Sports Content Strategy with MrRichardClarke: Exploring sports content, journalism, digital and social media

TOPICS

2.23 Launching a new sporting concept. Why one franchise nearly got called Team McTeamFace

3.41 Arena Football v NFL

5.29 Playing two games in a day to tailor the League to esports and traditional TV broadcasters. 

6.35 Avoiding going head-to-head with NFL and College football  

7.40 How the fan control actually works. The crypto-asset that is being created

10.42 The coaches role in a fan-controlled football league

12.45 The funding model

14.10 How the league is distributed 

15.41 Being the real-life Madden game

16.50 The problems of having both team controlled by fans

19.09 How fans decide who they should follow when the teams are not linked to geography

21.05 Playing in a TV studio - the challenges 

24.31 The target audience 

26.03 How this sport has moved towards esport. 

26.34 Expanding the fan-controlled element beyond American football 

27.52 The open-source nature of the league including player data

29.19 Countering the "novelty" factor. Why they love the critics

30.48 Other forms of funding beyond crypto currency. Why ticketing will not be so important

32.40 The silence from the NFL and CFL so far. 

34.40 The technical challenge so far. That lead to a League in a box

35.58 The buy-in from the players

38.04 making the League attractive to players

38.37 The one, three and five year-plan 

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

TOPICS

0.00 Intro

1.49 Latimore introduces himself

2.45 Why boxing is so far down the list in his introduction

5.44 Latimore’s backstory – self-destructive behaviour, alcohol-abuse

8.02 Growing up in the projects in Pittsburgh and then positive peer-pressure

12.56 How he reached elite amateur level despite the hurdles

19.53 Fitting in the military service and the majors in physics and maths.

26.29 Having the self-confidence to start writing about self-help

29.19 The philosophy behind “Not caring about what people think of you is a super power”

34.18 Managing the ego when you are knocked out in the first round

41.24 Struggling to recover when you have written a self-help book on confidence

46.45 Trying to leverage his self-help, social media audience into his boxing business

49.45 Boxing’s struggles on social media as compared to WWE and UFC. Anthony Joshua’s success on social.

53.34 Working to develop small hall fighters on social media and sell tickets

55.54 The fight between YouTubers KSI v Joe Weller selling out one of the 2012 Olympic boxing venue

58.10 Growing his self-help brand out of the struggles he faces in boxing career

1.02.02 Where he can take his boxing career

1.08.45 Monetising his content. The economics of his books

1.11.41 His definition of success

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Colin Kelly is Director of Digital at a soccer team who are yet to play a game.

LAFC will kick-off their first MLS season in March 2018. But, unlike most of the recent expansion franchises, they are an entirely new club.

For the content team this one huge blank sheet of paper, when I spoke to Colin, he had barely met the playing staff.

Colin Kelly,  Director of Digital, LAFC

So, how do you create a fresh and engaging soccer tale in Tinseltown, the storytelling capital of the world? On the sporting front, two NFL teams have arrived in LA in recent years and one biggest names in US soccer is right on their doorstep

Still, LAFC have a star-studded ownership group, a nationally known-coach, a soccer-lovers stadium on the way and soaring ambition

But will they fly in the City of Angels?

0.45 Introduction

1.50 Colin’s describes his job

2.01 Not having a team to tell a story about. Finding a club philosophy.

2.30 “The story who are trying to tell is the city of Los Angeles. The city has become the hero”

3.43 Whether the story has come from the fans or the front office

4.33 What the fans want from their club? "They want openness, an authentic football experience in LA, a quality team"

5.01 The ready-made rivalry with LA Galaxy

6.44 How LAFC are trying to tell a different story to LA Galaxy on social media? "We decided we’d be true to the sport and true to the city. Those are our guardrails."

8.10 Building up the teams

8.29 The ownership of the incredible ownership group.

9.25 Not using Will Ferrell too much

9.45 Carlos Vela and the Hispanic market

10.41 Coach Bob Bradley and how he introduced himself to LAFC

11.21 Getting out into the community in LA

14.11  The construction of LA’s new stadium and “The Keyhole” allowing a view of downtown

Artist's impression of LAFC's stadium. see The Keyhole through the gap in the far corner

15.36 The English nature of the stadium

16.27 Creating content around stadium. A sweet and safe spot. For live webcams click here

17.28 The content plan for the home opener

18.42 The unique opportunity of starting a football club

19.15  Learning lessons from newer clubs Atlanta, Orlando, NYCFC etc

20.07 “I am not worried about our total number of followers. We are much more interested in engagement metric and I have buy-in from management in that.”

