Why free-to-air television matters in the next media rights deal

Australians are obsessed with sport and through sport Australia has established itself in the world, separate itself from England and gained new business opportunities.

Back in November 2012, the Football Federation Australia (FFA) announced a four-year television deal worth $40 million per season, four-year deal, which expires at the end of June 2017, allowed Fox Sports to show all matches live. SBS has rights to show one Friday match live each week and the finals series on delay.

Last year, Football Federation Australia were confident they could secure a large increase in the value of the rights, potentially $80 million per year in the next broadcast rights deal. Furthermore, in March 2016, FFA released its strategic plan for 2016-19 with a sharp focus on audience growth and fan engagement in order to drive commercial revenue.

Therefore, David Gallop signed Tim Cahill as the Guest Marquee Player because Gallop believed Tim Cahill can bring fans to the stadium, improve Television ratings. On the weekend, Tim Cahill did just that! Cahill’s unbelievable goal from outside the box in his Melbourne City debut on Saturday night went viral on digital platforms and media around the world. This provided the A-League with much needed earned media in this extremely competitive football code industry. In addition, two rounds into the season, A-League crowds are already up 33% and television ratings are up 44%.

In the interest of audience growth and fan engagement, it is critical for our football games to be on “free to air” channel e.g. Channel 7. This will generate awareness and build attraction among non-football fans because sporting fans will be available to watch the football games on their television or mobile devices without a pay-tv subscription. Through the entertainment and unpredictability of the football games, it will create audience growth for the A-League. Sporting fans will enhance their attraction toward a certain team because of their team performance on-the-field or off-the-field. Furthermore, generate more fan engagement with the A-League club and their supporters since the game is more accessible.

In 2013, Network Ten paid $100 million for BBL Broadcasting rights over five years. Earlier this year, BBL crowned Australia’s best rating competition. Boasting a national average audience of 1.1 million viewers on Network Ten, the BBL has soared above the Australian Football League and National Rugby League, who average 804,000 and 887,600 per match on free-to-air television respectively. This number will decrease when the A-League is on free-to-air and is competing with BBL for viewers time and match attendance.

On 2 January 2016, the BBL single match attendance record was surpassed, with a crowd of 80,883 watching the Melbourne derbies between the Melbourne Stars and the Melbourne Renegades at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Is Melbourne the sporting capital of the world?

Melbourne has branded itself as the “sporting capital of the world”. Unfortunately, Melbourne is not the sporting capital of the world because Melbourne lacks big sport organisations like Real Madrid and Manchester United. Furthermore, Melbourne doesn’t have a global celebrity sports star such as Stephen Curry or Serena Williams. However, Melbourne is the best place to watch sports and is one of the best hosts in international sporting events. The most well known sporting events are the Australian open tennis and the Formula one Grand Prix.

Melbourne also invests in one-off sporting tournaments and events such as the ICC World Cup, Asian Cup, Liverpool vs Melbourne, UFC 193. Ronda Rousey vs Holly Holm and more. This clearly shows Melbournian have a strong passion for sporting events and through the purchase of these big international events, Melbourne is able to reinvent and market itself to the world. The aim of these investments is to increase tourism, boost the economy in Victoria and brand Melbourne on the world’s sporting stage. Throughout the Australian Open, Formula one Grand Prix and sporting events there were “Melbourne” signage everywhere: on and off the field. This is to remind the international viewers that the tournament is held in Melbourne and create top of mind awareness for Melbourne. This is to set up Melbourne as the city for international sports.

In 2013, the Melbourne Cricket Ground hosted a friendly football game between European giant Liverpool FC and A-League champion Melbourne Victory. Resulted in over 95,000 attended that were the biggest crowd Liverpool has ever played in front of. This clearly shows Melbourne can host international sporting events.

In 2015, Organised by TLA worldwide Bart Campbell, Melbourne hosted three football games between the three clubs that are in the top 20 richest clubs in the world. They were Manchester City, Roma and Real Madrid. The game between Manchester City vs Real Madrid was played in front of 99,382, which broke the MCG football record for attendance. This indicates that Melbourne is a great city to watch sport and do sports business.

Therefore, Melbourne is not yet the sporting capital of the world. Maybe one day… However, Melbourne is the world’s best city to do international sports business. Because of Melbourne’s ability to buy and host international sporting events. Melbourne is able to reinvent and market itself to the whole world simultaneously increase tourism, boost the economy in Victoria branding Melbourne.

Social media guide for business owners 2016

By John Huang

Social media is growing and in fact, 93% of Australian has a Facebook account. A social media platform is free to set up however it takes time and effort; thus it is a journey for organisations. Social media can be a road to increase brand equity and customer loyalty or go the other way if manage poorly. Therefore, I hope my social media guide will help you to your journey of success.

Before you start, here are 5 things you should consider before starting out.

