateboard finals. Send out a short tweet: “Droooooppppping in 5! YEAH!“. Hit that run, nail it and check back. Guess you’ll be stoked about all the @replies your followers have sent you in those last minutes, and your sponsors will be stoked about them too for sure…
Brands.
It’s about time to start conversations with people and stop the unidirectional advertising practice that resumes to sending out messages. Twitter can enable your brand to create a totally new experience for your followers. Just check out some successful examples from other industries such as Scott Monty (@ScottMonty) from Ford or all the employees tweeting away at Zappos.
Put a face behind your Twitter account and instead of your brand’s logo; let your employees use Twitter, they are your brand’s best ambassadors. Get your followers engaged in your brand’s development and products; let them talk to you, listen to them, give them the answers, make them feel that you really care, and your brand will be evangelized every day. Some Action Sports brands are already earning the credibility to participate within the Twitter community, gaining advocates and ultimatly increasing their sales through word of mouth. What about yours?
Events and competition organizers.
Except for major events such as the X-Games, it is still quite difficult for Action Sports events and competitions to make it live in mainstream media. Even though live webcast is spreading, it is still a costly solution that keeps it exclusive to bigger events. Twitter, official supplier of the “super fresh” web, is definitely a great – and free – solution to spread in-the-moment conversations about what is happening right now at your event. Fueled by the tweets of the people actually assisting to the event, it will spark reactions by others who cannot be there but want to be part of the happening. Events should make sure to organize the conversation by communicating strongly on the #hashtag that users should include in their tweets. End of May, for example, the annual TTR General Assembly took place in Innsbruck, Austria in what was probably the largest group of snowboard event experts gathering in one spot to discuss the current status and the future of competitive freestyle snowboarding. I might be wrong but I haven’t found any traces of it on Twitter. Wouldn’t it have been a perfect opportunity for the progressive governing body to engage in a conversation with riders out there, get their opinions, feedback and ideas about the future of snowboard competitions? Look out for the #TTRGA at next year’s General Assembly….
Open and in-the-moment conversations, intimate relations, strong interactions and enhanced brand experience, these are just a few of the benefits that Twitter can offer any Action Sports player. What do you think?
By age 20, kids will have spent 20,000 hours online –the same amount of time a professional piano player would have spent practicing –Dr. Urs Gasser
In a recent post on his blog, Jeremiah Owyang draws some key characteristics of the Digital Natives or generation Y. This generation is the one that has had access to digital technologies since an early age and uses digital technology intuitively. This generation is also the main target group for every Action Sports brand.
Understanding the behavior, the needs and the expectations of the Gen Y is fundamental. Group Y for example is an organization that brings together Action Sports brands and youth marketing experts to discuss, understand and prepare for these important shifts.
Always online: By age 20, kids will have spent 20,000 hours online
They interact with the peers across the globe: This impacts employers, brands, teachers, parents, as this first generation enters the workforce.
Multiple identities, personal and social, shared online and offline (blurring): Online representation is the same as physical representation: what your clothes, friends, vehicles say about you.
Extensive disclosure of personal data: 35% of girls in US are writing a blog vs 20% boys.
Culture of sharing: The default behavior is information sharing, not only do they have the right to speak, but to be heard. Risk: breach of confidentiality is hip, digital natives are fans of wikileaks.
Creators, no longer passive users: This generation creates their own content and shares their opinion online
Information processing habits: Pointed out that the second most popular social network was YouTube. They often ‘graze’ the headlines and don’t often read the full article. Opportunities: companies should allow natives to increase creativity to rip, mix, burn content to encourage interaction.
Peer collaboration, online activism: They often experience work with community builders, and are responsive to intrinsic motizations.
Learning through browsing: Yes wrestles with amount & quality of information, generational “multitakers”. They may not be able to identify qualified and expert sources. “If it’s online, it must be true!”