20.51 The development of supporter groups. The 19-year-old who started a group that is now the biggest LAFC possess

22.14 The early events that the club have created for supporters’ groups

23.06 Choosing the colours and the badge. The fans involvement

23.56 The story of wings in the badge

24.12 NFL returning to LA and the crowded market. "There has not been a new open-air stadium in downtown LA since 1963"

25.21 Why fans are easier to engage directly than the local media. "We have found that blogger and YouTubers fill the gaps"

27.17 The importance of the YouTube TV deal. “Strategically it looks well down the road and suits the demographics of cord-cutters"

27.59 How the deal works

28.28 Just passing 20,000 deposits for season tickets. “I imagine we are tracking well ahead of other MLS markets”

29.19 Plans to develop after year one. “17 home games is not enough to make a difference in their lives. Whether it is music, food art or fashion, we would like to be more than a soccer club and be part of the LA community”

30.05 The pressure to produce quality. "Content has to be good here in LA, people are watching very closely"

30.42 Growing the content department

31.23 Why LA are deliberately targeting Instagram

32.03 On the relief of final kicking off

32.56 Defining success for the club and the digital department in 2018. “We are not looking to win an award we are just looking to create meaningful content for our fans”

Website

Twitter 

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

When a footballer hangs up their boots, the news reports often read like obituaries. 

However, it is only one part of their professional career that has passed away. And, like any personal upheaval, the full ramifications are rarely felt until a good few months have passed.

Doyle's introduction at the Colorado Rapids

Kevin Doyle was forced to retire from football in September 2017 at the age of 34 after suffering complications over concussions. An intelligent, hard-working striker, his 16-year career including successful spells at Reading, Wolves and, in the US, where our paths crossed at the Colorado Rapids. Doyle also won 63 caps for Ireland, scoring 14, with the highlight being his involvement in Euro 2012.

Doyle’s decision to call time drew tributes laced a tinge of sadness, given the enforced nature of his retirement. But, a few months on, how is he feeling? How is he reassessing his life and career? Where is he going next? And how does it feel to be a former footballer?

0.00 Introductions

2.45 The story of Kevin’s retirement. 
“I found it hard, it was only advice... I was not an injury that stopped me running... The hardest part was the sudden nature”

5.12 Pushing against the macho culture of football
“I would have preferred to be told, 'no you are not on the pitch'... It took me four or five weeks to figure out what I was doing and take the advice... I was told that the next concussion won’t go away”

7.40 The statement that opened up a debate – deliberate or not?
“It was not the one concussion against LA, it had built up... Some of the earlier ones were concussions I just did not realise it at the time... You have to be truthful to yourself, the doctors can’t look inside your head”

11.10 The dementia issue and Alan Shearer’s documentary
“I laughed when I heard they were stopping headers in the US boys’ soccer”

12.57 What has he learnt about retiring from football
“Now all of a sudden I can’t function without diaries... I find it frustrating when people ask you what I am doing”

15.40 How much planning had been done ahead of time
“You are stupid if you are not planning from day one... I planned all long for this, but I had not planned for the day-to-day”

17.04 Taking opportunities to do different things
“I never thought I see players back in pre-season and feel I like to join in”

18.19 The problems that happen to athletes when they retire
“You try not to be stupidly spending. I hope I not been flash with my money, I don’t think I have... I was planning retirement when I was playing in the League of Ireland”

20.28 The loss of identity
“I never felt proud to say but yes I was proud to be a pro soccer player... No club is invested in your future now... I need something to have a reason, a reason to get up in the morning”

22.40 Learning the ropes of running a stud farm

24.25 Who has been contacting him since retirement
“I have had a couple of players contact me about the MLS... There was a lot of interest in the concussion issue. I have turned down as much as can”

25.50 Reaping the rewards of maintaining a positive reputation
“I have not been ringing people for favours, but I feel I could... I feel a connection with any club I played with for more than a year”

27.41 Is there a desire to paying your dues?

29.10 Getting your coaching badges and going back to the books
“I don’t know if I want to stay in football... Sometimes I think who wants to be a coach but who wants to move their family that much?”

