I was sifting through Alexa rankings over the weekend, trying to decide which sports sites I ought to invite to the upcoming Sports Marketing 2.0 Summit in NYC.
As I looked at the rankings it hit me how difficult it must be for media strategists to determine which sites to buy. ESPN.COM clearly dominates all sports sites in terms of reach, but in the grand scheme of the Web, espn.com is merely a blip, reaching just 1.4% reach of the total online audience.
This chart depicts an overall trend: Big media companies have the biggest Website audiences. Of course this make sense when you consider all the ways ESPN (or Go.com) and its parent company have to drive traffic to the sites. Plus, given the conglomerate’s singular focus on BEING a giant media company, it has the production, editorial and sales resources to BE a big media company, online or offline.
The question lingering in my head, however, is this: how valuable is MEDIA exposure online? If REACH is all that matters, then the LONG TAIL THEORYis nothing but a clever marketing ploy by a niche media editor. If reaching the biggest audiences for the lowest CPM is the only thing that matters, then buyers will keep buying the HEAD and leave the tail for advertisers who cannot afford the best slice of the market.
If this is true, however, then even GIANT ESPN is in trouble. Top site Yahoo! reaches 27% of the online audience and thereby puts ESPN to shame.
So one buyer’s head is another buyers tail. How do you make heads or tails of it?
Demographics and psychographics obviously come into play. If you’re looking to reach men who are interested in sports, then ESPN might make more sense than Yahoo’s home page, but it will compete with Yahoo! Sports pages.
But what man isn’t interested in sports? And is there any way that advertising on ESPN or Yahoo! will cause a brand to stand out - other than through large doses of interuptive ads? (Of course there is, but I’m trying to make a case for my succulent audience of 8 million unique visitors so please indulge me this completely biased line of thinking :-)) Is there any way that a mere “media” channel could add value to the advertisers stategy beyond delivering a generic audience of millions of eyeballs? Perhaps there is…if that media channel is actually a SPONSORSHIP PLATFORM.
Looking at the Web world from an overall reach perspective makes Colts.com looking like a 98 pound weakling, reaching only .004% of the online population.
But when it comes to reaching COLTS fans, Colts.com stands toe to toe with even might Yahoo! and wins the day. When fans come to Colts.com, they’re not looking for a “media” experience. They’re looking to connect with a CAUSE they care about deeply. They’re looking to connect. They’re looking for the OFFICIAL voice of their team. They want a positive, hopeful slant regardless of what’s happening on the field.
When fans come to Colts.com (and other TEAM Websites), they’re expecting to meet freinds who also support their cause. That’s where sponsorship comes into play. Instead of buying colts.com as any other media property, buyers should look at colts.com as a sponsorship opportunity. They should look for ways to add value to the fans’ experiences on the site and thereby earn a positive reputation in the community. This is a strategy that will have longer term benefits for the brands you’re promoting.
When media planners start thinking about “SPONSORSHIP” then team sites like Colts.com begin to make much more sense.
Final note: be sure to check out our new sports marketing 2.0 community site - join us…
Patrick, thought I’d throw my ‘AMEN!” in on why people come to mycolts.net.
They come because of their passion and what our team, our coach, our owner, our players, and our fans mean to them. No matter where they are, how isolated, or how busy, they can come to mycolts to connect whenever and whereever they have a minute or two (and access to the internet).
In the few short months since our launch we’ve got a lively community that is much more complex than, ‘men who like football’
Our sponsors do more than make the community possible (although the community is aware that they do), Our sponsors add to the fun on the site. They are part of the community.
Some of the sponsors are using generic rather than specific means of advertising, and they appear not to care. How will something targeted at sport lovers be advertised in the general manner.