UM Evolution of Social Media Essay

Review the evolution of social media through the various companies that have existed since 2000. Based on what you know about the way social media evolved, what do you think the next big social media network will look like? What features will it have?

You should bring in examples from the readings, lecture notes, and/or real world experience. Please list specific references in your answer when doing so.

The CMO’s Guide to Social Media
What business leaders need to know about social media in 2018
Introduction
03
Which Platforms Matter?
Facebook and Instagram
Twitter
Snapchat
YouTube
Pinterest
04
Reddit
What Are the Benefits?
Powerful Word of Mouth
Efficient Customer Service
Laser Focused Ad Targeting
Gain Deep Customer Insight
07
Current Trends
Earned, Owned and Paid Social Media
Visual is Getting Bigger and Smarter
Live Streaming Video
09
AI on the Horizon
A Strategic Approach to Social
Listening
Historical Research
Visual Analytics
Publishing Content
Engagement
12
Paid Social Analytics
Conclusion
15
Introduction
It’s hard to believe that Twitter and Facebook have been with us for more than a decade and, yet, it’s also difficult to fathom just how
much change those, and other social channels, have wrought on the business world in that time.
In 2007 social media was in its infancy and businesses were still wary of investing in this nascent channel that was at the same time
booming in popularity but deeply confusing to many people. In 2018 almost everybody gets it. It’s hard to imagine any consumer
brand or public-facing organization not using social media these days. Even in B2B markets, social is widely used, defying initial
assertions that it was only useful for reaching consumers.
But unlike, for example, the invention of radio which, once invented, offered virtually unchanged functionality, social media has
constantly evolved. Not only have we had to overcome an initial seismic shift in the way we work, we’ve also faced almost yearly
aftershocks that just keep adding to the complexity of social.
So consider this report as a 2018 State of the Social Nation – an update on what social media means for businesses today, and what
you need to be paying attention to if you want to stay ahead of the curve.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 3
Which Platforms Matter?
Facebook & Instagram
Despite many predictions of its demise over the years, Facebook is still here and bigger than ever. Quite simply, it’s the 800lb gorilla
of social networks. Along with Google, Facebook is one of two digital properties that completely dominate the online advertising
industryi and, combined with continued user growth and booming profitsii, means that the company has become all but unstoppable.
The astonishing success of Facebook has been compounded by its 2012 acquisition of the enormously popular image sharing
platform, Instagram, which it still operates as a separate (and highly successful) social network rather than absorbing it into the main
Facebook product. Simply put, it’s inconceivable that any consumer facing organization would not include Facebook in its marketing
communications strategy.
Twitter
Twitter’s path has not been as smooth as Facebook’s, its user growth has not been strong and despite improving revenues it has still
not managed to become profitableiii. But there’s no denying Twitter’s importance as a communications channel. The presidency of
Donald Trump has cemented Twitter’s position in the spotlight thanks to his heavy use of the platform to communicate with the public
and, even though the business case is still to be proven, it’s clear that the channel isn’t going anywhere soon.
Alongside Facebook, Twitter is one of the two social media channels that are absolutely essential for all organizations to pay attention
to, even if only in a listening capacity.
Snapchat
The platform for sharing ephemeral content enjoys cult status, especially with younger users, but many businesses are struggling to
see the value in Snapchat. If you’re not familiar with Snapchat, it’s an app that lets users share video or images that are automatically
deleted forever after a short time. This was originally intended to appeal to privacy-conscious users, but the app has achieved wider
success amongst millennials simply by being fun to use and consistently adding innovative features. While some brands have found
innovate ways to use the channel to connect with a younger audience, it’s fair to say that many are still unsure of how they can use
it. Launched in 2011, Snapchat is a relative newcomer to the social playing field compared to the better established channels but,
equally, it’s been around long enough to prove it’s a serious contender.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 4
YouTube
While it’s still a hugely important destination for video content YouTube faces growing competition as all of the other majored social
media channels add increasingly sophisticated video capability to their own platforms. Nevertheless, YouTube remains the platform of
choice of a new generation of video-focused online influencers (colloquially, YouTubers), and is also used by broadcast media brands
to distribute their own content. It was recently announced that the ratings company, Nielsen, will include YouTube views in its viewing
figuresiv.
If video plays a large part in your content strategy, or you’re looking to work with influencers, YouTube is important, and it’s also a key
channel for advertising.
Pinterest
Often overlooked in social media discussions, Pinterest has quietly become an image sharing powerhouse. The site grew especially
popular amongst women, who used it to curate image collections on topics such as fashion, crafts, home decor, and wedding
planning. Because of this, Pinterest has proven fertile ground for retail brands in those kinds of markets, and the site has introduced
innovative features to help businesses generate sales.
