I strongly believe that all companies, regardless of size, should support blogging on multiple levels, because a blog should be the sliding glass door to the soul of an organization. In sports, it’s even more true. Not only is it a great opportunity to engage with fans, but it’s also a mechanism to increase avidity. In sports, fans dwell at varying levels of fandom that often magnifies when a team is winning, and wanes when a team is loosing. Unfortunately, when a team leaves it to just what happens on the field, they are at a competitive disadvantage. Embracing blogging about the team in various areas will aid in the area of mimicking winning.

Just because a team may have lost in their arena of play, it doesn’t mean they are losing in all areas of the organization. It’s an owner’s job to make sure all areas of the franchise are being represented properly and receiving proper accolades. The more fans know about what an organization is achieving, the more effectively they can drive fan avidity. I fully understand that the players, coaches, and performance on the field has a dramatic effect on the fans who follow the team, but if that area is lacking, a team shouldn’t just throw up its arms in defeat.

This is why all owners, some executives, coaches, players, and designated personnel at the team should be blogging on different perspectives of the organization. The transparency they provide will help fans connect on multiple levels beyond what is happening on the field. These multiple touch points to the organization will add layers of devotion from groups of fans that will aid in solidifying lasting relationships beyond wins and losses. Many teams have found other mechanisms to do just that; however, blogging should not be over-looked. Blogging will increase fan avidity.

So if that is the “Why” teams should blog, what are the “Who” and the “What” of blogging at a team? Here are this former team CMO and sports broadcaster’s thoughts on who from a team should blog and what they should cover:

1) Owners: All owners need to take the elevators down from their ivory towers and luxury suites and write a post on a regular basis to inform fans about what is happening at the team. The owner should cover the complete depth and range of the team to provide insight on all aspects of the club. The topics should range from interaction with players to a new marketing initiative or charitable endeavor. The buck stops with the ownership. Giving fans the owner’s perspective about what is happening at a team will not only provide a unique view into the team, but will also endear ownership to the fans, as long as the writing is genuine and not full of team spin. You have a PR department, let them put the spin out there ~ you should be real.

2) Business Executive: There should be blog posts from someone on the pure business side of things letting fans know what is going on, why moves were made, or why there were changes to programs and initiatives. This communication with the fans should provide a deeper understanding of why the organization has made certain decisions. Executives may feel they would be giving up trade secrets, but the reality is that once the deal or decision is made, you are better off talking about it than to leave it up to others to speculate. The information and transparency will actually give you more control over the message. Again, as long as it’s not purely PR.

3) Coach and Players: There also should be posts from coaches and players discussing various elements of what the team was trying to accomplish in practice, in the field of play, and in the community. This should not be the sound bites that you hear on the news or the stats of the game; that’s what reporters are for. This is the perspective from those actually in the action, what was seen while a play was unfolding, why a play was called, why assignments were missed. This should include more in-depth details that do not make it to the news reports. I know this is treading on sacred ground, and many coaches like to play it close to the vest, but you are smart guys who know plenty of details that are interesting to fans that do not compromise your chance of winning or take away the edge.

I think if you have some combination of those three groups, letting folks deeper into the hallways of the organization, you will find fans not only engaging and embracing the team more, you will also see more loyalty from them in the tough times. Many organizations have PR information, internal news vehicles, in-house shows, and other ways to share information; those should continue because they serve a purpose for fans and are great ways to share information, but all teams should go deeper with more intimate ways to portray the organization, and blogging is a fantastic way to accomplish just that. If you let them in, they will most likely stay for the long haul.

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About Lou Imbriano

Lou Imbriano studied at Boston College, where he is now a Professor of Sports Marketing, before he began his career as Executive Sports Producer at WHDH in 1987. Between 1997 and 2006 he was Chief Marketing Officer of The New England Patriots. He held the position of Chief Operating Officer at MLS club, New England Revolution between 2001 and 2005.Since 2006 Imbriano has been President and CEO of TrinityOne, a Marketing Strategy and Business Advisory Consultancy that helps businesses, particularly in the sports industry, to attain and retain customers.

Lou is also an advisory board member of iSportconnect.

Lou Imbriano’s twitter: @LouImbriano

Lou Imbriano’s

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Field Fisher Waterhouse solicitor and sports law expert, abortion Daniel Geey talks exclusively to iSportconnectTV about the Financial Fair Play rules coming into force in the Football League at the beggining of the 2012/2013 season.

Daniel also talks to us about what this will mean for relegated Premier League sides and potential implications on clubs finances, generic from transfer fees to wage levels. 

