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Dear Faithful Readers,
Recently I was having a discussion with Jamie Pardi, CEO & Co-founder of GAGA Sports & Entertainment, about the monetization of social media. He says the clue in solving the social media plight is to understand that, “Social media platforms are not a “destination” for content, but rather a “distribution”. It’s not about the number of followers or ‘likes’ you have but the quality of information you are able to acquire from them. This week’s “Selling It…” shows how the Boston Celtics created a compelling reason for their social media followers to share personal data through an innovative Facebook game that helped them generate an additional $200,000 in ticket sales. Read on to see how they did it!
Enjoy the Feature,
Chantelle Neep
[email protected]
P.S. We would love to hear your feedback! If you have a great idea/program your organization has recently done out in the industry, Email Me and i'll feature it in an upcoming issue!
PROGRAM TITLE
Boston Celtics Facebook Game: "3-Point Play"
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OBJECTIVES
A main priority for sports teams with social media is to create a huge fan base through the amount of ‘likes’ they get on Facebook. But, what do these ‘likes’ mean and how can teams use this information to their advantage? The simple ‘like’ on Facebook only gives you information that people are following your team, it doesn’t necessarily mean that these fans will come to your games, purchase tickets or merchandise, or let alone even visit your Facebook page.
The Celtics have the second most ‘likes’ on Facebook for North American sports teams, proving they’re social media leaders in the sports world. Although this is an impressive fete, it doesn’t reckon praise unless the team can show a direct correlation between Facebook ‘likes’ and new revenue generation. To show the value of social media, the Boston Celtics sought to create an innovative Facebook app that would allow them to gather information from Facebook followers and subsequently show ROI on social media.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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To accomplish their objective of monetizing social media, the Celtics created a Facebook App called, “3-Point Play.” Peter Stringer, Senior Director of Interactive Media, for the Boston Celtics said, “We were able to use social media in a way that hasn’t been done before. Through the creation of “3-Point Play”, we were able to learn about our Facebook followers and collect personal data that allows us to now contact them outside of social media.”
Once inside the game, the follower must enter in their contact information (including: name, birthday, email, zip code and hometown). Additionally, followers are required to certify that they are eighteen years of age and have the option to opt-in for emails from the Boston Celtics.
With every click on the ‘Play’ button personal information about Celtics fans is sent directly to the Celtics organization where the Marketing Department can use this data to contact new fans personally. By asking for geographic information, the Celtics were able to discern between fans that can actually make it to their games from the fans that are on the other side of the world who simply want to follow the team on social media.
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After liking the page, “fans pick three of their favorite Celtics, predicting statistics for each player’s performance in the upcoming game. Points are awarded to fans based on the accuracy and risk of their picks, and the top-scoring fan wins tickets to an upcoming home game,” states Stringer. The game is very quick and can take under a minute for fans to make their picks.
The Boston Celtics "3-Point Play" Facebook Game - Click the above photo to learn more about the innovative game!
MEDIA
Currently in their 3rd season of 3- Point Play the Celtics have been able to successfully indoctrinate this game as a standard Celtics game ritual. Stringer says, “All fans participate in the 3-Point Play game and look forward to this as a part of their game day experience.” To achieve this level of acceptance amongst fans, the Celtics advertised every where they could, including: Facebook status updates, their personal website, twitter handle, and on the Celtics TV broadcast where the pregame show host talks about his picks. “3-Point Play is something the fans ask for and look forward to participating in,” adds Stringer.
PARTNER
As of right now they don’t have any sponsors directly connected with their Facebook Application, but Isobar North America is one of their partners who helped create the game through their technical expertise. However, 50-60 corporate sponsors are looking for social media integration, with 3-Point Play being a viable option.
RESULTS
The Celtics organization has seen huge results since starting 3-Point Play three season ago. When 3- Point Play started, the Celtics Facebook page had around 400,000 fans who had ‘liked’ their page. Now, they have reached 6.5 million ‘likes,’ making them the second biggest sports brand on Facebook. They have also been able to get data from their fans on their Facebook page by adding 85,000 new fans into their database over the past two seasons. They currently have 88,000-100,000 fans playing 3-Point Play and they were able to track a $200,000 profit in ticket sales that came directly from fans playing their game last season. Stringer says, “By applying a basic yet well- conceived strategy to our Facebook practice, we’ve begun solving social media’s biggest riddle.”
LOOKING AHEAD
After the staggering results with 3-Point Play, the Celtics are considering expanding to a smart phone application for iphones, ipads and droids. As of right now they are going to continue with what they have, all the while, looking forward to the future in search of the next big thing.
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