Digital Media Cafe Blog Week 13 – David Granger
March 27, 2014
Hello and welcome to this week’s Digital Café. In this edition we’re going to take a look at how Barcelona marked a Messi milestone, how the new Formula One season is shaping up and the social media of gymnast Sam Oldham.
News Gathering: Storify & Soccer Stars
The idea behind Storify is a clever one: it gathers together social conversations around a topic and you stream them through your website. While it’s been around for a while and there are other aggregation systems available, Storify probably does it best. And it was put to good use by Barcelona recently when Messi made club history becoming the club’s highest scorer. They marked his 371 goals for Barcelona via a stream on their website recording players’ response and congratulations to the win against Osasuna and Messi’s achievements. The aggregation of social content is only going to increase and it will be interesting to see how other teams and athletes use content generated by third parties to boost their own output.
Martini Re-Joins F1
The 2014 F1 season has got off to a controversial, if slightly quieter start. New rules and regulations are already tripping teams up, while the fans’ reaction to the new, weaker engine noise has been less than enthusiastic. What was welcomed back though was Martini. The smart livery on the Williams F1 team means the UK squad not only has the best looking car in the pitlane but also marks the return of a brand with a long motorsport heritage. Owned by Barcardi, the drinks company has signed a five-year, $15m per season deal. Stressing its commitment to responsible drinking, Martini has also committed to sharing content about Williams and its drivers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter ahead of every race. Like all these partner social media activations, it will be interesting to see what content and insight they offer compared to the team itself.
World Cup Warm-up
Another event which is warming up in terms of digital activation is the World Cup. Already Castrol have signed up Neymar to front its summer campaign, while Gillette have Messi and Coke have American pop star David Correy. Coke, as it did with its London 2012 Move to the Beat series, is focusing on music for Brazil 2014. It has an anthem: The World Is Ours and is asking fans to submit clips via social media of their ‘moments of happiness’ and 20 of the best will feature in the song’s video. The beauty of social for brands however, and the dilemma for official sponsors is that now everyone can get in on the act without the need to be official partners. And with broadcasters such as ITV in the UK offering live ads during games, second screen takeovers and broadcast adverts which incorporate the music app Shazam, digital marketing using smartphones and tablets has blown the whole thing wide open.
Athletes Getting It Right: Sam Oldham
Sam Oldham is a gifted athlete. In 2006 he had to choose between offers of playing football for Derby County or Nottingham Forest or pursuing a career in gymnastics. And East Midlands football loss was gymnastics gain. Since then he’s competed at international level and was part of the British Olympic medal-winning team in 2012. What Oldham also does incredibly well is social media. And he makes it social as well. Anyone who posts an image of themselves with their head in a cardboard box into which he’s strapped an iPad and called it a DIY home cinema is worth checking out.
Joining The A Team: Mr T Enters Hall of Fame
And finally perhaps the event we have all been waiting for: The A Team’s Mr T is the latest addition to the WWE Hall of Fame. So, Hulk Hogan’s former tag partner and Rocky’s nemesis has the recognition he deserves. Is this sport? Is it digital? Well there’s a YouTube clip which says it is.
