Ambush Marketing, College football, Crisis Management, Darren Rovell, MLB, Minor League Baseball, Mixed Martial Arts, NBA teams, NFL, New York Times

When Is A Twit Legit?

While the pressure to find new ways to get bigger ROI and link athletes closer to fans spending their discretionary dollar grows, the legitimacy or original reasons for using social networking as a valuable tool becomes more clouded in many ways. Shaquille O’Neal’s Twitter success, with the help of Charlotte-based Sports Media Challenge, broke the ice and showed athletes and brands how that medium could work as a successful connection tool. However Shaq the brand and the personality is different than virtually anyone else (his trip to sports broadcasting boot camp this week is the latest example of how he sets himself not just apart, but as a leader in trying to redefine who he will be in the future) Just because Shaq “gets it” and can be a smart investment for partners, doesn’t mean that every athlete, no matter how much perceived value they have, can be like Shaq or that any athlete will be able to embrace new media and use it personally and effectively for all. Take Danica Patrick for example. A week ago Patrick told CNBC’s Darren Rovell she was not a person to use Twitter to communicate with fans, and then this week it is announced one of her sponsors is “urging” her to use Twitter as part of their deal. Now again she is being guided by the folks at Sports Media Challenge, but will a sponsor-induced twitter feed have any value to fans if they think it is not legit or sincere? And will it become an issue like the one that has arisen for the University of Tennessee, where head football coach Lane Kiffin had to self report a violation because an assistant, under Kiffin’s twitter and facebook pages, posted info that was a minor violation about a recruit. Now that people know it is not really Kiffin posting will they follow it? Will they care? And what does that do to the idea of access to the “real” athlete, coach or entertainer? Do brands worry about legitimacy of posts if they do decide to partner with someone who is using a third party to pump out thoughts that are not really those of the celebrity? Do the celebrities care? Also will the incorporation of sponsors remove the “cool factor,” or will it enhance the value of what is being sent? Now Danica Patrick, despite the fact that she has yet to win a race, remains a very savvy marketing machine. However could there come a time where a post goes up from “Danica” and her sponsor that is contrary to what she says in a press conference or to a fan? Then the sincerity of “Danica” on Twitter goes out the window, and the damage control, not just for her brand and her fans, but with anyone effectively using these social media platforms goes out the window. For those who are savvy enough to communicate with fans and brands…O’Neal, Pete Carroll etc…kudos. To those who are being forced to create contrived “opportunities” beware. The great thing about social media platforms is the direct access that is casual and is sometimes both insightful and a very unique look inside those who are followed by the masses. Once it all becomes “access in a can” the casual fan and the diehard will be both annoyed…brands beware of backlash…and will be off looking for the next way to be an insider, and all those dollars and effort will be lost. Twitter and other platforms are great for some, they are neither “required” or useful for all.

Some other good reads…while some follow the Lingerie Bowl, the UFL continues to make some steady moves designed to build toward their fall launch, and can probably thank Michael Vick for drumming up even more buzz…Dave Waldstein in Thursday’s New York Times has a great look into Japanese baseball culture, pinned around the will he or won’t return of Bobby Valentine to the Lotte Marines next season…and Kevin Iole on Yahoo Sports has a good profile of the UFC’s Rashad Evans before his title bout Saturday in Las Vegas…