30.21 The competitive nature of carving a career in television
“You don’t realise who much work you need to put in to talk for 10 minutes... It is not something that comes naturally, you have to work at it”

31.55 Criticising/analysing friends who are still playing
“That is something I would not like... As I get further away from the game, it will become easier”

32.55 Self-promotion, social media
“It was great for putting out my statement... I find it hard to use Twitter because people don’t get my humour”

34.20 Do you still like football?
“I would say that I am going to work, they would laugh at me... You can escape it a little bit more in the US...vIf I had finished in England it would be a bigger withdrawal symptom. I was weaned off. It has made for an easier transition”

37.01 Pushing against the temptation to cling on
“You trick yourself and you have to trick yourself... I am glad it came to an end at a good standard in front of loads of fans”

38.37 Looking back on his career
“No one from where I came from ever played for Ireland or went to the US... I am proud that I beat the odds and proved people wrong”

Kevin Doyle on Twitter

News of Kevin Doyle's retirement 

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

We are getting ready to rumble.

Anthony Joshua is fighting Joseph Parker at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on March 31 with three of the four heavyweight title belts on the line.

David Higgins, left, with Joseph Parker

On this edition of Sport: Digital and Social, I speak to Parker’s promoter David Higgins about how he managed to engineer a lucrative unification bout for his fighter when the chances seemed remote. Also how technology helped and hindered in that process, the counterintuitive nature of boxing PR, how and when the ‘trainwreck’ a press conference, his plans to unnerve Joshua, how the fight will secure Parker’s future and how David Higgins got into the boxing business.

1.35 David Higgins introduces himself

2.00 Parker’s background and the “dream on a whiteboard”

2.55 Why TeamParker have not “won the Lotto”

3.11 The timeline for Parker in the next few weeks

3.30 The unusual move of having a press conference calling for a fight

5.01 Fact-based v Trash talk in boxing PR

5.44 The "who’s dropped Joshua?" quiz

7.24 The three specific aims of the press conference

8.18 The perception problems from a poor Facebook presentation

Eddie Hearn's reaction

The Sun's coverage

11.02 The problems of putting a bounty for footage of anyone knocking down Parker

12.55 Deliberately “trainwrecking” a press conference to build a fight and make a contract stick

Video of David Higgins trainwrecking the press conference

16.15 The differing reactions from the English and the New Zealand media in relation to the tactic

17.26 The YouTube channels covering boxing who are scooping old-style new outlets and making a business

19.35 Predicting the rise of “renegade, guerrilla” outlets

20.56 Why boxing PR is counterintuitive - “you are belligerent, when they apologise”

21.00 The only boxer who verbally attacked Anthony Joshua at a pre-fight press conference

23.56 Crossing the line between stunts and publicity

27.04 Being criticised for tactics that have proved successful

27.34 How he got into boxing promoting. How he nearly went bankrupt once or twice. The “When We Were Kings” moment

31.14 How he set up New Zealand’s biggest pay-per-view event

32.34 Having only two fighters – both world champions – in their stable

35.13 Why they thought they had lost $1m and gone bankrupt until just before the event a record-breaking pay per view

35.52 Why boxing makes pay-per-view work and football cannot

39.21 The social good of boxing

41.12 Looking after Joseph Parker following his career.  The patronising question of a boxer's future

43.35 Hughie Fury v Parker – the story of the first world heavyweight title fight to be streamed live on YouTube

45.30 Managing Joseph Parker’s social media channels

46.10 The future for Parker if he beats Joshua

Duco Events

Joseph Parker

David Higgins

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Starting a sports digital agency is a dream for many people and arguably there has never been a better time set up on your own.

Luca Massaro

You are your own boss, you can be creative, work in sport and make good money. On the flipside, the responsibility is entirely on your shoulders and, right now, competition is particularly intense.

Luca Massaro took the plunge five years ago when he set up WePlay in London. In this podcast, we talk about how he assessed the market before launched, the character lessons he learnt, how they have had to change their offering, the crucial art of pitching for business and the qualities that brought them the Football Business Agency of the year award in 2017.

Small side I have set up an Instagram account for the podcast - SportDigitalandSocial. Feel free to chat to me there.

1.30 Luca’s background and how WePlay started

3.20 Becoming Sports Digital Agency of the Year in 2017

6.25 What character do you need to run an agency?

8.21 What agencies don’t have… and what you need?

9.20 How to pitch for business

11.20 Opening up the conversation

12.50 How the demands of clients have changed

15.50 Finding a product in what you can measure

17.56 Building out the team in response to demand

19.55 The mix of permanent and freelance staff

21.50 WePlay’s key case-studies - The case study with English Hockey

26.50 The Red Bull project

29.18 Early thoughts on Facebook’s algorithm change

31.59 Why ‘it is about time’ for GDPR

34.17 The way sport can benefit from GDPR

37.10 The relative strengths of the social media platforms at present

40.40 The plans to grow WePlay

Email: [email protected]

WePlay’s website

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

The Sport: Digital and Social podcast has not been going that long but I have already spoken to key personnel at some of the world’s biggest rights-holders.