1. Secure the real estate – Account and group names on social each social media platform you are planning to use. There were businesses that struggled when their “official” names are already taken. Therefore, before you create your social media plan, you need to secure your real estate.

2. To earn community attention, offer real value – Think in your customers’ shoe, what do they like to see and which social media platforms do they use?

3. Mistakes and complaints will happen – It is inevitable to avoid negative comments and issues. Therefore, how you respond to them is critical.

4. Learn – Research on what your competitors are doing on social media, what content is appealing to their customers in term of likes and comments.

5. Plan! – Your social media platforms need to have a consistent brand presentation. It should create synergy with other integrated communication elements.

Next step is to choose which social media you want to establish. The most popular social media and how to evaluate success are listed below:

Blog – According to Kaplan, this type of social media are special types of websites that usually display date-stamped entries in reverse chronological order. This is useful for increasing brand awareness and to encourage comments and engagement with your customers. Furthermore, Kaplan found that one of the main reason for customers to visit blogs is to express their disappointment with company’s offering. Therefore, small business owners must plan a way to address these matters when arrives.

Key metrics – Audience growth – unique and return visitors, subscriber growth.

Facebook – enables your business to engage with influencers, promote upcoming events, increase brand awareness and customer acquisition. Furthermore, you can add competitors names to the moderation blocklist!

Key metrics – Number of followers, likes, engagement and comments, shares and new followers. 

Twitter – Allow your business to listen and respond to relevant conversations in real time. You can use hashtags, especially for your events. Furthermore, communicate issues with your customers to support team and ensure follow-up.

Key metrics – Followers, mentions, retweets, favourited tweets and impressions.

Pinterest – This platform enables you to share a mix of relevant imagery to raise brand awareness and engagement. Furthermore, it can create customer acquisition.

Key metrics – Pins, repins, followers, purchase from pin. 

Youtube, Vimeo, Vine, Instagram video – Online video platforms that allow your business to showcase your brand culture, personality, and products/services to potential and current customers.

Key metrics – Views, share, page ranking on Youtube from key terms.

Instagram, Tumblr, Flickr, Snapchat – Photo sharing sites that are beneficial to showcase your marketing events, your products to increase brand awareness and engagement.

Key metrics – Likes, shares, comments, referral traffic and view of photos.

 

My advice is to start small, go with quality over quantity. You may think social media is free and easy to implement. However, social media is time-consuming and require quality content and constant monitoring in order to become successful.

 

Reference

Kaplan.A, Haenlein, M (2010) Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media, Kelly School of Business

SEO vs PPC, Which is better?

By John Huang 

We all want more people to visit our website and when it comes to increasing online traffic, you must be on the first result page of Google. According to a study by online ad network Chitika, Google results on the first page get 92% of traffic for the average search.

This is done by using Search Engine Marketing (SEM) to fight for that top spot on Google. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is promoting an organisation through search engines to meet its objectives by delivering relevant content in the search listings for searchers and encouraging them to click through to a destination site.

You have two basic techniques: Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click.

• SEO is a structured approach used to increase the position of a company or its products in search engine natural or organic results listings for selected keywords or phrases.

• PPC is a relevant text ad with a link to a company page is displayed on the Search engine result pages when the user of a search engine types in a particular phrase. A fee is charged for every click of each link, with the amount bid per click determining its position

Basically, the main difference between Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Pay Per Click (PPC) is that web traffic coming from SEO is free and organic while web traffic generated from PPC is not free. You have to pay a fee per click and have your website displayed next to or below the sponsored results.

So which approach is better for you or your business?

It depends on time and budget. If you are tight on budget than invest time in getting high search ranking through SEO. In contrast, if you want more traffic fast and have the money to pay for it, then PPC could be the one for you.

Why Internet of things matters to virtual reality

By John Huang

I recently read an article on “is your refrigerator spying on you”. Which makes me think of Internet of things and how devices in our everyday live will become smarter and may or may not spy on us.

According to the definition, Internet of things is the pervasive presence of a variety of devices, which, through unique addressing schemes, are able to interact and cooperate with each other to reach common goals. Simply put, it is about connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet. For example, smartphones, headphones, wearable devices and etc. In 2015, there was estimated 5 billion devices connected to the Internet. By 2020 this number will go up to 26 billion connects smart object, devices, cars, satellites and etc. Thus, anything that can be connected will be connected.

In a recent survey, 83% of experts answered yes to: “will the Internet of Things have widespread and beneficial effects on the everyday lives of the public by 2025”. Most of them said, the Internet of things and wearable computing will progress significantly between now and 2025. One of these devices is virtual reality.