Reddit
On the surface Reddit might look like nothing more than an old-school discussion forum, but this vast online community, which
describes itself as the Front Page of the Internet, has become one of the web’s most important sites. Reddit is where you’ll find all
of the most popular content being shared online, along with a buzzing discussion amongst users. If there’s something going viral on
Twitter or Facebook today, chances are it surfaced on Reddit last week.
Unlike the other social channels we’ve covered in this report, Reddit isn’t really a space where it’s advisable for brands to build a
presence (the community doesn’t welcome intrusive marketing) but it is a goldmine of consumer insight.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 5
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
2 Billion
700 Million
328 Million
Founded in
Founded in
Monthly Users
Monthly Users
Founded in
2004
Monthly Users
2010
2006
Brand Potential:
Brand Potential:
Brand Potential:
Owned brand pages for publishing content
• Engage with consumers • Mine insight
from billions of consumer conversations and
behaviors • Boost organic reach with paid
content promotion and highly targeted display
advertising
Owned brand account for sharing images • Use
image analytics to identify your brand in UGC •
Native advertising – ads in user feeds look like
organic content • Pay to boost your brand’s
organic content reach
Owned brand account for publishing content
• Listen for brand mentions and respond
where appropriate • Mine billions of tweets for
insights
Snapchat
255 Million
Monthly Users
Founded in
2011
Brand Potential:
Brand account to share ephemeral video
clips and images in real time • ‘Stories’
are collections of clips and images that
last longer than 24 hours • Work with
influencers who already have a large
following
YouTube
1.5 Billion
Monthly Users
Founded in
2005
Brand Potential:
Brand account for sharing video content
• Engage with consumers through video
comments • Numerous options for
advertising on popular content • Pay to
boost the visibility of your own content
on the platform • Use social listening to
identify UGC featuring your brand
Pinterest
175 Million
Monthly Users
Founded in
2010
Brand Potential:
Brand account for sharing image based
content • Pay to boost the visibility
of your own content • ‘Rich Pins’
provide brands with tools to help drive
commerce and engagement through the
platform
Reddit
234 Million
Monthly Users
Founded in
2005
Brand Potential:
Little opportunity for direct brand
engagement on Reddit • Consider it as
a data source – use listening tools to
understand conversations around your
brand • Engage directly with caution the community does not welcome overt
marketing • Use the platform’s native
advertising tool to target display ads at
groups of users
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 6
What Are the Benefits?
Powerful Word of Mouth
If a consumer loves your brand enough to follow it in a social media channel, there’s a strong chance
that person will be an advocate for you. Your brand pages on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram are a direct line to the hearts and minds of your super-fans – keep them engaged with news
and content, and they’ll help spread your message to their own networks, both online and offline.
Efficient Customer Support
Increasingly consumers turn to social media as their first port of call when they want to talk to a
business, whether they are looking for more information or, especially, when they have a complaint. By
plugging Facebook and Twitter into your existing customer support processes you can address these
enquiries before they are escalated, and this increases customer satisfaction because they got the
help they needed easily and quickly.
It also reduces support costs by deflecting enquiries away from more time-consuming channels
like phone and email. Another benefit is that most of the interactions on Facebook and Twitter are
publically visible, and that means your excellent customer service is on show for the world to see.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 7
Laser Focused Ad Targeting
Because people share so much about themselves on social media, the platforms are able to build
up incredibly detailed pictures of who their users are. This in turn means they are able to provide
advertisers with the ability to target audiences at a very granular level, not just using demographic data,
but also based on the interests and behaviors they have expressed.
Facebook is particularly strong in this area. What this means for brands is that they are able to stretch
their advertising budgets further by ensuring that every cent they spend is used to reach an audience
that is much more likely to be interested in the message. In addition to this, social platforms and tools
like Sysomos are giving businesses far greater transparency over their advertising spend, making it
easier to optimize campaigns in real-time instead of having to wait for weekly reports.
Gain Deep Customer Insight
Social media can be thought of as the world’s most powerful focus group. Hundreds of millions of
people go online every day and share their opinions on any number of different topics, including what
they think about your brand and products.
All businesses want to understand their customers (and their competitors’ customers) better, and social
media data provides the best way of doing that. Data from Twitter, blogs and discussion forums has
been available to businesses for a long time, but the newest development in this space is Facebook
data. Through Sysomos, businesses are able to access the vast well of insight offered by Facebook data,
without ever compromising the privacy of its users, because the data is all aggregated and anonymised.
