Three Must-Have Digital Strategies from NBA EVP of Marketing Amy Brooks
Adam Silver’s right-hand woman took the stage to rowdy applause at the fourth sold-out Minds Behind the Game panel. With One World Trade Center as their backdrop and Chat Sports as their host, NFL legend Tiki Barber, EVP of NBA Team Marketing and Business Ops Amy Brooks, and NY Red Bulls VP of Communications Joseph Stetson meditated on the meaning of marketing in the digital age.
Between cracking jokes with Tiki (see above), swapping strategies with Joe, and answering hard-hitting questions about the league today, Brooks revealed three gems of marketing advice. For anyone navigating the turbulent waters of social media and digital engagement — read on for insider tips from one of the brightest minds in the game. And yes, you’re welcome.
1. Make social media playful. Create simple, fun campaigns to excite followers quickly. When Chat Sports CEO James Yoder pressed Brooks on which teams excel in the marketing arena, she pointed to the tremendous fan engagement sparked by the Atlanta Hawks’ Tinder night. And “during their big win streak this year, they changed their Twitter handle @Hawks and kept adding W’s with each win they got,” Brooks explained. Overly complicated contests and heavy subject matter don’t capture attention in the world of swipes and screenshots, so take a page out of the Hawks’ book. Go straight for buzz. Don’t be afraid to be silly.
2. Grant access through content. Enfranchise fans with exclusive views that are flat-out unattainable through regular outlets. Digital and social media have given brands the ability to bring fans behind the scenes. “For instance,” Brooks elaborated, “when the Toronto Raptors traded Rudy Gay, what was the response from his teammates and how did they react?” Even if you don’t have an actual locker room, you can still take Brooks’ pointer and bring followers into your proverbial one. Draw back the curtain on hiring processes. Be the first to react to newsworthy items nearby your HQ. Share photos from team retreats. Let us see what makes your company tick.
3. Grow your consumer pool through technology. Brooks quickly bypassed the NBA’s most traditional revenue growth channel: ticket sales. “99% of fans will never go to a game because we’re a global sport,” she reminded us. “Technology is really going to help as we develop more products to give PC access to our games.” So don’t just address efforts to your brand archetype or typical consumer. Get outside your brand’s wheelhouse and expand to farther-flung geographies — whether that’s by live-streaming a company conference on YouTube and Periscope or by investing in the back-end technology to touch larger markets.
Interested in learning more about the Minds Behind the Game series? Give a shout to suzi@chatsports.com
Posted by: Suzi Alvarez, https://medium.com/@suzialvarez