VR is at its introduction stage of its product lifecycle, with big companies entering the market (Facebook, PlayStation) and technologies being ready to support it. Virtual Reality is about to enter people’s homes. Did you know? Virtual reality was introduced in the 1960s and failed because technology enablers were not there! So how does Virtual Reality relate to the Internet of Things? Well, what makes today’s and future VR device so successful is the ability to connect to the Internet.In order to have a virtual reality experience, you need animations, sound, images and so on. Furthermore, to make this work in a shared social environment and allow people to experience it in real time, it will take a lot of power and speed.

This is  why Internet of things matters to virtual reality.

 

Benefits of mobile marketing for sport clubs

By John Huang

Did you know? It took only 5 years for smartphone devices to reach 1 BILLION users? The smartphone devices are so useful and reliable. Users can use it to discover, learn and share. Google refer this as micro-moments, which suggest users are increasingly relying on their mobile devices for entertainment and to make better decisions in their lives. Since users are living in a now and on-the-go moment.

According to 2015 Sensis Social Media Report, 79% of Australians access the internet daily. (Figure 1) 70% of users access via a mobile device. (Figure 2). While many organisations are investing in multi-channel marketing campaigns such as print, tv, radio to reach consumers, mobile is still largely under value.

So, What is mobile marketing?

Mobile marketing is about connecting & engaging with customers through and with mobile. Also, mobile marketing is different to traditional marketing because it is more personal, interactive, time relevant and location independent.

Mobile marketing can enhance the communication between sporting teams and their fans. In return, help their fans to maintain interest on and off-season, attend games, and buy club merchandise and memberships. For sports organisations having a large fan base will attract more and bigger sponsors, thus more revenue for the club.

Currently, fans are increasingly accessing their mobile devices to enhance their match-day experience. Throughout the game, fans are tuning in for real-time updates, social media, and live stats. This can turn into business opportunities for marketers and advertisers. By putting information at fan’s fingertips, it helps fans to develop a better relationship with their club.

An example of mobile marketing is to send club news to supporters via text or notification via club app. Club news on the latest team schedule/signings, injury news, player stats, contests, giveaway and ticket promotions.

Here’s my example of Ticket Promotions

One way to increase match attendance is to run an opt-in text message in their home stadium programs or on their social media sites “text Victory” to 131313 for a 5% discount to this week’s game plus a chance to win TWO free tickets for the next home game!

Besides ticket promotions, teams have games and live polls in the stadium to enhance the match day experience. Ultimately, sporting teams use mobile marketing to provide an interactive experience for fans and spectators. Give them extra opportunities to become more involvement with their team, to become active participants in stadiums rather than just a bystander.

Lastly, sports teams can analyse these data to gain more knowledge on what their fans and spectators want and what levels of engagement they seek.

Thank you for reading my blog,

Comment below, if you know/heard any successful or very bad mobile marketing done by sporting clubs.

Click here to read how Cleveland Cavs generated $200,000 in revenue after implementing a mobile marketing program.

 

Figure 1

Figure 2

 

 

 

Which type of Facebook user (segment) are you?

By John Huang

Facebook users undertake activities in the creation of content and consumption of content. Facebook content such as status update posts, pictures and comments are considered to be content creation. However, higher emphasis on original content rather than a comment.

Likewise, Facebook consumption is about browsing posted content, pictures, liking them, share and etc.

Based on the level of creation and consumption, four different Facebook segments emerged:

To find out which segment you belong, give yourself a “0” for No, “1” for sometimes and “3” for Of course! Then tally your score to see which category you score the highest.

Attention Seeker

• Do you like to post highlights of events you have attended?

• Do you comment more on your own post than your friends?

• Do you prefer to post pictures rather than text updates?

Facebook Devotee

• Do you find that there are many benefits of using Facebook?

• Can Facebook provide you with relief from some of your life worries?

• Do you lose track of time while on Facebook?

Entertainment Chaser

• Do you believe Facebook is a great way to escape boredom and consuming entertainment content?

• Do you like to use it to see what everyone is up to?

• Do you repeatedly access the site for a short burst of time?

Connection Seeker

• Do you tend to be on Facebook during the evenings and over the weekend?

• Do you frequently comment on your friends’ posts and updates and have small contents on your wall?

• Is your personal update generally limited to important life events?

Are you surprised by the result? Comment below, on which segment you belong to?

Attention seekers – Primary motivation for using Facebook is to garner the admiration, appreciation and even jealousy of their Facebook friends. Post “Me” content, highlighting what is happening in their day-to-day lives. They like to post pictures with or without captions, as opposed to text-only status update.

Entertainment chasers – Mainly use social media to escape boredom by finding and consuming small burst of entertaining content.

Devotees – High level of involvement with Facebook. Use Facebook to gain emotional and moral support from their friends. They like to post text status updates rather than pictures.

Connection seekers – Connecting with friends and family is the main reason for using Facebook.

Reference

Monica Alexandra Hodis, Rajendran Sriramachandramurthy & Hemant C. Sashittal (2015): Interact with me on my terms: a four segment Facebook engagement framework for marketers, Journal of Marketing Management