This relatively new development is already providing businesses with a level of understanding about
their customer’s attitudes and behaviours that was previously unimaginable.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 8
Current Trends
Earned, Owned and Paid Social Media
Much like conventional media, social media has developed into three main threads which each
have to be managed differently.
Earned
This is where your brand is discussed in social channels by independent third parties
without any material incentives (financial payments or otherwise), either consumers or
influencers (i.e journalists, bloggers, YouTube stars, etc). To identify earned social media,
you’ll need a listening tool that can monitor social channels for mentions of your brand
and (if the volumes are high) help you to analyze what is being said.
Owned
This refers to your brand’s own social media profiles, Facebook Pages, Twitter Profiles,
YouTube Channels, etc. These profiles are populated with content that your brand
creates and need to be pro-actively managed. Fresh content needs to be regularly
posted, comments from fans need to be moderated and responded to, and this activity
(often referred to as “community management”) can become a complex and time
consuming task in organizations that have a large number of social channels and a high
number of fans. It’s common for organizations to use a social media management tool to
simplify this process.
Paid
It’s harder than ever before to get your content noticed in social media. As the channels
seek ways to monetize their platforms, they have tweaked the algorithms which govern
what users see in their timelinesv. To cut a long story short, if you want your brand to
make an impact on social, you’re going to have to spend money on promoting your
content – we’re living in a pay-to-play world now.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 9
There is a large overlap between Owned and Paid social media, since quite often
they’re exactly the same content and the brand has simply paid to promote content
that has been posted on its social profile. This is still a rapidly evolving space as
channels like Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are developing increasingly
innovative ad formats and new ways for brands to reach consumers through their
platforms.
As brands spend more money than ever before on paid social media, they are
demanding a higher level of transparency for that budget. The platforms are
responding by providing improved metrics and brands are increasingly turning to
third-party paid social analytics tools (such as Sysomos Analyze) which help them to
understand and optimize their spend.
Visual is Getting Bigger and Smarter
It’s hardly news that social media is heavily used for sharing images, Deloitte
estimates that over 3.5 million photos are shared online every minute of every dayvi.
But what’s changing is the way we can analyze and understand all of those photos.
Most of those shared images are not tagged and have no descriptive text associated
with them, so it’s almost impossible to know whether your brand features in them.
With improvements in AI technology, that’s all changing. It’s now much easier for us
to automatically identify images which feature logos and trademarks, and so much
more. We can understand what other objects are in those photos, what kind of
environments they’re taken in, and much more. This means that now we can extract
the same kinds of insights from images as we can from text. In fact, because of the
sheer volume of information an image can convey, visual analytics can provide far
richer insights than text analytics. Visual analytics are now available in the Sysomos
platform with the Discover component.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 10
Live Streaming Video
One of the biggest leaps in social media over recent years has been the success of live streaming video. First Twitter acquired the streaming tool,
Periscope, and absorbed it into its platform as a native feature, Facebook soon added its Live feature, and YouTube and Instagram also got live
streaming capabilities.
This opened up a new world of possibilities for individual users and brands alike. Not so long ago the ability to broadcast a live video stream
to a potentially global audience would have required a lot of expensive infrastructure, but now it’s possible with a simple smartphone. Broadly
speaking marketers are still finding their way with live streaming, but there are already numerous examples of brands using the technology to
provide their social media fans with exclusive content.
AI on the Horizon
Recent improvements in machine learning technology have ushered in a new era of Artificial Intelligence. Algorithms are getting a lot better at
analyzing data and finding answers more effectively than humans can, and this applies just as much to the huge volumes of data produced by
social media.
By applying machine learning to large volumes of social data, we will be able to spot trends and patterns earlier, and this should help marketers
identify risks and opportunities faster. When you log into your social dashboard at the start of the day, as well as being presented with a report,
the algorithm will be smart enough to tell you what activities require your most urgent attention, and even suggest the best course of action.
It’s still early days for AI in marketing, but as innovation accelerates you can expect to see a lot happening in this space in the near future.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 11
A Strategic Approach to Social
Social now has such a broad impact across a
business that it can be difficult to get a handle on
the bigger picture of how it all fits together. Social
can be used in lots of different ways across multiple
business functions and it’s not uncommon to find
a spaghetti of different tools and policies across
an organization as separate teams work in silos to
achieve their objectives.
At Sysomos we have identified six distinct types
of social media activity that businesses typically
need to carry out, and we have built our platform
to perform each of these activities as standalone
functions or joined up as an integrated suite.
