NBA in the UK CHALLENGES, OPPORTUNITIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ROI

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

1.  Introduction 2.  Challenges 3.  Fan Evolution Model 4.  NBA in the UK 5.  The Teams 6.  New Audiences 7.  Creating Legacy 8.  Revenue and ROI 9.  Conclusion

Contents

On January 16th 2014, London’s O2 arena welcomes back NBA action as the  Atlanta Hawks  take on the star-studded Brooklyn Nets. Tickets for the Hawks v Nets game sold out in record time, making it the eighth consecutive sell-out NBA game at the O2 in London.

Introduction

For the NBA, this event could already be deemed a success due to the speed that it sold out, but there are still plenty of challenges ahead for the  NBA  and both the Hawks and Nets. Throughout this report we’re going to discuss these challenges, look back at past events in the UK and discuss the importance of creating loyal fans and leaving a legacy.

One Night. One Game. A Million Opportunities

#NBAUKReport

What We’ll Be Sharing:

• The challenges faced by the NBA and the teams participating in the 2014Global Games

• The impact that previous NBA UK events have had on social media

• Which NBA teams are currently the most talked about in the UK

• The importance of leaving a legacy from the Global Games

• How social media can help the NBA drive revenue

Introduction

#NBAUKReport

•  Create opportunities for partners - by creating an engaged audience in the UK the NBA can create additional opportunities for broadcast partners, sponsors and other partner brands

•  Leave a legacy - the full 2013-14 NBA Global Games schedule includes a total of 12 NBA teams playing 10 regular season and preseason games in eight cities in six countries and territories. The Global Games aren’t about quick hits; they’re about creating a legacy for the NBA and the teams involved

•  Revenue and ROI - increasing revenue is the ultimate goal of all social media efforts. Social media gives the NBA  the opportunity to create sales opportunities and increase revenue from properties such as; the NBA Europe online store, NBA London merchandise inside the O2 arena and NBA League Pass subscriptions. Not to mention the longer-term revenue opportunities that arise from growing their fan base

Global Games Challenges

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ü  Fill the stadium - as we mentioned in the intro, January’s game sold-out in record time, which means the NBA have passed the #rst challenge with $ying colours. The quick sell-out will be a huge relief to the organisation after some negativity around the number of empty seats in Manchester this past summer for the Sixers v Thunder pre-season match

• Reach and engage new audiences - in previous years conversationaround NBA UK games has only lasted for a day or two in the build up to andafter the events

• Sustain conversation - the NBA, Hawks and Nets need to create far morebuzz across social media before and after the event to sustain conversationand maximise the opportunities provided by their trip to London

Global Games Challenges

#NBAUKReport

FAN SEGMENTATION

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

T h i s a n a l y s i s c o m b i n e d w i t h o u r understanding of sports fan behaviour has allowed us to document the basketball fan journey from occasional to devoted – or, on a commercial level, from passive bystander to retained customer.

Fan Evolution Model

#NBAUKReport

The NBA Social Media League is updated every week and can be found on the We Play website.

Over the past few months, at We Play, we’ve been closely following and analysing social audience growth of all 30 NBA teams thanks to our NBA Social Media League.

To piece together the evolution of an NBA fan we must #rst understand the different types of NBA fans and their behaviours. From our research and discussions with various fans we were able to identify three types of NBA fan: •  Occasional fans: enjoy basketball, but it’s not a focal point of their life. For them to get

involved in discussions around the NBA or engage with content their friends have to be talking about it #rst

Fan Evolution Model

#NBAUKReport

Not all fans have the s a m e t r a i t s a n d behaviours. B y u n d e r s t a n d i n g different types of fans the NBA will understand their motivations and actively target the groups with different messages and.

•  Engaged fans: stay up-to-date with the NBA and are likely to follow the league and their favourite teams / players via social media. Engaged fans are likely to have a favourite team and own some NBA merchandise

•  Devoted fans: these are the most dedicated fans; they’ll have favourite teams, players and strong opinions on all things basketball. Devoted fans are likely to own NBA merchandise and great candidates for League Pass subscriptions

What’s important to the audience

What this means for Devoted NBA fans

Community Engaging Active Environment

I feel like I’m connected to the NBA and other passionate

fans.

The NBA gives me all the information I need. I don’t need other sources for

coverage.

Coverage and content is available at all

times. There’s never a dull moment with the

NBA.

