April 20 2011 | Volume 9, Issue 24

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LA Fans Go "GAGA" Over Online Contest

Clippers partner with GAGA Sports & Entertainment on contest that provides premium content to online followers

CONTACT

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Marcus Fong
Website Administrator
Los Angeles Clippers
Phone: 213-742-7500
Email: [email protected]

Jamie Pardi
Co-Founder and CEO
GAGA Sports & Entertainment, Inc.
Phone: 415-377-7742
Email: [email protected]

ORGANIZATION

Los Angeles Clippers

PROGRAM TITLE

St. Patrick's Day Clippers Gold Contest

OBJECTIVES

The emergence of young superstars such as Blake Griffin, Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan have created an exciting buzz around the Los Angeles Clippers, making the struggling franchise one of this season's NBA success stories. In addition to the improving product on the court, the Clippers possess the #4 micro-site across the entire NBA with myClipper NATION and have been successful in transferring the new fan excitement over to their social platforms. Much of the online success can be attributed to their partnership with GAGA Sports & Entertainment, a Social CRM company that powers myClipper NATION. Together with GAGA, the Clippers have been able to provide premium content to their most passionate fans as well as taking more ownership of the data they capture from the micro-site.

Entering the tail end of the NBA season, the Clippers wanted to increase their registered user database via GAGA's data capture tools as well as grow their potential season tickets leads heading into the NBA's offseason. Additionally, they wanted to connect the program with a new potential sponsor and capture a better demographic understanding of their customers.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Inspired by a similar program GAGA Sports & Entertainment have done with the Lakers, 49ers, and Jazz, the Clippers decided to create an online contest around St. Patrick's Day that would be hosted on the Clippers' Fan Engagement website, myClipper NATION. Titled the St. Patrick's Day Clippers Gold Contest, fans that entered from March 8th to the 15th via the micro-site had the chance to win a Grand Prize (1 winner) of 2 courtside tickets to the March 16th home game against the Philadelphia 76ers, a 1st Prize (1 winner) of an official NBA Game Ball signed by the entire 2010-2011 Clippers team, or a Runner Up Prize (3 winners) of a Clippers Gold Goodie bag, which included official Clippers team gear and autographed merchandise. Additionally, GAGA was able to attract 2K Sports as the presenting sponsor and cross promoted the contest via both properties social media platforms on Twitter and Facebook to increase fan involvement.

This email blast was sent to the Clippers' 80,000 online subscribers.

MEDIA

The St. Patrick's Day Clippers Gold Contest was solely publicized online. There were 4 updates via each Clippers' and 2K Sports' Facebook Fan Pages and Twitter Pages that had mentions of 2K Sports and linkbacks to myClipper NATION. The Clippers' Facebook profile picture was also updated for the contest with customized promotional material with 2K Sports branding and a default Facebook tab was created for new users that included the contest's prizes. The contest was also a main fixture on the team's website, included in the top story scroller for the entire week of the competition. Lastly, the Clippers email blasted their 80,000 person database about the contest and dedicated a section of their official eNewsletter, Full Court Press, to promoting the contest.

PARTNERS

The Clippers were excited to partner with GAGA Sports & Entertainment, not only in conceptualizing and running this promotion, but providing the entire social CRM platform for myClipper NATION. "Working with GAGA has been a great partnership." Clippers' Website Administrator Marcus Fong stated, "Our relationship has grown since the start of myClipper NATION and what makes GAGA a useful partner is the flexibility they provide with any of the objectives we desire to run on our social platforms. We look forward to making similar promotions like the St. Patrick's Day Clippers Gold Contest moving into next season."

RESULTS

The results of the St. Patrick's Day Clippers Gold Contest were deemed a huge success, with over 2,600 contest entrants in total. The contest generated over 11,000 website visits with the average visitor viewing a little over 4 pages and spending on average over 2 minutes on the site. The bounce rate was an extremely low 20%, which proved to the Clippers that they were providing enough premium content that their fans were interested in obtaining. On the social media platforms, the Clippers saw a 2,330 increase in their Facebook Fans, with over 145,000 Facebook impressions throughout the entire week of the contest. Lastly, the click-thru's to myClipper NATION were quite substantial, with over 11,000 via the bit.ly links distributed on Facebook and Twitter and over 3 times the normal unique click average from their email blasts. Most importantly, the Clippers were able to capture 1,170 new registered users that they could reach out to over the off season for partial and full season ticket plans, clearing reach all their desired objectives.

Furthermore, 2K Sports received great brand visibility throughout the entire week of the contest. They were also able to learn valuable insight into the demographics of their customers, with 1,145 of the 2,600 entrants opting-in to receive future communication from 2K Sports. 

A screenshot of the Clippers' Facebook and Twitter updates for the contest.

LOOKING AHEAD

The Clippers want to expand on the momentum they have created on myClipper NATION and increase registered users on the micro-site. The Clippers like the idea of another high premium item contest, however would like to create a more sustaining contest that can be highlighted over the entire season. There is no doubt the Clippers will lean on GAGA's expertise to devise a creative program that relies on their Social CRM data capture technology.

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