Listening
Paid
Social
Analytics
Engagement
Historical
Research
Visual
Analytics
Publishing
Content
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 12
01. Listening
The most basic, and essential, activity that brands need to carry out in social media is listening to what
is being said about them, their competitors and their market. Social is a focus group on a global scale.
Listening to discussions that are relevant to your business will help you to spot and react to potential
crises quickly, understand how your customers really feel about your products, and identify new
opportunities. If you’re not using a listening tool to monitor mentions of your brand in social, you’re a
decade behind your competitors.
02. Historical Research
People often think of social media as being completely focused on the now, but all of those millions of
archived social posts from months and years ago can offer valuable insights. If you want to know how
consumers feel about a brand, product, technology, or any other topic, social data can help you get to
the truth. This data isn’t available natively in Twitter or Facebook, you need a third party social media
research tool like Sysomos to get access to the data, and provide you with the analytics tools to make
sense of it.
03. Visual Analytics
Consumer brands increasingly make use of visual content in their owned social media channels, and
also want to understand how their trademarks and products are being featured in user generated
images. Visual analytics, with image-recognition technology to automate the discovery and classification
of relevant images, helps marketers to do this more efficiently. This means being able to see which
relevant images are going viral, how your visual content is performing, and understand more about how
consumers use your products by analyzing the photos they share of them.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 13
04. Publishing Content
Most consumer brands have a social media presence, and for businesses that own multiple brands in
multiple markets, managing all of the social channels can easily become a complex problem. It’s not
uncommon for global businesses to have thousands of social channels with multiple teams (and agency
partners) responsible for keeping them fed with fresh content. The days of simply logging into your social
media channels natively and posting updates are long gone. Large businesses need enterprise grade
social media publishing tools to simplify and streamline both the management of their channels and the
reporting of metrics.
05. Engagement
Social media is now the preferred channel for consumers to communicate with brands. Whether they
want to make a complaint, share a suggestion, or just get some information, people are more likely to
contact a brand on Facebook or Twitter than any other channel these days.
And when you have social channels with hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of fans, you need
enterprise grade tools to make sure that all of those comments are dealt with appropriately. Some will
require a customer services response, some will need to be moderated (if they contain inappropriate
content), others may just need a snappy response from a community manager, but they all need to be
acknowledged and routed to the correct person. And you need reporting tools to make sure that the
process is working and nothing is falling through the gaps.
06. Paid Social Analytics
As budgets for paid social increase, greater transparency and accountability is necessary. While the
platforms provide native analytics tools, these tend not to work very well for large organizations which run
a large number of social channels for multiple brands. Third party tools, such as Sysomos Analyze, make
it easier to understand the performance of your paid social media across all of your brands, channels
and international markets. This enables you easily understand which activity is performing well, which is
struggling, and where best to allocate your budgets for maximum return on investment.
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 14
Conclusion
Over the past decade social media has changed marketing beyond all recognition, and the change hasn’t stopped yet as the technology and user
behavior continues to evolve. Consumer brands especially understand that social needs to be at the heart of their marketing activity, but it’s hard
to identify a single winning strategy when the goalposts are constantly shifting. What works this year may not work next year.
This is why we’ve built Sysomos to be a comprehensive, integrated suite of tools that constantly evolves with the social media industry. As new
channels, features and behaviors develop, they are built into the Sysomos platform so that while social media never stands still, you can at least
be certain of a familiar, reliable toolkit that will help you to stay ahead of the curve.
i
Facebook and Google build digital ad duopoly – FT, March 14 2017.
ii
Facebook beats in Q2 with $9.32B revenue despite slower user growth – TechCrunch, July 26 2017.
iii
Twitter tumbles with no signs of a Trump bump – FT, July 27 2017
iv
Nielsen’s Digital Content Ratings Will Now Include Facebook, Hulu and YouTube Video Views – AdWeek, August 15 2017
vi
Facebook Zero: Considering Life After the Demise of Organic Reach – Ogilvy, 2014
vi
3.5 million photos shared every minute in 2016 – Deloitte, 2016
The CMO’s Guide to Social Media | 15
GETTING
MILLENNIALS
TO THE GAME
How to mobilize a less interested, more budget-conscious generation of fans
SKIDMORE STUDIO – 2016
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For many professional sports teams, leagues, and ticket sellers, the millennial audience is both difficult to court and
impossible to ignore. They’re the largest generation in the U.S., whose oldest subset is entering their peak earning years and
youngest is entering adulthood. They’ll soon make up the majority of the industry’s target audience, as baby boomers decline
in number and Generation X ages.1
The challenge: Millennials appear to have far less interest in attending professional sporting events than their older
counterparts. In fact, the greatest decline in avid sports fans in the last decade has come among 12- to 34-year-olds.2
In our own research for this white paper, we found that fewer than half of millennials have purchased tickets to a professional
sporting event in the last year.
