They chatted about why the Stampeders got involved in social media, the StampsConnect social media aggregated website, concerns they had when first starting, how they manage all of their online assets, contests and promotions they have ran to encourage participation and provide value for sponsors and future plans for their social media efforts.

StampsConnect

In June 2009, the Stampeders launched a website called StampsConnect (http://stampsconnect.com) that pulls in content from popular social websites including YouTube, Twitter, Flickr based on “keywords” “tags” and “hashtags”.  The website also incorporates Facebook Connect to allow fans to comment on and share their favorite videos and photos with their Facebook friends.

Mike explained that they pursued development of the StampsConnect website to enhance the fan experience and to provide a platform which fans could contribute to its success.  At first, there were concerns that the website might not be received well, but Mike explained that the site has been a tremendous success and will continue to be a big part of their marketing efforts in years to come.

Social Media Strategy (Management)

Mike also shared some insight on how they manage their main website (http://stampeders.com), the StampsConnect website and all of their social accounts.  Again, I have to commend Mike for his foresight in crafting a “Social Media Flowchart” (see below) to assist his staff in understanding how all of their marketing efforts tie together. Of course, every team, league or organization would require their own unique “Social Media Strategy”, but the diagram attached below gives you a visual representation of how the Calgary Stampeders currently manage their online assets.

Mike (and one other person) currently oversee the management of all of their social media accounts.  However, there is a team of people that are responsible for the collection, editing and distribution of content including videos, photos and blog articles.  Even though the premise of the site is to leverage user (fan) generated content, the Stampeders have made a point to upload current, behind the scenes content so that there is always new, engaging content on the site to keep people coming back and to encourage participation.

So, to summarize how this chart works, the Calgary Stampeders main website (http://stampeders.com) is (and always will be) the main source of detailed information for Stampeders fans.  StampsConnect, is focused on providing everything else a fan would want from their team including behind the scenes videos, photos and tweets.  And, of course, since StampsConnect pulls properly tagged content from YouTube, Flickr and Twitter, it is also a great source of information from the “Fans” perspective.

As Mike mentions in the video, the StampsConnect website has not caused a whole lot more work with regards to time commitment for him and his staff.  The reason for this is that many of the features listed on this flowchart have been automated.  For example, when they update their News & Blogs section on Stampeders.com, it automatically updates on StampsConnect.  And, when they upload a new video to YouTube, the video is also posted to their Facebook Fan Page and tweeted out from their official “CalStampeders” Twitter account.

I believe many teams are unaware that this type of automation can be setup and, of course, there are new FREE tools being developed every day to make social media account management easier and more effective.

Online Contests & Sponsorship

The last thing Mike discussed in the video is the way they have incorporated contests and sponsorship activation through StampsConnect and their social accounts.  In particular, the Stampeders have ran weekly contests this season encouraging fans to submit their content to be entered to win a Sirius Radio.

Photo Contest

During home games, they have asked fans to email their photos to a unique email address (stampsconnect@stampeders.com) that is setup to automatically send the photos to their Flickr account.  This Flickr account, has been setup to automatically pull into StampsConnect, so, it is an easy way for everyone to participate in the contest (after all……just about every cellphone out there has the ability to take photos and send email).

Twitter Contest

During away games, the Stampeders have asked fans to follow and participate in their Twitter conversation on StampsConnect.  In this case, fans are asked to retweet any of their many exclusive live game updates (from their live play by play tweets from @calstampeders) as well as posting their own unique tweets.  This contest encourages fans to engage in the conversation about the Stampeders on Twitter and in turn, drives traffic to StampsConnect.

Both are great examples of ways teams can tie in their social media efforts to their live game day promotions. And, because they are engaging fans and asking them to participate, they are providing much more value to their sponsor (Sirius Radio) than they could through a static advertisement in their game program or on a sideline sign.

Conclusion

In summary, the Calgary Stampeders are continuing to lead the way when it comes to experimenting with social media.  Mike and his team are continuously coming up with new creative ways to engage their fans and provide value for their sponsors.  There are a number of great ideas planned for the offseason and next years football season involving more “real time” content delivered thru StampsConnect, Stampeders.com and their social accounts.

The biggest thing that other teams and leagues can learn from the Stampeders is that participation in social media does not have to come at a huge expense, but properly crafting a “Social Media Strategy” will provide much more value to everyone involved. As Kathleen Hessert (President – Sports Media Challenge) says “Experience does not equate to Expertise”. So, by first becoming educated on the benefits of social media, then participating in the conversations online, teams will be in a position to take advantage of the value social media can provided.  Engaging fans and leveraging the fact that key influencers online can help build their brand, teams can see the real “ROI” that they are after including more tickets being sold, more merchandise being bought and new sources of revenue generated.

