In 2012, Major League Baseball launched the "At the Ballpark" application in an attempt to build a consolidated portable device-driven ballpark experience. With the explosion of mobile devices and social media, Major League Baseball saw an opportunity to amplify the digital experience of ball game attendance. The "At the Ballpark" application is this "opportunity" put to action.
In general application allows attendees to:
- Access ballpark information/maps/etc.
- View schedule/ticketing information
- Access team statistics
- Order food/beverages (in select stadiums only)
Socially, attendees are able to upload/share photographs of their experiences at games, and participate in social media conversations with others in attendance/watching the game.
As a whole, the MLB "At the Ballpark" application does an exceptional job of creating a centralized digital experience for attendees, and has been positioned for continued success well into the future.
*Also worth noting is the fact that MiLB teams have begun making attempts to build a digital experience around ballgames. (See IronPigs Launch MiLB's First Social Media Hub).
Two weeks ago I posted a piece on the value of social media as a tool in regards to building athlete commercial value. In conjunction with that post, I thought it appropriate to briefly comment on Major League Baseball's 2012 trip into uncharted waters to adopt a social media policy addressing social media use by employees and players.
The principle take-away from the 2012 MLB CBA policies implemented is that social governance is highly centralized. These very policies set forth by Major League Baseball are "law of the land." Meanwhile, ballclubs themselves are restricted from creating social policies in contradiction with MLB. Additionally, punishment can be lain on a player via the Commisioner Office directly OR by their respective baseball club (punishments may not be handed down by both organizations for a player's violation of policy... simply put, one or the other).
*Note: All 4 of the following policies can be found on page 254 of the 2012-2016 Major League Baseball Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Expanding upon the 2012 MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement, a memorandum released by Major League Baseball in March 2012 set forth greater detail regarding social media policy.
Craig Calcaterra of Hardball Talk does an exemplary job of summarizing the "don'ts" of this memorandum (2012 MLB Social Media Policy):
"The policy itself is more of a legal document, but it basically consists of a list of ten prohibitions:
- Players can’t make what can be construed as official club or league statements without permission;
- Players can’t use copyrighted team logos and stuff without permission or tweet confidential or private information about teams or players, their families, etc.;
- Players can’t link to any MLB website or platform from social media without permission;
- No tweets condoning or appearing to condone the use of substances on the MLB banned drug list (which is everything but booze, right?);
- No ripping umpires or questioning their integrity;
- No racial, sexist, homophobic, anti-religious, etc. etc. content;
- No harassment or threats of violence;
- Nothing sexually explicit;
- Nothing otherwise illegal."
While these control measures are fairly straightforward and common sense, the very fact that Major League Baseball has set guidelines to govern player social behavior represents an acceptance of "new media." Furthermore, it goes without saying that Major League Baseball recognizes the crucial role that social media plays in the lives of the young, a demographic that MLB must accommodate in order to remain sustainable and popular.
The 140 character, real-time talking space known as Twitter has revolutionarily bridged the communication gap between celebrities (politicians, movie/television stars, musical artists, athletes, etc.) and respective fans across the world. From expressing thoughts, to interacting with fans, to posting personal photographs/videos, Twitter has helped to cultivate a transparent online public sphere, humanizing celebs and establishing a sentiment of personal authenticity among fans.
Moreover, Twitter has opened up endless opportunities for personal marketing and branding. While obvious that social branding for celebs/athletes is still enjoying its formative years, those who capitalize early place themselves in a position to reap the greatest benefits (a reality repeatedly illustrated as marketing mediums have evolved/emerged throughout time). Social opportunities exist for virtually all celebrities, but in keeping with the theme of my previous posts, I will focus on the athlete.
The revolutionary nature of personal social branding has unsurprisingly inspired troves of articles/criticisms, so running a simple Google search of "athlete social branding" will generously provide you with a wide array of examples. However, among the related content littered across the web, one Wall Street Journal article by Daniel Barbarisi caught my eye: Yankees' Swisher Takes Center Stage. Rather uniquely, the article delves into the nature of athlete social branding, highlighting the social presence of then-Yankees slugger Nick Swisher. While a GREAT read as a whole, the most interesting subject matter deals with the new-found social branding opportunities for the "mid-level"(not necessarily superstars) player:
"This is the emerging norm—these [mid-level] athletes now have an ability to establish and build and then extend their brands, and break through a lot of the clutter. For many years, with traditional media, the top endorsers did well. They had a lot of notoriety and strong followings, and a lot of other athletes were relegated to the local supermarket openings, and cutting the ribbon at car dealerships." - David Carter, Money Games
Swisher, while fitting into this category of "mid-level" for his contributions on the baseball diamond, he is widely known for his energetic personality and sense of humor (need I say more?: KevJumba vs. NY Yankee Nick Swisher Ping Pong FaceOFF). Social outlets like Twitter give Mr. Swisher the opportunity to broadcast his personality... and with this strong social presence comes the money (courtesy of Mercedes, in the case of the above article). No longer are marketing dollars solely destined for the pockets of the superstars/celebs (i.e. Brad Pitt or Albert Pujols). Now, courtesy of social media, transparency allows the "mid-level" athletes/celebs to build their personal brands through:
1) professional notoriety, AND
2) personality
Moving forward, expect more athletes and celebrities like Mr. Swisher to take advantage of the lucrative status/personality cocktail.
My previous post focused on the social practices on the representation/ownership side of professional sports. This week I'll flip the script a bit to discuss the social media efforts on the other side of the table, those of professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, etc.). In this case, Major League Baseball and its 2011 brainchild, the MLB Fan Cave.
Just some brief background... the MLB Fan Cave is an annual program designed to give select fans the opportunity (or as they advertise it, "dream job") to watch each and every Major League Baseball game. In addition to couch potato duties, the contest winners, known as "cave dwellers," are tasked with recording their experience and inciting fan engagement/participation via various social media channels. Throughout each season, giveaways, promotions, as well as visits from celebrities and MLB's best players give fans a new avenue to connect with the game.
In contrast with my previous post (regarding sports agency social activity), Major League Baseball's social presence through the MLB Fan Cave program has been a massive success, and has driven huge engagement statistics. Most notably, the Cave has drawn massive social attention and participation numbers on a wide array of online communication channels, be it through Facebook 'Comments,' Twitter 'Mentions,' etc.
However:
"For the league, it was about more than just wanting to be in the conversation because social media is the big buzzword. Social media has provided the league a way to reach out to a younger audience. The average avid MLB fan is 45 years old. The average Fan Cave fan is 28. The endeavor also allowed MLB to reach out to a more casual fan without alienating die-hards." - Maria Burns Ortiz, ESPN.
Most importantly though, the effect of the Fan Cave goes far beyond Facebook 'Likes,' and Twitter 'Follows' (even though these counting stats are impressive in their own right)... The Fan Cave has revolutionized fan social participation by opening a two-way communication channel between cave dwellers (MLB) and the fans themselves, all the while giving fans a new-found personal connection with the game on and off the field.