I can always stay connected. No matter

where I am or what device I’m on.

The NBA keeps me and my friends

engaged creating a community for us.

There’s always a talking point or something I #nd

interesting.

Round the clock coverage means I can

dip in and out as I wish.

The NBA coverage is always accessible to

me; when and where I want it.

Others around me need to be talking

about the NBA for me to be interested.

The more people talk about it, the more I want to be a part of

the conversation.

I can easily #nd the latest talking points

to join the conversation as and

when I want to.

If and when I want to get involved there are

no barriers to entry for me.

What this means for Engaged NBA fans

What this means for Occasional NBA fans

Fan Segmentation Analysis

11 Evolution of an NBA Fan

ENGAGED FAN DEVOTED FAN

PASSIVE

AWARE

ENGAGED

CUSTOMER

RETAINED

FAN SEGMENT

NBA CUSTOMER

JOURNEY

I occasionally chat about

the NBA with my friends

OCCASIONAL FAN

I enjoy the NBA and regular

purchase merchandise

I keep up-to-date with the

action via social media

I like basketball but it’s not a focal

point of my life

My life isn't complete without

basketball

This chart illustrates the journey of an NBA fan becoming a loyal NBA customer

#NBAUKReport

It’s the  transition from passive bystander to retained customer  and the  continued engagement of retained customers  that will generate ROI and revenue for the teams and NBA.

Fan Evolution Model

#NBAUKReport

O u r F a n E v o l u t i o n Model highlights the b e h a v i o u r s a n d motivations of the three different types of NBA fans. Increasing the number of engaged and devoted f a n s i n t h e U K w i l l g e n e r a t e r e v e n u e opportunities.

Only 20,000 fans will be in attendance at the O2 in January, but social media creates opportunity for the event to not only reach and engage a much larger audience, but to create loyal, revenue-driving fans.

NBA IN THE UK

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

The UK is a key market for the NBA. As such, last year they launched UK speci#c Facebook and Twitter pages.

NBA in the UK

The NBA UK Facebook page currently has 73,416 fans, of which only 24,949 fans (34.1%) are actually from the United Kingdom. The NBA UK Twitter account has accumulated 13,884 followers since launch and around 10 new followers are added each day.

#NBAUKReport

The NBA global Facebook page has 214,917 UK based fans. This highlights huge growth potential for the UK page.

Conversation Analysis

The above conversation analysis shows mentions of Pistons, Knicks and #NBALondon in the UK throughout January 2013.

Knicks defeat Spurs

Knicks lose to Celtics

Bulls v Knicks

Knicks v Nets

Game-day in London

NBA Global Game – 17/01/2013 London, England Detroit Pistons 97, New York Knicks102 2  

2  2  1  2  

•  Conversation around the game in London only started to gain momentum the day before the event took place

•  Conversation dropped off extremely quickly with mentions of both teams back to the usual levels days after the event

Conversation Analysis

The above conversation analysis shows mentions of @OKCThunder, @Sixers and  #NBAManchester in the UK from 24th September 2013 until October 22d 2014.

Game-day in Manchester

NBA Global Game – 08/10/2013 Manchester, England Oklahoma City Thunder 103, Philadelphia 76ers 99

2  

The graph illustrates much the same story as the  NBA London game from January; little conversation until the g a m e d a y a n d l i t t l e continued engagement post event.

•  Devoted NBA fans are the holy grail. Make sure they know how valued they are at all times

•  Devoted fans will likely be the most vocal – this is a great opportunity for advocacy, however, if something goes wrong (e.g. ticketing in Manchester) then devoted fans will probably be the most critical

•  Our analysis shows more needs to be done to create more conversation and excitement before the events and to sustain conversations after the event

New Audiences

Learnings from 2013 Events

The NBA Manchester game was also marred by a ticketing controversy; with a number of unsold seats in the weeks building up to the event a 2-for-1 deal was offered to fans on Facebook, leaving those die-hard fans who purchased early angry and out-of pocket. One Facebook update about the deal resulted in 50+ comments from disgruntled fans. #NBAUKReport

In"uencers are a great way to spread a message and keep c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d engagement going post event. Having worked with a v a r i e t y o f s p o r t s brands we believe the NBA need do more w i t h l o c a l ( U K & European) in$uencers.

