The question often asked with social media these days is a simple on.how does it make mone. With all the work being done to give fans more insight and access to athletes and properties, very few if any can prove that the efforts on their own can translate into hard sponsorship dollars. Increased visibilit. Yes. Buzz facto. Absolutely. ROI for the spend. Still very questionable, especially for big brands and mainstream properties. It is good to see the NFL setting their social media policy this week, and it remains frustrating that colleges and other properties still fail to see social media as part of a bigger picture media strategy in many case.just like sports radio was in its infanc.but the answer to how it all justifies time spent and dollars allocated remains a mystery that is slow to unravel.
However with all the elements of digital sports brand activation available, on.the one that has actually been in play the longest, is showing ways to effectively build market share, engage consumers and shows brands ways to monetize and activate in the digital space. The element is the fantasy sports space, a business with a huge global upside that is growing even in a down economy.
Case in point was highlighted in Septembe.s Entrepreneur Magazine, which took a look at the industry and focused on Fantasy Sports Venture. Chris Russo and RotoHo.s Kelly Perdew, and how they have been able to build viable, thriving businesse.one aggregating independent sites for fans and brands and one building fantasy games and applications for propertie.in the darkest of economic times. FSV also announced new partnerships with brands like Coors, Head and Shoulders and Sprint (in this wee.s Sports Business Journal), while other properties like SB Nation have created partnerships to show brands the best way to activate effectively to a core group of young male consumers. The ability to create promotions, streaming video, widgets, phone applications, as well as up to the minute advice for experts in the multi-million dollar fantasy sports space creates a primer for how to succeed in a business that caters to a digital platform. It is quantifiabl.Neilsen and ComScore are developing detailed ratings system.it is affordable in comparison to mass media (although still not as effective in reaching a broad audience like conventional TV or event radio.it reaches a passionate core of fans that also includes many casual players and a growing number of wome.and it is adaptable for brands to change out messaging over time. Yes fantasy right now still has its main success with baseball and even more so with football, and it is still male dominant and primarily a North American phenomenon. However with fantasy golf, NASCAR, soccer and now cricket being played more and more, even outside the United States, and 2010 being both an Olympic and World Cup year, the ability for fantasy to use the digital space effectively and expand the reach of the brands invested in the space, as well as the reach of the companies who have built large and successful aggregate numbers of users, has a big upside.
Is fantasy a precursor to other forms of social and interactive media that are struggling to figure out ways to monetize, especially in sports and entertainmen. Maybe. However more likely is that those other platform.twitter, facebook et.will find ways to use the lure of fantasy sports as a partner to effectively grow their audience and bring brand dollars to them as well.
As a case for digital success in sports, fantasy is reality now.
Some other good reads…the Kansas City Star had Joe Posnanski's final column this week before he moves fulltime to SI, and it was a good one on Royals career minor leaguer Chris “Disco” Hayes.…the Washington Post had an extensive piece on the issues the Redskins have had with the secondary ticket marketplace…and CNBC's Darren Rovell had his latest Twitter rankings…
