Wallabies Brand Engagement and Reinvigoration Faced with falling levels of interest and attendance, rugby in Australia needed a reinvigoration in 2011. The Australian Rugby Union (ARU), the governing body for the sport in Australia, decided to leverage the annual Tri-Nations tournament as a platform to shake up communication and drive engagement with the Australian public….
Chris Conway
Author Archive | Chris Conway
Digital Advantage to the Australian Open
The Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament, which has reached half way stage as I write this, has built on the progress of previous years to establish a strong, recognizable and credible online brand. According to Sam Laird, in a recent post on the US website Mashable, the Australian Open ‘may just be the most…
The Greatest Show on Turf – The Rugby World Cup
The biggest sporting event on the planet this year – the Rugby World Cup (RWC) – starts later this week. The RWC is now big business and is the third largest sporting tournament in the world (after the Olympic Games and the FIFA Soccer World Cup). As many of our readers are based in countries…
The Powerful Reach of Sports Marketing
Today’s media environment is highly fragmented. For brands, the challenge of reaching consumers is becoming increasingly difficult. Even if a brand can reach its consumers, making them sit still and pay attention to the message is key. This is where sports is so powerful. Sports generates so much free publicity. Due to its live and…
The ‘Beautiful Game’ Goes Scientific
The beautiful game, football (soccer), has been undergoing a quiet revolution in the land of its birth – England. English clubs have always sent football talent scouts the length and breadth of the country and further afield too. Decisions on footballing matters and transfers were once based on nothing more than a hunch, a gut…
A Sports Brand is More Than a Logo
A brand is so much more than a logo and name and this applies to all organizations, sports or otherwise. One good definition of brand is by best-selling American author and marketer Seth Godin who states: “A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision…
5 sports marketing lessons from Lady Gaga
Lady Gaga created a phenomenally successful web spectacle for her recent album Born This Way, which was launched on May 23. Utilizing a host of inventive methods, Lady Gaga has leveraged digital marketing and social media to create a deep engagement with her fans and promote and sell her album. It looks like these methods…
5 Business Lessons from FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona’s success both on and off the field speaks for itself. There are at least 5 important lessons that modern businesses can learn from the Catalan football (soccer) club. On the pitch, the Catalan club recently won the Spanish First Division La Liga for the 21st time, its 3rd consecutive title. On May 28th,…
The Success of World Team Tennis
Sportsnetworker often features stories and posts from the multi-million dollar global sporting industry. The last few entries have looked at massive sporting brands such as the NFL, NBA and Manchester United. There are, however, many successful sporting properties that have carved a niche for themselves– even without big budgets. These properties function not necessarily off…
Seve’s Spanish Sporting Legacy
On May 7th the sporting world lost of one its finest ambassadors. Golfing legend Severiano ‘Seve’ Ballesteros sadly passed away at his home in Pedrena, Cantabria, Spain. Ballesteros, diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2008, was aged 54. Seve’s golfing record speaks for itself. The Spaniard won five Majors – three British Opens (‘79, ‘84…
Manchester United Modernizes Corporate Communications
Manchester United last week confirmed that it has appointed Jon Tibbs Associates (JTA), a leading PR agency, to assist with its communications. You might wonder why the highly successful soccer club has made such an appointment. While United is still enjoying success on the pitch, all is not well off. The club, realizing this, is…
Is 3D Technology Here to Stay in Sports Broadcasting?
Two recent announcements would suggest that 3D technology in sports broadcasting is here to stay. Last week, rugby union, which stages its seventh World Cup in just over 140 days’ time, appointed 3DLive as Official 3D Broadcaster for the New Zealand tournament. The Auckland-based company will deliver a live 3D feed of the Rugby World…