I got to sit down and interview Dana White ahead of UFC 140. The event takes place on December 10th in Toronto, Canada and like every UFC event, heavily hyped via social media. Over the past 3 years, Dana White and the UFC have built a very strong social media presence. I wanted to speak to the head of the UFC himself and get some more detail on what he thinks of Twitter and other social media tools. Dana goes on to outline how he got into Twitter, how he uses it to help his business, what are the pitfalls and benefits. Amy Jo Martin of Digital Royalty, who helps build social media strategies for business such as the UFC had this to say about Dana White and his use of Twitter. “Dana White was the first sports executive to see the power of these new communication channels. From day one, Dana and the UFC have treated social media channels as a dialogue vs. a monologue.” Digital Royalty...
Read More
Over the past year the WWE has continued to push the social media envelope by integrating Twitter and Facebook further into its regular broadcasts. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, now a cross-over star in both the WWE and Hollywood, cut a promo on WWE Raw to hype the upcoming pay-per-view “Survivor Series”. During that promo, the Rock quickly coined a new catchphrase “Boots to Asses” and said it was now trending worldwide. Before he mentioned it there was no mention of it on Twitter. Shortly after he said it, not only did it start a new chant throughout the arena, but it proved that Mr. Johnson was prophetic as minutes later the term “Boots to Asses” was trending worldwide. One might say this is a one off, but for anyone observing what the WWE has been up to this can be seen as only a small part of a much larger social media strategy. In the last year, the WWE has bolstered it’s already strong web presence with a very savvy social media offensive. Now every performer who appears on WWE TV has their own Twitter handle which they use to build a fan following and actually continue storylines started from the show. During the broadcast, whenever a wrestler heads to the ring, their Twitter handle is prominently featured next to their name on the screen graphics. Their strategy is obvious and effective, providing a method to allow their show to be more interactive and leverage casual fans to tune in more regularly especially when something eventful is on the screen. Throughout the show, it is quite common to hear announcers talking about whether something is trending worldwide. Some wrestlers who are trying to increase their standing in the company have actually taken to social media to build an audience. Zack Ryder and his self-styled ”Jersey Shore” persona created a series of YouTube videos to drive interest. To his credit, not only has he been successful driving nearly 100,000 people to become subscribers on Youtube, but he also has 300,000 followers on Twitter. He essentially went out and built a new fanbase for himself and received more airtime and interest as a result. Wrestlemania is by far the biggest event held by the WWE. To hype the main event, they have already launched a separate site to highlight their main fight, John Cena vs. Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson, and to encourage fans to choose whose side they’re on. The site is integrated with both Twitter and Facebook pages. On each side they have attracted huge audiences. Here is the tale of the tape so far, and it is pretty impressive. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson John Cena Twitter Followers 1.6m...
Read More
I just came home from another heart breaking loss for the Buffalo Bills at the hands of the Chicago Bears. The Bills are now winless (0-8) this season. This game was all part of an ongoing experiment to bring the Bills to Toronto for one game a year. After getting my heart pulled from my chest yet again, I reflect on the possibility of the Bills moving to Toronto from Buffalo. Before I deliver my verdict, I wanted to review the pros and cons of the Buffalo Bills moving to Toronto: Pro – Toronto will have a team in all major sports leagues The NFL is the last major North American sports league not represented in Toronto. By getting an NFL franchise, Toronto would essentially complete its set.Toronto already have an NHL (Maple Leafs), NBA (Raptors) MLB (Blue Jays) and MLS (TFC) franchise. Like a kid collecting stickers, I can’t help but want them all. By the way, if you are looking for stickers check out StickerYou for ready-made and custom stickers (shameless plug, I know). Seriously speaking though, having all major sports franchises would cement Toronto as a sports powerhouse. Even the UFC is about to plan a major event in Toronto. Does Toronto necessary need the NFL? The answer is no. That said, bringing another major sports franchise to Toronto would continue raise the profile of the city in the eyes of sports fans. There are only 13 cities with all 4 major sports franchises. Toronto could be number 14. Con – Potential Impact on the CFL The CFL is a Canadian institution. Bringing the NFL to Toronto may threaten this institution. While bringing the NFL to Toronto doesn’t necessarily spell instant doom for the CFL, it will probably not help in the long-term. The Argos fanbase would likely take offense to having to share with their Toronto NFL counterpart. The NFL will push hard and likely trump requests by the Argos. The question then becomes whether Toronto can really support two football teams. If it can’t, it might have long-lasting negative impact to the CFL. The Argos has one of the biggest fan bases of all CFL franchises. If Toronto happily accepts an NFL team and the CFL fails, it will only give Canadians another reason to “love” Toronto. Pro – Financial Impact This is a no brainer from a economics perspective; the NFL will bring big dollars to Toronto. While there are only 8 home games, the financial impact would be profound. NFL fans are some of the most loyal. They will travel thousands of miles (most NFL fans wouldn’t use kilometers) to watch their team. That said it...
Read More
For every guy who is into sports we all have people or influential figures that impacts the way we look at sport. This blog attempts to break down the people in each sport that most impacted my life. 1. Hockey – Doug Gilmour – Toronto Maple Leafs In my early years, I didn’t find myself interested in hockey. I didn’t play organized hockey because I was a terribly bad skater. That was coupled with the fact that Leafs in the late 80’s were totally underwhelming. All that changed when Doug Gilmour joined the Maple Leafs on January 2 1992 in a blockbuster trade with the Calgary Flames. He played with a workman-like team with a hot young goaltender named Potvin. Together they went on to go to the brink of the Stanley Cup finals for two years in a row. I think many Leafs fans were scarred by the missed high-stick call in overtime by Wayne Gretzky who ultimately put the Leafs out of the playoffs with an overtime goal. Doug Gilmour was the ultimate catalyst for the Leafs; he would play any role required to try and put the team over the top. I modeled myself after him while playing road hockey. My ratty Doug Gilmour jersey bears a pre-bandwagon A for Assistant Captain, and still sits in my closet, blood stains and rips and all. He taught me to do anything and everything to help your team win. 2. Basketball – Michael Jordan – Chicago Bulls This is an easy one pick. During the 90s, I sat like the rest of the world mesmerized by Michael Jordan’s skills. Aside from his talent, his will to win was unparalleled. He always demanded the best of the team and was almost a second coach on the floor running the offense and taking his team to the next level. I only wonder how many titles he could/would have won had he not tried to play baseball for a year and half. I do always admire that he followed his heart and tried something new. Today, people compare him to Kobe or to a lesser extent Lebron. I can honestly say there will never be another Michael Jordan no matter how many titles Kobe wins. He taught me that the will to win is the prerequisite to being a successful person. 3. Wrestling – Bret “Hitman” Hart Now, you can argue to death whether a professional wrestler deserves to be on my list, but I can honestly say he has had a big impact on me. I used to watch WWF with my dad and my grandpa (who used to actually be...
Read More