•  More   needs   be   done   with   influencers   to   help   engage   a   wider  audience  

THE TEAMS

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

This won’t be the Hawks #rst time in London, they took part in the NBA’s #rst ever preseason games in London in 1993 with back-to-back games against the Orlando Magic.

The Teams

Atlanta Hawks

As the team who gave up their home game for this London event, the Hawks have been the more vocal of the two teams so far and started to build up to London 2014 on media day with this Vine of Al Horford holding up the British $ag.

#NBAUKReport

Currently the Hawks have 447,995 fans on Facebook of which 2,217 (0.5%) are from the UK.

This will be the  Nets’  third game in London after playing the Miami Heat in a pre-season match in 2008 and taking part in the #rst regular season games in  the UK with back-to-back games against the Toronto Raptors. The Nets have a star-studded line-up this year including Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce who are the 14th and 20th top scorers in NBA history respectively. In their ranks they also have Olympic

The Teams

Brooklyn Nets

gold medallist  Deron Williams, one-time NBA Champion  Jason Terry  and in  Brook Lopez they have one of the league’s top big men. Not to mention their coach – number 2 in the NBA’s all-time assist leaders - Jason Kidd.

#NBAUKReport

Currently the Nets have 1,276,508 fans on Facebook of which 5,491 (0.4%) are from the UK.

Share of Voice

31%  

10%  

10%  5%  4%  

4%  

3%  

3%  

2%  

2%  

2%  

2%  

2%  

2%  

2%  2%  

2%   2%  

1%  1%  

1%  1%  1%  

1%  1%  

1%  1%   1%  

0%  0%  

Miami Heat 31% share

of voice

Los Angles Lakers 10%

share of voice

San Antonio Spurs 10% share

of voice

Atlanta Hawks 2%

share of voice

Brooklyn Nets 4% share of

voice

Boston Celtics 5% share of

voice

New York Knicks 4% share of

voice

Both teams coming over in January have a huge

opportunity to grow their fan bases throughout the UK as highlighted by this

share of voice analysis.

The Nets are sitting sixth out of the 30 NBA teams with a 4% share of UK

conversation and the Hawks are tenth

with 2% of UK conversation.

This analysis measures the mentions of all NBA teams and shows which are being talked about most in the UK over the last 90 days.

Engaging Audiences Through Social Ranking

NBA Social Media Leaderboard

The Hawks and Nets sit 15th and 9th respectively. The Nets added 29,940 Facebook fans and 3,804 Twitter followers over the past week. The Hawks added 10,363 Facebook fans and 1,664 Twitter Followers

View the Leaderboard…

*Correct as of 12th November 2013. Next leaderboard is released 19th November 2013.

How is the We Play score calculated? The We Play score is a calculated by the percentage increase of a teams' Facebook and Twitter fan bases in the past 7 days.

*

#NBAUKReport

NEW AUDIENCES

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

The Global Games provide the NBA with huge opportunity to reach new audiences and engage occasional fans. Previously the NBA has reached new audiences through engaging with celebrities; such as James Cordon and Jack Whitehall who took part in a half-time free throw competition during the Pistons v Knicks game for Sky1 TV show A League of Their Own.

New Audiences

The NBA have also looked to reach out to pre-existing fan bases from other sports. For example, NBA UK created a post to pit Manchester United vs Manchester City using Oklahoma City Thunder stars Thabo Sefolosha and Serge Ibaka.

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Month November December January February

Milestones*

Activity Full NBA,

Hawks and Nets Fan Analysis

Launch Engagement Leaderboard

NBA London Event

Post Event Advocacy Campaign

Day to Day Activity

View Content Calendar

View Content Calendar

View Content Calendar

View Content Calendar

Full analysis and strategy in place

100,000 fans Increase positive

mentions from devoted fans by 20%

150,000 fans Increase year-on-year

engagement and reach from event by 30%

175,000 fans

Objectives Analysis Brand awareness

PR Pickup Advocacy

Engagement Sign ups

Increased Reach

Sign-ups Engagement

Post event advocacy

Do You Have a Clear Roadmap to Success?

#NBAUKReport This is an example roadmap for the NBA in the build up to and after the event in January. Day to day activity would be managed via a content calendar. *Milestones would be identi#ed and agreed after a full analysis had been completed.

Roadmap to Success

NBA’s message

All Fans

Fan Communities Press & Media Celebrity/Org

Devoted and Engaged Fans

In$uencer outreach will help the NBA reach and engage Devoted, Engaged and Occasional fans

The NBA and the Hawks and Nets need to be looking to engage with in$uencers in the build up to, during and after the event in January. In$uencer outreach will allow the NBA and teams to reach devoted, engaged and occasional fans.