So, what will get millennials to the game?
To tackle this question, we surveyed over 500 millennials across the U.S., researched industry trends, and analyzed recent
success stories. Our findings reveal a need to rework the value equation to give millennials more (perceived) bang for their
buck. In this white paper, we narrow in on three specific strategies to achieve this aim: experiment with ticket-selling
methods, foster a fan-centric experience, and create new reasons to care.
WHY THE MILLENNIAL AUDIENCE MATTERS
When it comes to getting millennials to the game, it’s not just about money made from ticket sales and concessions. Seats
need to be filled to provide the right backdrop for broadcast TV, and attendance has a big affect on advertising dollars – both
in stadium and out.
There’s also the fact that, in addition to this generation’s size and increasing purchasing power, millennials have a significant
influence on the interests and spending habits of their parents, friends, and children. Millennial fans are more likely to share
their game-day experiences, which can help teams grow their following and activate the next generation of fans.
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
2
THE CHALLENGE
According to sports demographer Richard Luker, the greatest decline in avid sports fans in the last decade has come
among millennials and younger generations.3 This drop correlates to pro sports ticket sales, which are also decreasing or
leveling off.4 Our study revealed that less than half of millennials bought tickets in the last year – and only 16 percent
were repeat buyers.
53%
HOW MANY
PROFESSIONAL
SPORTING
EVENTS
HAVE YOU
PURCHASED
TICKETS TO
WITHIN THE
LAST YEAR?
29%
11%
3%
0
1-2
3-5
5+
These numbers should not be surprising. With so much competing for millennials’ time and attention, teams and stadiums
have to work harder for this generation’s dollar than any before it. Even in the NCAA, where student engagement is usually
taken for granted, athletic departments are struggling to keep attendance up. At the University of Georgia, students left 39
percent of the school’s student section empty over the last four years.5
Experts connect the decline in millennial attendance to everything from the proliferation of high-def TVs to readily available
post-game recaps in the form of tweets, Vines, highlight videos, and more. No longer does one have to be in the stadium to
feel a part of the action. And as Georgia president emeritus Michael Adams said, “Big-screen TVs close to your own
refrigerator are pretty compelling.”
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
3
Beyond the lure of their big screens, our survey revealed two main impediments to millennials’ purchase of tickets.
WHAT PREVENTS
YOU FROM
BUYING TICKETS
TO YOUR HOME
TEAM’S GAMES?
TOO EXPENSIVE
53%
I JUST DON’T CARE
16%
TOO FAR OF A DRIVE
10%
THEY’RE LOSING MORE OFTEN THAN WINNING
7%
PARKING
5%
GAMES JUST AREN’T FUN
3%
1 // THE PRICE OF TICKETS
Cost is by far the chief barrier to millennials’ purchase of tickets. This generation is more
budget conscious than their parents were at their age, and for good reason: they are straddled
with debt, unemployment, and earn the lowest median income (in inflation-adjusted terms)
since 1995.6
2 // APATHY OR LACK OF ENTHUSIASM
When it comes to millennials’ interest in professional sporting events, 16 percent listed “just
don’t care” as the reason they don’t purchase tickets, and another three percent answered
the same question with “games just aren’t fun.” This disinterested group comprises nearly a
fifth (19 percent) of the millennials we surveyed.
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
4
THE OPPORTUNITY
Despite the major challenges facing marketers who want to reach this audience, there is some good news: 70 percent of
millennial fans prefer to watch live events from the stands rather than at home.7 The question is: What will compel them
enough to actually buy a ticket?
The key opportunity we discovered is that millennials are more focused on the overall experience than the team, sport, or
game itself. In fact, the vast majority of respondents (79 percent) say a team’s record has no impact on their desire to
purchase tickets. And when planning to attend a game, 56 percent of millennials are looking for the “full night out
experience” vs. just attending the game.
Millennials are more focused on the overall
experience than the team, sport, or game itself.
Here’s a breakdown of the reasons millennials purchase tickets. Note that 54 percent of the answers have nothing to do with
the team or sport.
11%
I LOVE
THE SPORT
35%
I LOVE
MY TEAM
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
WHY DO
YOU BUY
TICKETS TO
YOUR HOME
TEAM’S
GAMES?
