It is as busy a week as any on the sports calendar in North America. March Madness, spring training, NHL, MLS starting, NASCAR, NBA and then all local activities rolled into one. Even with all going on, two key player personnel activities, the first day of NFL Free Agency and the NBA Trading deadline, still grab a lionshare of the media and public attention, even if it is just for select hours at a time. Fans fret and wonder, experts ponder, talkshows speculate, blogs fill up as player movement is rumored and franchise futures hang in the balance. While some may say that the days are examples of healthy franchises taking the hammer to the less fortunate, in reality the days are all about hype, hope and possibility for every team, even those not making moves. The ability to send positive messages even with inaction is high, and it is a prime time for fan engagement. Like National Signing Day in college for football, there is a media frenzy with blockbuster moves, hurried press conferences and lots of attention, whether your team is good or not. In recent years, media outlets like ESPN and CBS College have gone to great lengths to brand and activate on signing day, but why not on trading deadline day or NFL Free Agency Day?
Granted many trades do happen the day before or a few days before and free agency is just starting, but the activity leading up to the deadline, which is a hard and fast time, is phenomenal, and summary shows, best trades/worst trades, smartest mover, smartest not to move etc., could all be packaged together for brands that already spend or might want to find yet another unique way to engage with unique content. Especially now with the immediacy of social media to deliver eyeballs and buzz, there are any number of platforms that can be creatively engaged to deliver the latest and greatest around the hype and results of such big move days for the NFL and the NBA.
An interesting opportunity to cut through a crowded marketplace based on the news of the day.