However, this podcast is a little different.

Guerilla Cricket, and its previous incarnation Test Match Sofa, are challenging a long-established norms of broadcasting England's national sport.

This is not the cosy cake-filled commentary box of the BBC. It beers and banter in a basement flat plus humourous, sometimes sweary, jingles at major moments. (You’ll hear a few of those through this podcast).

Nigel Walker

But real innovation (not just copying and twisting) so often starts at this level and has to fight resistance from those in incumbent positions.

So is Guerrilla Cricket revolutionary new model for live commentary that could be rolled out across other sports? 

Or is it just a hobby that can only exist in its sporting niche?

Listen to this podcast with co-founder Nigel Walker, make up your own mind and let me know on @SportDigitalandSocial on Instagram @MrRichardClarke or my website MrRichard Clarke.com.

Topics

1.59: Nigel Walker introduces Guerilla Cricket

2.48: The toll taken by through-the-night commentaries on England in Australia

3.41: The backstory of Test Match Sofa and its transformation into Guerilla Cricket

5.38: Why The Cricketer Magazine bought Test Match Sofa and how it went wrong

7.38: The clash of culture   

10.10 Why their commentary is not illegal

11.25: The wider role that Guerilla Cricket in bringing a new audience to cricket. “Everyone wants to be a commentator and why can’t you be?”

13.10 The Guerilla Cricket audience and how they use social media.
Twitter “85% of the audience is 20-44”

15.04 Experiments in adding visuals with Facebook Live and YouTube

16.06 Hobby or Business. How they are looking to monetise. Why Patreon is better than Kickstarter for them

19.30: Looking for sponsors

21.15 Expanding this model out to other sports

22.30 The problems of success and growth when you are guerilla and amateur brand

25.30 What do Guerilla Cricket class as legitimation?

26.28 Branching out in different strands of cricket

27.19 Why not cover IPL?

28.10 Test cricket v T20 v ODI. One of them has to go!!!

28.53 Finding meaning in mini-series and where a Test championship fits in.

30.40 How it might work

31.20 The jingles. How they are created and how they are monetised

33.30 How technology changes have allowed the content to develop

35.50 Analysing the numbers. 
1m hours over the Ashes, 100k uniques

37.30 Listening on desktop and thoughts on an app. Their experience with Tune-In 

39.40 Why their audience hate ads despite the long-form nature of cricket

41.00 Product placement. “Ooo…pass me a can of Stella”

43.40 Why piracy of their stream is not a problem… far now

44.30 Are the cricket authorities still chasing Guerilla Cricket?

45.55 Why 2005 saw England regain the Ashes but lost much, much more

47.20 What the future holds for Guerilla Cricket? Can it survive? Reconciling the hobby v business battle

50.01 The motivation to make a new model work and prove that to the authorities

Reading list and links

Test Match Special row

English cricket governing body 'unlawful' in trying to freeze out sofa-based Test commentary team

An odd couple

Guerilla Cricket on Twitter

Nigel Walker on Twitter

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

We are told these days that athletes are “brands”.

Digital and social media has given them unprecedented tools of direct communication. So does that mean you can just find your audience, tell your story, engage your followers and then sponsorship dollars will roll in?

Ehsen Shah, MD of B Engaged, is guiding some major footballers through this particular opportunity/problem.

What they have to do, how they have to act, who they have to listen to and how they react to ‘haters’ or tough times on the pitch?

Topics breakdown 

1.48 Ehsen Shah introduces himself

2.07 The principles he applies to building a player’s brand

2.45 Handling different personalities like Mesut Ozil v Hector Bellerin

3.30 The background to B Engaged

4.34 How important is a player’s social media game?

5.30 Why even Cristiano Ronaldo needs social media skills

6.01 Coping with non-believers in sports social media

8.30 How the conversations with agents have changed

9.40 How Gareth Bale got ahead of the game

11.08 What analytics are sought by brands

13.02 The org chart of B Engaged

14.45 Why a commission approach leads to bad deals

16.02 How you contact a brand about sponsoring a player

17.37 Fitting a player with a brand. Taking the conversation beyond an email

18.52 The best players partnership he has done - Bang & Olufsen 

21.19 The timescale for the deal

22.20 The ROI. Driving from social media to the purchase point

23.19 Helping players cope with hater on social media

25.01 Posting for players v players posting themselves

28.04 Why Instagram is taking over in players’ minds. And why they ignore Twitter

30.45 The Andre Santos example

31.15 How the posting by players has changed because “no-one cares about the truth”. Threats to their family

33.10 Fans, the media and the changing nature of the sporting narrative

34.26 Coping with “focusing on football” and not going out

36:16 Filtering out the signal from the noise. Breaking down the sentiment analysis

37.32 Whether players will become competitive to brands and so should they share content?

40.20 Dealing with a club’s communications staff. What those conversations entail.

43.17 The future for player’s social media and marketing. What content will be produced? Netflix, Amazon etc

46.15 The platforms. Their strength and the problems of fitting in Snapchat 48.41 Where B Engaged might go and the countries they will develop into. Offline v Online opportunities.
 