I LOVE GOING
WITH FRIENDS
27%
THE TICKET
PRICE IS
REASONABLE
8%
I LOVE THE
FOOD + DRINKS
3%
I LOVE
THE VENUE
3%
OTHER
13%
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
5
That’s not to say millennials don’t care about an exciting game – they do. But while it’s impossible to control the outcome
of a game, there’s plenty of opportunity for stadiums and arenas to capitalize on the other things millennials want from their
experience – things like great food and drinks, entertainment, and camaraderie with other fans. As marketers, we need to
align these opportunities with marketing strategies.
WHAT DO YOU CARE MOST ABOUT WHEN YOU
GET TO THE GAME? CHOOSE YOUR TOP THREE.
43%
GREAT FOOD
33%
GREAT DRINKS
ENTERTAINMENT
CAMARADERIE
WITH OTHER FANS
GIVEAWAYS +
AUDIENCE
GAMES
AN EXCITING GAME
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
27%
26%
22%
72%
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
6
KEY INSIGHT: REWORK THE VALUE EQUATION
Offer millennials an experience worth the ticket price
By and large, ticket price appears to be the biggest hang-up for this audience. But because millennials actually prefer to
spend money on experiences rather than things,8 we suspect the hang-up has more to do with perceived value than actual
affordability.
In other words, lowering ticket prices alone will not win over this audience. Teams and stadiums need to make full-scale
changes to their game-day experiences to rework the value equation for millennials. If the experience is great, millennials will
become repeat buyers and powerful brand advocates who draw fans to the stadium and advertisers to the table.
To help teams rework the value equation, we explored various strategies aimed at capturing the attention of this hard-toattract audience. Three key strategies rose to the top:
1
2
3
EXPERIMENT WITH
TICKET-SELLING
METHODS
FOSTER A FAN-CENTRIC
EXPERIENCE
CREATE NEW
REASONS TO CARE
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
7
STRATEGY
1
EXPERIMENT
WITH TICKETSELLING
METHODS
STRATEGY
1
Experiment with ticket-selling methods
While lowering all ticket prices may not be an option, teams who want to attract the millennial audience should test new
methods of selling tickets. Millennials are famously open to trying new things, and quick to respond when they like
something. Why not switch things up? In fact, innovative pricing and packages may attract millennial fans who identify
as early adopters (as many in this generation do) just by virtue of being innovative.
OFFER A TRADE-OFF
From fluid seat programs to discount prices for standing-room only, providing alternative ticketing options at cheaper prices
will lower the barrier to entry for budget-conscious millennials – or those who are simply more interested in socializing than
watching the game. Lower prices offset the less appealing aspects of the tickets (e.g. last-minute seat assignments or no seat
at all), but the setup gives millennials the power to decide if the trade off is worth it.
NBA teams – who arguably have the strongest millennial fan base in professional sports9 – are ruling at this. Last season the
Phoenix Suns rolled out the College Pass, a mobile-based program offering last-minute tickets to local college students for as
low as $5. Four other teams also experimented with fluid seat programs to maximize ticket revenue and build a stronger
following among younger fans.10 On some nights, these programs sold as many as 500 tickets – filling seats that would have
otherwise sat empty.
Millennial-geared packages can ease value
concerns and position the game as a fun night out.
PROMOTE MILLENNIAL-GEARED PACKAGES
Because millennials are looking for a complete experience, teams should partner with popular local establishments,
beloved brands, or their own concession stands to develop special packages. These millennial-geared packages can ease
value concerns and position the game as a fun night out for a group.
Last November, the Jacksonville Jaguars teamed up with Uber to offer discounted game-day tickets via the app along with
rides to the stadium. The Boston Celtics have also been successful in reaching millennials with their Girls/Guys Night Out
Pack, which includes four seats at a special price plus food and drink vouchers.
In fact, offering any sort of complimentary food or drink with tickets would be extremely effective in winning over this audience: Our survey revealed that, next to ticket deals, the top thing millennials want from their stadium is concession deals.
GETTING MILLENNIALS TO THE GAME
SKIDMORE STUDIO – APRIL 2016
9
STRATEGY
2
FOSTER A
FAN-CENTRIC
EXPERIENCE
STRATEGY
2
Foster a fan-centric experience
Millennials are notorious lovers of connectivity, but their love transcends the caricature of iPhone-tethered hipsters. Whether
it’s on Instagram or in a stadium of 60,000 people, they’re looking for community, belonging, and for their voice to be heard
and valued. This is especially true when it comes to an experience with a price tag. If teams want to be successful with
millennials, they need to create an ultra-connected, fans-first experience.