New Audiences

Devoted fans need be identi#ed and advocacy programmes put in place to spread the NBA’s message via word of mouth. Advocacy programmes would encourage devoted fans to spread the message and co-create content in exchange for a reward.

New Audiences

Advocacy

#NBAUKReport

By turning devoted fans into advocates t h e N B A c o u l d increase their reach v i a p o s i t i v e messaging from fan to fan, rather than a message direct from the brand to fan.

Any advocacy programme would include a trigger to motivate the devoted fans to take action and be followed by a reward of some kind. A reward could come as the potential to win a prize, exclusive content or even something as simple as a re-tweet from NBA accounts.   By turning devoted fans into advocates the NBA could increase their reach via positive messaging from fan to fan, rather than a message direct from the brand to fan. People like to engage with people and word of mouth is more likely to reach and engage occasional fans than a message broadcast by the brand itself.

Trigger Action Reward

The Hawks v Nets game sold out in record time, so it may appear the job here is done. However, with an audience of 20,000 in attendance in January, our research shows the NBA

New Audiences

Spreading the Message on Game-day

needs to get the fans in attendance to share their experience across social channels to increase conversations and engage those fans that aren’t lucky enough to be there.

#NBAUKReport

Our research shows the NBA needs to get t h e f a n s i n attendance to share t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e a c r o s s s o c i a l channels to increase conversations and engage those fans that aren’t luck y enough to be there.

Through those in attendance the NBA and teams will be able to reach a large audience of occasional fans, engage them in the action and get them dancing to their tune if the fans are not even at the party.

CREATING LEGACY

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

Creating Legacy

Taken advantage of the opportunity presented to them in the UK. As a Detroit Pistons fan, it was great to see the team I’ve supported for over 10 years play for the #rst time in January this year – but in terms of reaching new fans and leaving a legacy, it seemed like the Pistons (and  Knicks) missed an opportunity and didn’t seem to have long term objectives in mind.

NBA teams have been playing games in the UK for a number of years now, and with all events at the O2 selling out since 2007, it paints a great picture, but as an devoted NBA fan I feel no team has fully

#NBAUKReport

•  In the build up to, during and after the event there were no real calls to action to follow either team on social media

•  The Pistons gave up a home game for the event, yet the Knicks were clearly the most popular team in the arena – could the Pistons have reached out to fans in the months building up to the event and tried to make it feel like a home game?

•  Neither team made a lasting impression on the UK fan base

Creating Legacy

Pistons and Knicks Missed Opportunities:

#NBAUKReport

With around three months left until the NBA London event now is the time to start building relationships with in"uencers and fans in the UK.

Creating Legacy

Looking Ahead

It’s no longer enough just to put out good content – even great content won’t always stand out – over the coming months the Hawks and Nets have to create context. Turning up, producing content and leaving won’t create lasting results. The groundwork needs to be done now. This may be only one game from an 82 game season for both teams, but it’s a  one off opportunity  to extend their fan base in a new, valuable market.

#NBAUKReport

Last year I wrote a post about how the Nets took over Brooklyn  - and a similar fan centric, humble and human approach, all-be-it on a smaller scale, c o u l d s e e the Hawks and Nets  creating a lasting legacy and fan base across the UK.

From a  community  and  growing the game  point of view, there’s an opportunity to inspire a generation of young basketball players in London and across the UK. Basketball is the second highest participation sport amongst 11-15 year-olds over here and this event can help to inspire the youngsters to continue playing the sport, and in$uence them to grow up as NBA fans.  From a commercial point of view building an engaged fan base c r e a t e s a d d i t i o n a l r e v e n u e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r the  NBA,  Hawks  and Nets. The UK event also creates opportunities for NBA partners and sponsors to engage with a UK fan base

Creating Legacy

Why Does This Matter? Why is it important that the Nets, Hawks and NBA care about social media, fan bases and creating a legacy from the NBA London event?

#NBAUKReport

Basketball is the second highest participation sport amongst 11-15 year-olds over here and this event can help to inspire the youngsters to continue playing the spor t, and in$uence them to grow up as NBA fans. 

TRACKING REVENUE AND ROI

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

How do you track revenue and ROI from social media?