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

In late 2017, Inter Milan announced a major innovation in their content capabilities.

The Serie A club hope Media House will be a revolution in the way they tell their story. I wanted to explore the concept a little further so I spoke to Inter’s Media Content Director Giuliano Giorgetti about how this famous old team is trying to change its culture for digital age.

The topics are listed below. Please click here to contact me about consulting, writing or speaking. And of course feedback on this episode.

1.30: Giuliano Giorgetti's background and current responsibilities at Inter

2.40: Why moving from AC Milan to Inter was a "rock'n'roll" choice

4.10: What is Inter's Media House and why is it so innovative?

6.32: The importance of speed and quality v quantity. The issue of being an "internal agency"

9.10: Giuliano's staff and his responsibilities

10.52: Inter's plans for VR and AR

14.02: The central role of Inter's app within CRM and data

16.45: The level of access and how they use it 

19.04: Why changing a culture is a "tiring opportunity"  

23:30: The internationalisation of Internazionale 

24.42: The specific plan in China

26.04: Why Inter TV is the spearhead for moving into Asia

27.07: Where should content be created? - In Milan or in-market  

28.09: Selling the city of Milan

29.15: Using history to attract future fans

31.58: Is Italian football on the rise again?

35.17: The short-term v long-term plan

36.04: The importance of success on the pitch 

37.01: The business of relationships 

📝 Check out my blog, here

🎙 Listen to my other podcast: Football Indonesia here

📰 Sign up to my digital sport newsletter, here 

📱 @MrRichardClarke on social:Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube

Mario Leo is one of the best analysts in sports digital and social media. His company, Result Sports, works with many of the biggest football clubs in the world crunching crucial numbers and much more. I went to visit him near Frankfurt to discuss the trends he noticed in social media among football clubs in 2017 and what we can expect in 2018.

We discussed: 

4:02: The changing balance between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram among major football clubs. And what it means?

8:43 Why Twitter  growth is very different to Facebook

10:19 Instagram v Facebook in reach and engagement

12:00 Does Instagram's super engagement break some well-worn rules?

13:25 Making use of the numbers correctly. Harvesting data is easy, getting the right data and understanding it is harder

14:50 Do the stats prove Instagram Stories is killing off Snapchat?

18:35 The problem of Snapchat’s ‘sameness’ and Instagram 60-second video limits

20:58 The sudden loss of Facebook followers by major football clubs (and why it is a good thing). And why “Facebook should be seen as a highlights channel”

24:57 Are we in an era of mandatory pay for reach?

26:10 Reach v Engaged Users. We know the latter is this most important metric but reach stats still have value at one level

29:40 The trick you need to pull off - talking to many but treating fans as individuals

30:40 The potential of clubs charging players for content

31:20 Are players more sexy than they have ever been compared to clubs and leagues?

32:35 How Neymar has turned Ligue 1 into a globally relevant league in digital terms

35:00 Is digital now the measure of a league’s relevance?

37:25 Why football clubs need to change their internal structure. Why La Liga’s recent approach 

40:10  The one continent that almost no clubs seems to target. But the one team taking an interest

41:38 Who is doing it right among the top clubs and who is getting the biggest 'bang for their buck' lower down

43:58 What about the middle-ranking clubs? Who is getting most ‘bang for their buck’?

45:50 How to plan your digital growth with strategic goals. The ‘lost’ digital opportunity of quick trips abroad

49:50 The changing nature of digital support with fans overseas

51:03 Why older fans can’t be turned and seven to eight-year-olds is the sweet spot

52:14 Rules of thumbs that Mario uses to interpret his statistics

53:30 The overlapping stats, Facebook v YouTube views, the downside of Twitter analytics

58:40 Why he regards Amazon as a social network

59:45 The three stages of football club development in social media - adoption 2006-11, optimization 2011-15, differentiation 2015-

61:00 Predictions for 2018

OTHER LINKS

Twitter competitions: TweetBinder

This graph shows the drop in Facebook following among Premier League clubs in November