We met them the night before the Washington Capitals home opener at the Baltimore Orioles game after finding them using the “Nearby” feature on Tweetie (Twitter iPhone application).  Their story was the perfect example of how social media can connect fans with their favorite leagues, teams and other fans.

In this video, we show how we found them at the Orioles game using Twitter which eventually led to an interview at Camden Yards.  We then chatted the following day in front of Capital Hill in Washington, DC to award them the Washington Capitals tickets.  Finally, we put together a short piece that shows the excitement around the Washington Capitals home opener and wrap things up with a conversation at the game with our winners. Needless to say, the Washington Capitals and the NHL have inherited 3 new fans thanks to the power of social media!!

Stay tuned for another video where we talk about their amazing tour in more detail and they tell us a bit about their upcoming charity auction on October 28, 2009. You can check out their website for details on the items available for auction at http://30ballparksandababy.com

Even though we had some excellent entries, we felt that Roberto, Judy and Sophia were the epitome of what the contest was about.

With this event, and with future events (watch for GreyCup-Fan Connect coming next week), we are seeking Sports Fans who are connecting with their team, other fans, and game experiences in a unique and compelling way.

This trip and contest has been extremely rewarding, and time consuming. As I write this we are running out the door trying to arrange car rentals and interviews, photos shoots and tickets. Please continue to follow our progress as we further define our objectives, with the website, with our findings, and with what is now becoming a reality program presenting Sports Fans winning opportunities and a chance of a lifetime to attend the worlds biggest sports events, meet their heroes and walk away with some great merchandise.

Watch for the interview with the winner. We will be meeting them at the game, sharing moments at the game, and following up with them in the coming weeks.

Thanks again everyone.

Sport-Fan Connect

Favorite team: Washington Capitals

Favorite player: Brooks Laich

Games watched per season: 0-5

Do you twitter: No

Do you facebook: No

It all began March 23,1990 when the biggest Capitals fan I, was born. From a young age I grew up watching the caps play every game they played. Luckily we were a decent to good team considering my dad was a little bit of a fair weather fan. Unfortunately as we started to decline from a good/decent team to a bad/horrific team the amount of times my dad took me declined till it was nearly non exsistent; Of course to me it didn’t make a difference whether we were bad or good I just loved my capitals. With my desire to watch the capitals I would always do my chores and save my money till I had enough for a ticket.There was never one time I can recall where every penny earned was not well spent. The best part about being a fan, who never lost faith, was enduring the painfully sweet rebuilding stage. Hopefully one day Ill be alive to watch my beloved capitals hoist Lord Stanley proudly above their heads.Even sooner, hopefully it will be this year.I would be honored in saying I watched the home opener on the year we won stanley.Every year I ask myself, will this be the year?

Favorite team: CAPITALS

Favorite player: Ovechkin

Games watched per season: 46-82

Do you twitter: No

Do you facebook: Yes

My name is Tina Caputo and i’m a 27 year old Caps fan. I’ve been a loyal fan of the caps since the tender age of 7, in fact i remember watching the caps with my dad and cheering for my favorite player Dino Ciccarelli. Thru the years I remained a dedicated fan no matter how they were doing. I went to many games and remember going to the capital center and paying $10 for a seat and looking around to a pretty much empty forum wondering why nobody else saw what an amazing sport hockey is. As i got older i even played womans hockey and wanted to be just like my idol Peter bondra. I hadnt been to a game in a few years but went 3 times last year and was just amazed at how many people were now at the game cheering for the team i’ve loved for so many years. Finally people were realizing what an awesome sport hockey is and what amazing athletes these people are. one of the most exciting times of my life was going to the stanely cup finals game it was crazy! The best thing that ever happened to the caps was ted Leonsis he turned that team around, its so nice to see an owner who genuinely loves his team.
I just want to say that i am a caps fan for life no matter how they are doing, i will rock the red til i die!! GO CAPS!!!

UPDATE:  Here’s the photos:

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=fanfoto&gallery_id=1777748&image_id=36&pos=37

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=fanfoto&gallery_id=1777735&image_id=132&pos=133

http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?evgroupid=0&userid=fanfoto&gallery_id=1777744&image_id=34&pos=35

Similar to what we experienced at Yankee Stadium, the Boston RedSox also have the “Fan Photo” promotion.

As you can see on the attached photos of our ticket stubs, fans can go online to view the photos at http://redsox.com/fanfotos. They then have the opportunity to purchase those prints thru the site.

Again, this is a great example of using offline (GameDay) marketing to drive traffic to their online marketing (website).

One of the things I noticed tho was that only one of the stubs displayed a sponsor logo (Nikon). Strange that they wouldn’t all have the sponsor advertising included.

We spoke with a number of fans in the stands with smartphones at the game and all of them loved the idea of having fan generated photos displayed on the website. Many of them even said they’d be willing to buy their own photos if they were branded with the RedSox logo on the website.