This is the $1million question.

#NBAUKReport

36 Brand Awareness

Focus on Growing Audience Reach Growth

Lead Generation Focus on converting conversations

Engagement Growth

Advocacy Advocacy campaigns

Activity = Engagement

Initiative

Process Key Performance Indicator

No. of people reached: •  Impressions/PR coverage •  Likes/Follows/Subscribers •  Post engagement

No. of people that converted •  Site/Newsletter Signups •  Retention •  Transactions •  Product downloads

No. of advocates/fans •  Co-created content •  Contributions •  In$uencers turned advocates

Occasional

Engaged

Devoted

Revenue and ROI

Using our Fan Evolution model we’ve created a set of benchmarks for measuring KPIs in relation to each level of fandom: occasional, engaged and devoted.

Fan Evolution Benchmarks

At the occasional level measurement is all about reach; we want to reach as many occasional fans as possible, through the multitude of platforms at our disposal. As these fans become engaged and move from occasional to engaged the NBA would be capturing data allowing them to market to the fans in different ways and move them along their sales funnel. At the engaged stages, fans will become customers and be more open to receiving marketing messages for e-commerce opportunities (NBA Europe Store) and digital products (NBA League Pass). As we touched on earlier, at the devoted fan level we’re looking to create advocates and devoted fans. Our model shows these fans will be measured by the number of fans who have become advocates and also the transactions and product sales used to measure engaged fan ROI.

Revenue and ROI

Fan Evolution Benchmarks

#NBAUKReport

A s f a n s b e c o m e engaged and move from occasional to engaged the NBA need to be capturing data from the fans, allowing them to market to the fans in different ways and move them along their sales funnel.

•  Working with a number of sports brands, we understand the importance of tracking and measurement when it comes to showing ROI

•  Social measurement and tracking is key to keeping track of the fan evolution benchmarks and monitoring the success of the overall social strategy

•  In order to identify devoted fans it’s important to track which fans, bloggers, organisations have the most in$uence over the rest of your audience

•  It’s essential to measure the growth and engagement metrics used as benchmarks for occasional fans.

Revenue and ROI Tracking and Measurement

#NBAUKReport

Social measurement and tracking will be key to keeping track of the fan evolution benchmarks and monitoring the success of the overall social strategy.

The NBA has numerous partners both globally and locally. By building an engaged fan base the NBA creates added opportunities for partners to maximise their deals with the organisation.   An engaged fan base creates more opportunities for partners to connect with NBA fans and increase the ROI of their deal with the NBA.

Revenue and ROI

Opportunities for Partners

#NBAUKReport

CONCLUSION

By Ash Read (@AshRead14)

Believe it or not, social media is not all about likes, re-tweets and the number of fans or followers you have. Just like any other form of marketing and communication, social media is just another medium for achieving business goals.

Conclusion

#NBAUKReport

B e t w e e n n o w a n d January 2014 there’s a huge opportunity to get the ball rolling over in the UK; to make sure a lasting impression is left from the Global Game in London.

The challenges we’ve discussed in this report are real challenges faced by the NBA, Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, and what we’ve tried to do is highlight how social media can help them achieve these challenges and generate revenue.

Thanks for taking the time to read the NBA UK Challenges, Opportunities and Social Media ROI report.

If you’d like to share your thoughts on the report or have any questions

please tweet @Ashread14 or @WePlayCo using #NBAUKReport.

We mean ANY questions, as we’d love to hear your thoughts and continue the conversation.

  You can also email Ash with any thoughts and feedback on

Ash@WePlay.co

Join the Discussion

#NBAUKReport

About the Author

CHALLENGES OPPORTUNTIES AND SOCIAL MEDIA ROI By Ash Read

Ash Read is a social media strategist, community manager and writer, who enjoys building communities and creating meaningful connections between people and brands. He's passionate about sports, music and the intersection of business, technology, culture and digital content. He’s a Detroit Pistons and Ipswich Town FC fan. Follow Ash on Twitter: @AshRead14

Copyright & Disclaimer You are free to use quotes from this report on your website or blog, as long as you link back to weplay.co for attribution. All other rights are reserved.

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sport fans.

We approach social media with the expertise of knowing every brand can create their own loyal and

transacting fan base!

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Meet the Team

Name: Daniel Mclaren Role: Account Director

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The world is evolving and your fans expect more

Social media leaderboards used for engaging current fans,

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