http://activ8social.com Sports Social Media and Digital Brand Equity Wed, 08 Sep 2010 03:31:04 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 http://activ8social.com/2010/06/22/top-12-brands-utilizing-social-media-in-the-world-cup/ http://activ8social.com/2010/06/22/top-12-brands-utilizing-social-media-in-the-world-cup/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 13:46:14 +0000 Activ8Social http://activ8social.com/?p=2078 Which brands are activating the best social media campaigns during the 2010 FIFA World Cup? Does being an official World Cup sponsor or FIFA partner like Adidas give the brand an edge over an unaffiliated competitor like Nike? Even more interestingly, does focusing budgets on ambush marketing actually present a greater value proposition for brands such as Pepsi whose main competitor Coca-Cola is spending millions of dollars to be officially affiliated with the most popular sporting event in the world? Read our white paper to find out more!]]> http://activ8social.com/2010/06/22/top-12-brands-utilizing-social-media-in-the-world-cup/feed/ 4 http://activ8social.com/2010/05/26/cokes-world-cup-digital-strategy/ http://activ8social.com/2010/05/26/cokes-world-cup-digital-strategy/#comments Thu, 27 May 2010 00:54:11 +0000 Anthony Caponiti http://activ8social.com/?p=1808 Building on 32 years of futbol history as an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup (although a formal relationship began in 1974), the Coca-Cola Company recently launched a global ad campaign centered around its current theme of "Open Happiness" and backed by an aggressive digital strategy. This campaign comes off the heels of the soon-to-conclude FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour which to date has seen the famed 18-carat gold trophy travel 93,958 miles (151,217 km) in over 225 days, crossing five continents and touching the lives of more than 500,000 futbol fans. The tour, which began on September 19, 2009 will do one final circuit in South Africa.]]> http://activ8social.com/2010/05/26/cokes-world-cup-digital-strategy/feed/ 3 http://activ8social.com/2010/05/10/the-power-of-facebook-betty-white-and-snl/ http://activ8social.com/2010/05/10/the-power-of-facebook-betty-white-and-snl/#comments Mon, 10 May 2010 14:12:16 +0000 Steve Cobb http://activ8social.com/?p=1708 This week’s Saturday Night Live episode hosted by former Golden Girls star, 88 year-old Betty White, claimed the highest ratings and largest audience since November 1, 2008 when John McCain and Sarah Palin appeared. And who do they have to thank? A fan and his Facebook Page. After White starred in a viral Super Bowl Snickers commercial, a 29-year old superfan named David Matthews took to the 450+ million user platform in an attempt to garner 5,000 fans before writing a letter to SNL producer Lorne Michaels. After being picked up by USA Today and Perez Hilton, Matthews says the Page jumped from 8,300 fans to over 22,000. According to AllFacebook, the Page went from 30,000 to 230,000 fans last week. The “Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!” Facebook Page now claims over half a million “likes” or “fans”, which is simply astonishing.]]> http://activ8social.com/2010/05/10/the-power-of-facebook-betty-white-and-snl/feed/ 1 http://activ8social.com/2010/05/03/5-reasons-pro-athletes-should-leverage-social-media/ http://activ8social.com/2010/05/03/5-reasons-pro-athletes-should-leverage-social-media/#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 22:35:27 +0000 Anthony Caponiti http://activ8social.com/?p=1436 Let's get one thing straight upfront—social media is not as easy as "if you build it, they will come" for any athlete, team, league, or sponsor looking to establish or enhance brand equity.  Social media marketing is no different than traditional off-line marketing in that it requires a well thought out strategy, devoted resources, and a budget targeted at a reaching a measurable goal for the individual or organization. With that said, social media's major advantages---the cost-to-creativity ratio and the ability to expand reach via an engaged audience (key word here is "engaged" but I'll explain more)---make this form of marketing so powerful that most athletes looking to enhance their salaries with fat endorsement checks should be asking their agency, management team, or friends and family why social media isn't a part of their overall marketing strategy.]]> http://activ8social.com/2010/05/03/5-reasons-pro-athletes-should-leverage-social-media/feed/ 2 http://activ8social.com/2010/01/09/2010-sports-and-social-media-predictions-revisited-with-examples/ http://activ8social.com/2010/01/09/2010-sports-and-social-media-predictions-revisited-with-examples/#comments Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:55:11 +0000 Steve Cobb http://activ8social.com/?p=964 A few weeks ago, I contributed to an e-book put together by fellow sports and social media enthusiast Jason Peck. The focus of my post was industry predictions for 2010 and given the nature of our work at Activ8Social, I decide to focus on individual athletes. I came up with three primary growth areas to keep an eye on: Promotions, Live Video, and Mobile. Over the past few weeks, I've noticed a few examples and decided to point them out to better demonstrate my predictions. Here's my original post, coupled with a recent example of each primary growth area. Drop me a line and let me know how you see sports and social media growing in 2010 (hopefully by leaps and bounds).]]> http://activ8social.com/2010/01/09/2010-sports-and-social-media-predictions-revisited-with-examples/feed/ 3 http://activ8social.com/2009/10/16/rondo-visits-the-troops/ http://activ8social.com/2009/10/16/rondo-visits-the-troops/#comments Sat, 17 Oct 2009 01:02:27 +0000 Steve Cobb http://activ8social.com/?p=431 Activ8Social wants to give a special shout out to Rajon Rondo, starting PG of the Boston Celtics, for taking the time to make a trip overseas and meet with injured US troops from Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan. Rondo and his family visited Ramstein Air Base in Germany before training camp. On his popular Facebook page, Rondo told fans "It was a humbling experience and i was just glad to be there for support and see the smiles on everyones face. Truly thankful."]]> http://activ8social.com/2009/10/16/rondo-visits-the-troops/feed/ 0