Again, I’ll have to check and see how the sponsorship is tied into the promotion online. But, hopefully there is better exposure for Nikon on the Redsox site than there was for Canon & Mastercard on the Yankees site.

Favorite team: Washington Capitals

Favorite player: Brooks Laich

Games watched per season: 46-82

Do you twitter: Yes

Do you facebook: Yes

I have been a Caps fan as long as they have been around.  My Dad held a multi-game plan back in the day.  It was always a great time out at Caps Center. Never got a lot of NHL recognition in the early days, but I was smitten.  I even, somehow, managed to stay friends with my college roomie who was a Flyers fan!  We shared many a good laugh over hockey games. I have been a multi-game holder a couple of years, and this is my second season as a season ticket holder,  But I am in a split.  My partners picked the home opener.  While that’s their game fair and square, I feel so sad that I will be missing it.  And my Tweetup friends will be there without me at the OPENER!  So sad! Please pick me so I can attend the hoem opener and rock the red in the phone booth, rather than just watching on TV.

Lisa McGrath

Great idea, but again, I couldn’t help but wonder why they don’t employ this concept on the Big Screen during intermissions. There was literally no fan interaction during these intermissions within the arena (aside from the organ playing tradtional hockey songs).

Imagine if they picked 5 random people in the crowd, gave them each a Verizon cell phone and had them compete for their section to win a prize. They could encourage all the other fans to help with the answers because it would all come down to who is the fastest at texting the answer. To take this idea another step further, they could also supply all the fans in the winning section with an offer to visit a unique URL on their website to take advantage of a special offer for new subscibers.

Again, it is exhibition season in the NHL still, so it’s likely that we are not seeing the Devils newest and best Marketing efforts. But, if they are not thinking about tying together mobile contests with the live game experience (Big Screen), they should be.

Aside from all the signage around the arena, Verizon is missing out on an opportunity to create an engaging campaign that would have fans thinkin about their brand and using their service during the game and in turn, driving traffic to the online marketing efforts.

We are giving away 2 free tickets to the Washington Capitals home opener hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs this coming Saturday October 3rd at the Verizon Center in Washington DC.

This is the regular season home opener for Washington, and the season opener for the NHL on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. It is sure to be an amazing game with all the anticipation surrounding both teams.

This is the first of what will be come a monthly contest to find and connect to the local events biggest Sport-Fans.

Are you the BIGGEST Washington Capitals or Toronto MapleLeafs Fan?

We want to find the most dedicated, hard-core Washington Area, Capitals, NHL or Toronto Maple Leafs fans that want to “Rock the Red” on Oct3rd to kick off the 2009/10 NHL season. (Fans of all other NHL teams can also enter if you will be in DC area for the game). You can enter the contest by explaining your loyalty and passion with a video (or in writing) telling us the ways you currently connect with your team, players, other fans or anything at all. For example, you might hold a party every game night at your house for 10 of your best friends? Or, maybe you organize a Fantasy League or perhaps you are following the team and connect with other fans on Twitter? Whatever special thing you do to connect with your favorite team, we want to hear about it.

You don’t have to live in Washington DC area to win, but it would help as the prize is for tickets only (no transportation or accommodations). Sorry, next time maybe?

How to Enter

To enter, you have to fill out the form below and either submit a video or letter.

Video

If you are adding a video to your application, please upload it to your own YouTube account. You can copy the URL or Embed code into your entry form below. We will then re-publish your video on our website.

Letter

If you are applying by writing, just copy and paste your letter into the form below. Please keep your entries less that 500 words and more than 100.

VOTING

We are excited to see what kind of feedback we get from this initial (and short notice) contest.  We are obviously big advocates for Social Media in Sports, so, with that in mind, we want to use it to it’s fullest to promote this contest and to decide the winner. Once you have submitted your entry we will email you a link that you can then broadcast thru your social network (websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc).  That link will display your entry on http://sportfanconnect.com and your contacts/friends will be able to vote for your entry by leaving comments on why you should win the tickets.  Every comment counts as a vote and will factor into deciding the winner.

The winner will be chosen by the following criteria:

1. Quality of the submission
2. Attention your submission generates (ie. Comments on http://sportfanconnect.com)

BONUS

We want as many entries as possible, but, we also understand that more entries means more competition for your entry.  So, with that in mind, there will be BONUS votes awarded for helping us promote the contest.

Use this link to promote on your Twitter, Facebook, Email, etc: http://su.pr/1RAKQW (Just so you know, we will be able to track these links thru our su.pr account…..so rest assure, your BONUS votes will be counted

CONTEST DEADLINE: Friday, October 2 – Midnight

To view all the contest entries and vote for you favorite, click here: http://sportfanconnect.com/category/the-connection/promotions/capitals-fan-connect

Good luck to everyone, and as usually, please leave a comment with your thoughts about this as a promotional tool and connecting device as it relates to our effort to connect with fans and their sports.