Action Sports brands need to anticipate these changes and adapt right now their marketing strategies, communication/conversation strategies, online presence to make sure they will have the right tools and approach to connect with the Gen Y.
These are fields where our passion and understanding of Action Sports lifestyle combined with our strategic, creative Social Media skills, can help your brand get on the right tracks.
Social Media is one thing and then on the other hand there is Social News. It’s all about sharing some sensational content and making sure it will spread among friends, and invade the web. To share and promote this type of content, sites like StumbleUpon, Digg, and Twitter or Facebook, of course, are legit. To give the initial push for this type of viral campaign, make sure to work with people who have powerful accounts on the above mentioned sites or who can identify bloggers interested in getting involved to spread the virus. With our strong knowledge of the Action Sports online scene, BROADER of course can deliver this added value.
The most famous example of viral campaign in Action Sports is Quiksilver Europe’s “Original Thinking” campaign better known as the “Dynamite surfing video“. This campaign takes us back to February 2007. Since then the 80-second clip has been viewed well over 30 million times. It’s success comes from the fact that the video clip prompted a fierce debate about whether or not it was real.
As we all know by now, the clip was created by Simon Wooller, an award-winning creative director with advertising giant Saatchi & Saatchi in Danemark. The film was in reality shot on high-definition cameras and digitally altered later to look as if it had come from a mobile phone camera. Created in two-and-a-half months, most of the work was done in post-production using state-of-the-art effects.
There are other examples of viral videos campaigns in Action Sports that have had some success like the Zoo York Roaches or Marc Ecko’s Air Force One hoax.
The latest try is the work of European apparel brand Soöruz. Probably not the brand with the best image out there, this simple campaign might just help them gain some awareness and score some sympathy points with the target group. The video clips have all the ingredients to spread. The campaign is build around a simple fun theme: “big balls”. Dubbed “No guts, no glory“, it also gives credit to all the young skaters, and surfers for the balls they have to go out and perform, which is not given to everybody.
In Action Sports, there is so much going on that is already viral in nature just the way it is. But strangely enough brands, athletes or events are not taking full advantage of it. Remember Gigi Rüf’s flight to powder crash in Absinthe’s Futurproof or DC’s boss Ken Block hitting gaps in his Subaru?
Package it right, use the right tools and people to make it spread, then your brand will be getting all the benefits. BROADER is here to help you achieve just that.
This post from Jeremiah Owyang, web strategist at Forrester Research is a must read for all Action Sports brands.
Today’s social experience is disjointed because consumers have separate identities in each social network they visit. A simple set of technologies that enable a portable identity will soon empower consumers to bring their identities with them — transforming marketing, eCommerce, CRM, and advertising. IDs are just the beginning of this transformation, in which the Web will evolve step by step from separate social sites into a shared social experience. Consumers will rely on their peers as they make online decisions, whether or not brands choose to participate. Socially connected consumers will strengthen communities and shift power away from brands and CRM systems; eventually this will result in empowered communities defining the next generation of products.
The research goes on with following advices on how brands should prepare for this shift:
What’s interesting isn’t this vision for the future, but what it holds in store for brands, as a result, companies should prepare by: * Don’t Hesitate: These changes are coming at a rapid pace, and we’re in three of these eras by end of year. Brands should prepare by factoring in these eras into their near term plans. Don’t be left behind and let competitors connect with your community before you do. * Prepare For Transparency: People will be able to surf the web with their friends, as a result you must have a plan. Prepare for every webpage and product to be reviewed by your customers and seen by prospects –even if you choose not to participate. * Connect with Advocates: Focus on customer advocates, they will sway over prospects, and could defend against detractors. Their opinion is trusted more than yours, and when the power shifts to community, and they start to define what products should be, they become more important than ever. * Evolve your Enterprise Systems: Your enterprise systems will need to connect to the social web. Social networks and their partners are quickly becoming a source of customer information and lead generation beyond your CRM system. CMS systems will need to inherit social features –pressure your vendors to offer this, or find a community platform. * Shatter your Corporate Website: In the most radical future, content will come to consumers –rather than them chasing it– prepare to fragment your corporate website and let it distribute to the social web. Let the most important information go and spread to communities where they exist; fish where the fish are.
