The Social Media Strategy

Now a days ALL pro teams need a voice on the internet that communicates to its fan base. A voice that not only gets people excited for games, but also engages people which ultimately enhances the fan experience!

The standard idea for social media presence amongst sports teams is to just offer updates and prizes to fans. This gets boring fast, and doesn't truly inspire a follow/ mention/ or #hashtag all the time.

My recommendation for the new CFL Ottawa team (and Jeff Hunt) is to follow along the guidelines of the Toronto Bluejays, UFC, and the LA Kings. Here are the reasons why for each:

1) Toronto Blue Jays- Offered the coolest prize on twitter... they tweeted asking for anyone going to the game to RT ("retweet" for all you non twitter users) their last tweet along with their row and seat number that they would be sitting in. All people who did this were entered into a draw to throw out the first pitch of the baseball game. Now I know football is a lot different than baseball, however something could be done as cool as this! Perhaps a fan could get to toss the coin to begin the game, or bring the game ball to the kick off team. Something along those lines would really engage people and make lifelong fans fast!

2) UFC (and President Dana White)- Offers great content to people who follow/watch him. Providing fans with exclusive video, pictures, and prizes. Not only that, they air official preliminary fights through their facebook page (and you can watch them during UFC's fightcard live) once you give them a simple "like". Now posting live video and such of live CFL games maybe hard due to TSN's exclusive television rights. Posting the normal videos, like after practice, pre-game, and post game should not be an issue though. To go a step further maybe Ottawa could allow live coverage of their team taking part in pre-game warmups.

3) LA Kings- During their Stanley Cup Playoff run they took the standard guidelines for sports teams in social media and threw it in the garbage. They offered comical posts and engaged with other popular people in the media for all to see (Like Rainn Wilson of the Office). This got people talking, and with more people talking... even more buzz was created. I used to follow only one NHL team (The Jets- my fav NHL team because their AHL affiliate is in my home of St. John's), but once I heard what the Kings were doing I had to look into it! The Kings' accounts had personality and flair, something that practically all sports teams now don't have. They took risks, and yes some people didn't like it, but the fans did!

So to sum it up here's what I hope to see Ottawa's new CFL team do with social media. Provide exclusive content to fans that they cannot find anywhere else other than the team's social media accounts. I would like them to embrace a personality. Get the fans engaged and talking about the team online... and have this lead into prize winning experiences. The personality cannot be afraid to take risk and mock opposing CFL teams (like the despised Argos, Als, and TiCats). Although I have mentioned this earlier, the team's social media strategy should fit snuggly within the overall marketing strategy of the organization. Businesses who attempt to be savvy with social media often forget this point, and ultimately its voice gets confused to the user. The team should also try its best to get back to its fans online. Getting a reply back means a lot to the user! At the end of the year Ottawa's management team could even perhaps gather the top 10-100 posts/tweets of the year!

Ottawa has some VERY passionate CFL fans out there! What better way to reach them through a online tool that practically costs nothing to start up aside from proper knowledge. Here's to hoping their social media presence they decide to go with a unique tone with tons of cool features to keep fans excited!

A More Perfect Union... on the field

On June 20th, Ottawa and the OSEG were awarded the rights to a new soccer team that would play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) (see news article here). This deal has the potential to provide a MASSIVE boost financially to the next Ottawa CFL team, as Lansdowne field will have two anchor tenants to help share in the maintenance/upkeep costs of the field. Also Frank Clair will have another team to fill it's schedule! Synergy is what they call it in the business world.

I feel this new Ottawa soccer team maybe coming in at the exact right time as well. If the team begins play in 2014 or 2015 that is just around the time Canada is hosting the FIFA women's world cup! The soccer buzz will be going even more insane if the city of Ottawa gets approval to be one of the host cities for this tournament. Whatsmore, Ottawa's bid is increasingly more likely to be accepted due to the fact that Toronto will be unable to host any games due to over committing themselves to the Pan American games that summer!

However, I will be cautiously optimistic with this. The NASL has folded before and just recently got on the go again. Who's to say this league will exist in another couple years... especially if the Montreal Impact (one of the league's better attended teams) plays on moving up to the premier Major League Soccer division by 2012.

Another fact that should be highlight is that the renovated Frank Clair Stadium will hold around 24,000 people in max capacity. So far, attendance for NASL games will not even come close to filling this stadium! This maybe an issue for the "Fan Experience", as the new Frank Clair could just be too BIG a stadium for Ottawa Soccer to survive in.

So for now... though I love soccer (2nd to football), I will wait and see how this partnership develops! It has all the ground workings to be great, let's just hope the NASL is still around for another 3 years.

Fingers crossed!!!

3rd Time's a Charm

Jeff Hunt (Head of the development group for the new Ottawa franchise- 2nd left) with Mark Cohon (CFL Commissioner- middle) and the rest of the development group.

On March 28, 2008 Ottawa was given the go ahead for their third professional CFL franchise. The move was greeted with high phrase but cautious optimism. On one hand, the rambunctious fans of Ottawa were getting a new CFL team! However, on the other hand hesitation was apparent as CFL had lived and died twice already in the nation's capital! What would make this third time any different?! Well there are many things that make this third attempt stand out in my mind: 1) The new owners led by Jeff Hunt, 2) The renovations of Lansdowne Park, and 3) The newly structure expansion draft.

Jeff Hunt is a self made millionaire and huge CFL fan. This bodes well from an ownership perspective, as to be truly successful in any sports league you need a passionate owner that is willing to open his pocketbook (or business "knowledge-book") and help the team in any way shape or form. Hunt has already proven to be highly successful in the sports leagues. In 1998 he bought the Ottawa 67s (an Ontario Hockey League team), the impact was felt instantly. Seemingly over night the attendance to the 67s near quadruple, and Hunt spent an average $25,000 on marketing for the first couple of weeks to promote the team (a significant number considering the 67s budget for promotion marketing was $25000/year in 1997). This shows that Hunt knows how to run a successful sports franchise and is willing to do what it takes for it be a winner!

There is much debate in the social media world on whether or not Frank Clair stadium should be renovated. Some feel a complete change of scenery could go along way in getting this franchise off the ground. Call me old fashion but I'd rather see Frank Clair and Lansdowne Park be adjusted to fit the needs of the fans. I remember being at a game at Frank Clair in 2004, Montreal Alouettes vs the Ottawa Renegades. The atmosphere for that game was phenomenal, and the crowd I felt truly energized the Renegades to a massive upset 43-38! When building a new stadium it's sometimes hard to capture the old building's atmosphere again. Fans may have been loyal specifically to the old stadium itself!

Finally, the expansion draft plans for the new Ottawa team are much better than the 2002. The expansion draft is set for sometime in December of 2012, rules and regulations can be read here Ottawa CFL Expansion Draft- Rules and regulations. In addition to the expansion draft the new Ottawa franchise will get the top pick of the 2013 CFL draft! This will allow the 3rd Ottawa to hit the ground running with a truly competitive team!


Though the team is 2 years away from "being", I'm really excited for the CFL! More details will come in coming blog posts on Lansdowne Park development issues (as there are still many kinks becoming worked out with the city and development group), potential draft prospects, branding, and more!