EMPOWER YOUR FAN BASE
For the ultimate fan-centric experience, take a cue from the world’s most popular sport. Soccer games have a rich history of
rituals, chants, songs, and an overall ecstatic participation by fans – leading it to attract the youngest and fastest growing fan
base in U.S. professional sports.11
The highly participatory, fan-centric nature of soccer games has strong appeal for socially oriented millennials. Best of all, it
requires their physical attendance – and makes for some great on-screen visuals.
MEMBERS OF THE PORTLAND TIMBERS ARMY (MLSSOCCER.COM)
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STRATEGY
2
Foster a fan-centric experience
Major League Soccer teams the Seattle Sounders, Portland Timbers, and Sporting KC have all done especially well in
recruiting millennial fans. Each boasts enviably long season ticket waiting lists, sold out stadiums, and strong fan culture.
To foster this type of community, club owners partner with their core fan base, giving them standing meetings with staff
members and agreeing to keep fan sections at general admission prices.12
All pro teams want to generate this level of engagement, but it works best as a grassroots movement. Teams need to
empower superfans, providing them the status and resources required to bolster attendance and grow an infectious fan
community from the inside out. Once this happens, marketers can help capture and perpetuate this culture as a part of
the team’s brand.
LET THEM HAVE WI-FI
Whether it’s sweeping mountain views, a jersey-clad selfie, or a helmet full of nachos, millennials want to share their
experiences in real time. Which leads us to the elephant in the room: the fact that many teams do not have the infrastructure
needed to support millennials’ demand for connectivity.
Wi-fi may not lure millennial fans in and of itself, but it’s an important vehicle for Snapchats, Instagrams, and tweets shared
by millennials to their networks. Sharing enriches their experience and activates other millennials’ FOMO (“Fear of Missing
Out”), a form of self-perpetuating advertising that’s especially effective among this audience.13
It’s time for stadiums to invest in technology.
Connectivity is also essential to expanding in-stadium digital experiences that appeal to millennials, such as instant replays,
mobile concessions, or last-minute seat upgrades. And once big data can be collected during games, these experiences will
only become better tailored to fans’ wants and needs.
MAKE THEM PART OF YOUR BRAND
Another way to elevate the role of the fan is to highlight user-generated content (UGC), whether on a dedicated page of a
team’s website (like the New Jersey Devil’s fan-curated Mission Control Center) or by featuring timely Instagrams or tweets on
the stadium’s Jumbotron. When UGC is featured, fans feel like an integral part of the team’s identity. And, if given the
chance to help shape a brand, millennial loyalty surges.
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STRATEGY
3
CREATE NEW
REASONS TO
CARE
STRATEGY
3 Create new reasons to care
Teams, stadiums, and ticket sellers can no longer rely on the automatic loyalty and participation they received from older
sports fans. Instead, they need to ignite support from lukewarm fans and appeal to those who aren’t yet fans by providing
new reasons to care – reasons that reflect millennial interests and desires.
APPEAL TO HOMETOWN TASTES
One way to win over disinterested millennials is by appealing to their sense of city or state pride. Millennials have the highest
affinity for shopping local of all age cohorts14 – what culinary staples, breweries, or other regional favorites can be used to tap
into this type of loyalty?
Take the Seattle Mariners’ recent menu revamp. Last year, Safeco Field called upon local celebrity chef Ethan Stowell to
develop new concessions featuring local favorites. With items like Dungeness crab sandwiches and craft beer floats, the new
menu enjoyed significant buzz and earned Safeco a reputation as a foodie’s paradise.15 And we all know millennials care
about their food – 35 percent of our survey respondents placed “better food” at the top of their stadium wish list.
THE MARINERS “FIVE TIMES THE MUDD” BEER FLOAT (SEATTLE P-I)
CALL IN CELEBRITY BACKUP
Millennials also respond favorably to celebrity spokespeople – so long as their support is authentic. Teams lucky enough to
have celebrity fans – especially those popular among millennials – should find ways to strengthen ties, whether it’s a formal
partnership or a simple mention on social. The once-struggling Toronto Raptors have experienced increasing popularity since
hiring Canadian rapper Drake as the team’s “global ambassador” in 2013.16
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STRATEGY
3 Create new reasons to care
DESIGN A STYLISH IN-STADIUM DESTINATION
From our survey we know that most millennial fans attend pro games for the complete social experience and not merely the
game itself. That’s why it’s important to design areas for millennials to kick back and hang out away from their seats.