This research illustrates the urgency brands are facing in engaging in Social Media. At BROADER we have the expertise to help you define and implement a strong Social Media strategy. We know who the advocates for your brand are and how we can connect you to them. Want to talk about it? Drop us an email.
Matt Savarino spends his days working for K2 Sports, and nights and week-ends working on developing Ridertech, a community effort to connect riders and locations for skateboarding, snowboarding, skiing, surfing, biking, motocross and wakeboarding.
Matt recently developed a Twitter Action Sport aggregator. Tweets are organised by sport (snowboard, ski, surf, skate..) based on keyword search in Twitter, and most interestingly the “industry” tab classifies action sports tweeters from the industry so you can easily find them.
Second and latest hype option to track both PRO and AM action sports tweeters is to join our actionsports Twibe, freshly started today.
If you scroll a couple of posts down, you’ll recall the Twitter HuntTony Hawk set up end of March:
I hid a skateboard a couple weeks ago around my area (while on the way to skate) and “Tweeted” it’s location just to see how long it would take someone to find it. It created quite a stir among the Twitter crowd and industry insiders thought it was some new marketing plan.
Tony Hawk took it to the next level with his Easter Egg Hunt during which he gave away around 60 skateboards in cities as far away as Brisbane, Australia and Dublin, Ireland. With this stunt, Hawk even made the headlines on CNN:
Hawk maked it clear that his Eastern Hunt wasn’t for publicity but simply a way to give something back to his fans and create an exciting event.
Twitter is a great way to keep in touch on a personal and immediate basis. It is a brilliantly simple use of new technology, and a truly effective way to reach fans. The ‘egg hunt’ worked out much better than I imagined.
Tony Hawk has only been using Twitter since February, 25th but is already one of the most popular athlete on the micro-blogging site with over 517000 followers as we write. Hawk’s presence on Twitter is a perfect example that should be followed by every Action Sports athlete looking to create authentic interactions and relationships with its fan-base.
To follow Tony Hawk, visit him on Twitter @TonyHawk
Social media is mandatory nowadays. If you don’t do it yet. Get on top of it right now, otherwise you might not last long.
This quote is taken from Caroline Graeff (Imagine Marketing Agency) summary of the Group Y networking biz event at the Red Bull HQ that took place on April 15th.
“Action Sports In the Mainstream—Where Do We Go From Here?” was the debate topic that involved Chris Stiepock – Vice President & General Manager, X Games franchise, Don Brown, Senior Vice President, Sole Technology, Per Welinder – President, Blitz Distribution and Chairman of the Board, IASC, Todd Roberts – Owner, ZJ Boarding House and Chairman, Board Retailers Association and Angelo Ponzi – Senior Marketing executive and Co-founder, Board-Trac.
Very positive to see that in the US at least, Action Sports Brands are aware of the importance of Social Media to engage with their audience. It doesn’t seem to be so much the case in Europe yet…but hey we are here to help!
Chris Brogan advises businesses, organizations, and individuals on how to use social media and social networks to build relationships and deliver value. Chris got invited by Bryan Elliott and the So Cal Action Sports network – a group of professionals who are in charge of Lifestyle Brands representing some of the top brands, retailers and partners in Action Sports and who are key influencers, experts and trend-setters in lifestyle marketing, Gen Y and the youth culture movement – to give a presentation at the Oakley headquarters on Social Media.
You can watch the full presentation on the So Cal Action Sports network website but here is a key message from Chris in reply to a question concerning ROI: Social Media is an opportunity to do stuff a little more authentic, meaning building longer term relationships with people. And as Chris rightly points out, Action Sports is all about being authentic.
If you are interested in Social Media, you surely didn’t miss spotting the cover of this week’s 
