Sprot business journal essay examples

Article: Technology marries a sports event’s social media, activation ROI

The article focuses on the role of social media in enhancing interactions and marrying technology with sporting activities. The author, a sports marketing lecturer, outlined the experience of a group of students who developed actionable technology y apps that promote interactions between the fans and a given sports product. The main problem the groups had to address was how connectivity can be enhanced to reach more fans and the tools to measure the effectiveness of the campaign. The most exciting app was designed by a graduate assistant in collaboration with Thuzi, a sports marketing company.
Social media are very crucial in marketing. The author argued that about 92% of marketers concur that social media plays a significant role in enhancing brands’ market position. However, there are many challenges with the social media use from a managerial angle. First, the best measure for Return on Investment in social media marketing campaign is not agreeable among the players. Further, many business executives have no good trainings on how to tap and adopt the social media opportunities to push a product in the market. The main cause of the issue is the lack of training on adoption of social media in marketing. The two challenges lead to lack of a better social media strategy for companies. Specifically, the companies experience problems in attempts to set up social media strategies for live events especially. The author recommended that the social media strategy for live events could be best addressed through outsourcing. The concept can work well through trails and developmental stages. Business schools also need to develop relevant courses that make social media focus as the core component of marketing for sports organizations.
The article also focused on the ‘ Thuzi case’. Thuzi is company that helps the companies develop and design social media strategies and enhance connectivity with the fans. The aim of the company is to promote brand awareness, measure the effectiveness of the social media efforts and engage the fans/customers online. Ability of companies to turn the live events into life events offers a measure of the social media effectiveness.
Effective social media platform that achieves the intended purpose and help measure the outcome can be realized through many ways. The strategists must create an online consumer interaction site. The site should promote engagement, brand awareness while allowing the consumers to experience fun and share across their online networks. The outcomes are ignited sharing and multiplier effect of the reach. Consequently, the reach of the message is spread across family, friends and followers networks. For example, at Thuzi, about 300 to 500 times amplifications are realized. Thuzi also has customer loyalty programs, through RFID technology, where user earns points that can be redeemed for particular prizes. The amplification capability of the social media offers the best strategy for measuring ROI for social media use. These actions lead to increased sales.
The article suggests that live events can be promoted easily through social media, even though single activations. Companies like IndyCar have used this approach. The company has an application, the Fan Village, where customers can interact, play games and engage in other activities. The activities of fans are monitors tracked and shared online. The online activities of the fans are displayed through score cards as well as dashboards.

Works Cited

Pernisco, Newton. Social Media: Impact and Implications on Society. SJMLE, Vol. 1, Iss 1.
2010.
Sutton, Bill. Technology marries a sports event’s social media, activation ROI. 2004