Stadiums have begun to add lounge-like spaces to their layouts, such as the Colorado Rockies’ The Rooftop and the Detroit
Tiger’s New Amsterdam 416 Bar. These spaces have been wildly popular because, where there’s a laid-back, well-designed
(read: Instagram-worthy) place to socialize and recharge, millennials will flock.
(COLORADO ROCKIES MLB.COM)
(CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS)
“If we expect this group to just go to
a game, sit down and watch, we’re
really missing the boat.”
17
DAVE BUTLER, CEO OF TICKET COMPANY PACIOLAN
Additionally, these in-stadium lounges can provide meeting places for pre- or post-game fare, so that teams can better
facilitate – and capitalize on – millennials’ desire for a “full night out.” For some millennials, the meeting place may even
become the primary destination – one that just so happens to be tucked inside a pro sports arena.
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THE BOTTOM LINE
Professional teams, stadiums, and ticket sellers can no longer rely on the automatic loyalty and participation provided by
older sports fans. Millennials aren’t attending games with the same frequency as previous generations, nor are they as
interested in sports.
Marketers must find creative ways to rework the value equation and offer millennials experiences they’re willing to pay
for – experiences that are custom-tailored to their lifestyle, tastes, and penchant for unique, sharable experiences. If you
experiment with ticket-selling methods, foster a fan-centric experience, and create new reasons to care, you’ll be able to
get millennials to the game.
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The research that
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RESOURCES
Unless otherwise noted, all statistics are from Skidmore Studio’s 2015 Millennial Sports Survey
http://www.skidmorestudio.com/millennial-sports-survey/
1
Pew Research Center: This year, Millennials will overtake Baby Boomers
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/16/this-year-millennials-will-overtake-baby-boomers/
2
Sports Business Daily: Industry looks for right recipe to attract fans among millennials
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2014/03/24/Events-and-Attractions/WCOS-main.aspx
3
Sports Business Daily: Fan Demographics Among Major North American Sports Leagues
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2010/06/Issue-185/The-Back-Of-The-Book/Fan-Demographics-Among-MajorNorth-American-Sports-Leagues.aspx
4
Yahoo Sports: Keeping fans in the stands is getting harder to do
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba–keeping-fans-in-the-stands-is-getting-harder-to-do-005355696.html
5
The Wall Street Journal: Declining Student Attendance Hits Georgia
http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304795804579097223907738780
6
Slate: How Broke Are Millennials? This Broke.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/12/08/broke_millennials_the_decline_of_young_adult_incomes_since_the_
recession.html
7
Fuse: Live Event Attendance & The Contradiction of Digital
http://www.fusemarketing.com/live-event-attendance-contradiction-digital
8
Forbes: NOwnership, No Problem: Why Millennials Value Experiences Over Owning Things
http://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2015/06/01/nownershipnoproblem-nowners-millennials-value-experiences-overownership/#1267dd561759
9
The Washington Post: What the NBA gets that the other big sports leagues don’t
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/04/06/what-the-nba-gets-that-the-other-big-sports-leagues-dont/
10
Phoenix Business Journal: Ticketing tools pay off for Phoenix Suns, other NBA teams
http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/blog/business/2015/04/ticketing-tools-pay-off-for-phoenix-suns-other.html
11
Populous: Designing for the MLS’ Growing Fan Base
http://populous.com/posts/designing-for-the-mls-growing-fan-base/
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RESOURCES
12
Fast Company: How A Risky Ad Campaign Turned The Portland Timbers Into One Of Pro Sports’ Hottest Startups
http://www.fastcompany.com/3026949/marketing-with-a-kick-portland-timbers
13
Ticketing Today: Selling to Millennials: Building Social Media-Worthy In-Venue Experiences
http://ticketingtoday.com/selling-to-millennials-building-social-media-worthy-in-venue-experiences/
14
Inland Institutional Capital Partners Corporation: Shopping Patterns of Millennials
http://www.nareim.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Shopping-Patterns-of-Millennials-ICAP-2-15.pdf
15
MyNorthwest.com: Ethan Stowell ups the ante for Mariners Safeco Field food offerings
http://mynorthwest.com/11/2740450/Ethan-Stowell-ups-the-ante-for-Mariners-Safeco-Field-food-offerings
16
Toronto Star: Drake joins the Raptors: Whose brand benefits most?
http://www.thestar.com/business/2013/09/30/drake_joins_the_raptors_whose_brand_benefits_most.html
17
Sports Business Daily: Millennials put ticket strategies to test
http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2015/06/08/In-Depth/Ticketing-main.aspx
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