With the introduction of FFP showing a huge shift in football economics, this video explores the background and future of the rule changes. With sides such as Portsmouth, Southampton and Leeds in recent years experiencing financial difficulties, this topic is massively important to the future of our game and needs to be explored fully.

We also ask Daniel about the likely consequences of breaking the FFP rules for clubs, with punishments mentioned from heavy fines to transfer embargos. 

The Football League wants the clubs to get their economic houses in order, with recent sponsorship deals such as the ITV digital breakdown still leaving clubs feeling the effects 10 years on. Daniel gives great insight into the reasons for Financial Fair Play.

Watch part 1 of the video

Watch part 2 of the video

 

Norwich City Chief Executive Jez Moxey has resigned from his role at Carrow Road, around six months after his appointment.

The 53-year-old replaced former Chief Executive David Mcnally, who resigned late in a 2015-16 season which ended in Norwich’s relegation from the Premier League.

Moxey had previously spent 16 years as CEO of Wolverhampton Wanderers, and prior to that held a simlar role at Stoke City.

Finance Director Steve Stone will again serve as Interim Chief Executive, while the Club searches for a new appointment.

The Canaries currently sit 10th in the Championship table, three points off the play-off positions. 

Location: Jacksonville, USA

Closing Date: February 23, 2017

Overview:

Note: When you apply for this job online, you will be required to answer the following questions:

1. Describe your experience with odigital media; html, css, javascript, php, python, and ruby coding; adobe creative suite; app development & design; digital media campaigns across websites, social media, blogs and other digital platforms
2. Desribe your experience with an agency, entertainment company, and/or a professional sports team/league
3. Describe your experience with advertising serving, analytics, tracking, optimization of digital media such as doubleclick for publishers, and other ad serving platforms
4. Why do you want to work for the Jacksonville Jaguars?

Today SPORTELAmerica, the Sports Marketing & Media Convention to be held in Miami from 14 to 16 March 2017, released the list of currently confirmed companies, which is followed by weekly updates.  Find out who’s attending SPORTELAmerica 2017 ! Download the SHORTLIST OF CONFIRMED COMPANIES You can register as Press HERE

Bernard Laporte, who was recently named President of the French Rugby Federation, has committed to the nation making a bid to host the 2023 Rugby Union World Cup.

Laporte, who has been in his role less than three weeks, has already made a big impact on French rugby.

He has halted plans to construct an 82,000-seater Rugby stadium in Paris, as well as recently announcing that the French team was to stop calling up ‘foreign’ players for international duty.

France will compete with Ireland and South Africa to host the 2023 World Cup, with Laporte stating, ”we aim to showcase France’s wonderful major event credentials to host the most beautiful event in world rugby”.

Manchester United is today announcing a global partnership with Mlily as their first ever Official Mattress and Pillow Partner in a five-year deal.

Mlily, cialis leading mattress and pillow brand of Shanghai-based Healthcare Ltd. Co, will work with staff at the Aon Training Complex, where their mattresses will also be used in the Complex’s existing sleeping pods. 

The company believes the partnership will strengthen the brand and enhance further its recognition. Mlily’s brand is also visible on league matchdays at Old Trafford, featuring on United’s digital perimeter boards. 

“Mlily has an established track record of producing a high quality product. We want to make the best use of the latest technology and expertise that can help our team, which in this case is the sleep and recovery of players,” said Manchester United Group Managing Director Richard Arnold,

“A global partnership with us will certainly help Mlily achieve its global ambitions and bring a high quality product to our worldwide family of fans. We look forward to working together.”  

James Ni, founder of Mlily, commented, “We have been active in multiple channels of the bedding industry for several years. Our experience along with our commitment to producing high quality mattresses and pillows has resulted in stress free sleep and healthier lives for customers. These results are now available to Manchester United’s players and will find a wider audience due to our global partnership.”

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Minsk, Belarus is set to host the 2019 European Games, the president Alexander Lukashenko confirmed.

The Netherlands was originally chosen to host the tournament, but pulled out before the first edition of the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan citing financial reasons.

“We are not a superpower but we pay a lot of attention to sport,” said Lukashenku, stressing Azerbaijan’s ability to organise a top sporting event, “I want our European organisation to be as good as the organisations of other continents, including the International Olympic Committee. In this regard I am a nationalist and a patriot.

The last edition of the Games saw Baku spend $1.2bn (£700m), and despite the Danish Olympic Committee asking to postpone the decision due to a lack of clarity over financing, the decision for Minsk to host was passed easily with 43 Olympic committees voting in favour of the motion.

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