The Super Bowl According to Facebook

Earlier this week, while perusing every ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and NFL-related blog article I could find (hey, it’s not every week your hometown team makes the Super Bowl!), I came across some fascinating information regarding NFL loyalties as measured by Facebook “likes.”

Facebook’s Data Science team released this nationwide analysis of NFL team “likes,” color-coding every county in the U.S. to reflect the team that had the most fans in that particular county. Take a look:

Source: Facebook Data Science (https://www.facebook.com/notes/facebook-data-science/nfl-fans-on-facebook/10151298370823859)

As media professionals, we evaluate numerous sports-related proposals in many different markets. Though in some cases, sports associations are obvious “no-brainers” based on geography, it is not always clear cut. For example, Media Works places media in both Dallas and Houston, and I have always wondered how rest of the state of Texas cheers come football season – at what point between Dallas and Houston does the tide change? The Cowboys have been around much longer than the Texans, so I figured they’d have a slightly higher fan base … but look at all that Cowboy land! Not only does nearly all of Texas root for Dallas, but nearly all of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Arkansas do too.

According to the summary, over 35 million Facebook users have “liked” an NFL team page, and the number grows each year during the playoffs. In the media world, where data is a huge factor in making media-based decisions, sample size can be very important. A pool like that showing so many states where Cowboy loyalty dominates is a dream come true!

The author also provides maps showing remaining teams through each round of the playoffs. Below is a preview of how the country will be cheering this Sunday for the Super Bowl. Looks like the Ravens are the underdogs, but I hope the East Coast ends up happier than the West Coast!

MNF is back, but is it the right place for you to advertise?

Monday Night Football kicks off with a classic AFC North battle on Monday, September 10^th between our beloved Baltimore Ravens and division rival, the Cincinnati Bengals. On the field, stats will be recorded for Flacco vs. Dalton and Rice vs. Green-Ellis, but off the field, buyers will be watching the ratings closely to see how the numbers delivered, and deciding whether advertising in Monday Night Football is the right thing to do for their clients.

Monday Night Football is the most watched and longest-running sports series in cable TV history. In six seasons on ESPN, MNF had seven of the top ten all-time biggest HH audiences in cable history, averaging a 9.7 rating in 2011 and 13,252,000 viewers. MNF offers a huge opportunity for advertisers to reach a diverse, captive and live audience, since most sports programming is watched live rather than DVR’d, and Monday Night Football appeals to a variety of viewers.

Its popularity is expected to grow this year, as the Rolling Stones will partner with MNF to celebrate the Stones’ 50^th Anniversary. Through a series called “Legend to Legend”, tracks from the legendary band will be paired with MNF highlights and featured during the pre-game show, in-game, and in the post-game show on Sports Center.

So, given the continued popularity of the series and the hype around the Rolling Stones, is Monday Night Football the right venue for your marketing dollars? Here are a few basic questions you should ask first before spending money to advertise on Monday nights:

• Is your target audience watching Monday Night Football?

Consider who you’re reaching and hone in on their interests. Pull qualitative data to find out what they’re watching on TV, if they are watching sports programming, and if so – what sports are they watching? Also consider whether people are watching the game outside of their homes, such as a bar or restaurant, where your ad may receive additional exposure.

• Is it cost-effective?

Many cable companies will offer MNF packages on a zoned basis, making it more cost-effective for advertisers. And, when you look at the costs amortized over several months, the pricing is very reasonable, given the reach and notoriety of appearing in-game.

• Should you buy a package, or can you buy on a per-game basis?

Most MNF packages sell out well before pre-season begins, so inventory may be limited. Also, cable companies often include Thursday night games on the NFL Network and/or a digital component to give advertisers more exposure, and more bang for their buck. If there is bonus inventory available in MNF, the cable system will sometimes offer bonus spots to existing advertisers – an incredible way for advertisers to get added value!

• How do last year’s ratings compare in your market?

The best way to gauge how many people you will reach with a MNF spot is to look back at the previous year’s ratings and estimate an average figure that you and the cable system can live with. Some ratings will fluctuate, depending on whether the home team is playing, if they are teams that have a National following, or if the game features division rivals.

• Do you have the right creative?

Media Works focuses on the media side of the advertising puzzle, but we can’t ignore the importance of using the right creative. Will your spot include incentives that need to be changed frequently? Will your spot include generic or branding information? Will it drive traffic to a website or promotional portal?

 

On a related note, Media Works would also like to pay tribute to the late Art Modell. He received much criticism from Cleveland fans for moving their team to Baltimore. And, coming from a city that knows what it’s like to lose a football team, we can certainly empathize. (At least Cleveland got to keep the name, the uniforms and any Hall of Fame records…) Art Modell was loved by many and helped change the NFL in ways that we take for granted. We will honor him along with the rest of Baltimore with a moment of silence before Monday night’s game.

Tebowing

There has been a lot of NFL talk the past few weeks, and the majority of it has revolved around one person: Tim Tebow.  Tebow has been a sports icon to the Gainesville community for years, but it wasn’t until the Broncos game on Oct. 23 when Tebow’s fame went viral. By viral, we mean record breaking tweeting, “tebowing”, and more fame then any athlete yet.

According to Adage, Tim Tebow is also considered the most talked-about player in the NFL. He currently has endorsement deals with Jockey, Nike and EA Sports and could possibly become a $10 million a year endorser of the NFL.

When Tebow ended the Steelers season on January 8^th (and we love him for that), he set two new sports records; he did this while playing in the highest-rated first-round NFL playoff game in 4 years, according to Nielsen. The first record he broke was the yards-per-completion record with 31.6 and threw for 316 passing yards. He also set a new social media record which was the sports Tweets per second record.  Twitters reaction to Tebow’s 80-yard overtime touchdown reached 9,420 tweets per second, including one Tweet from Lady Gaga!  This surpasses the amount of tweets from the announcement of Beyoncé’s pregnancy (8,868 TPS), the passing of Steve Jobs (6,039 TPS) as well as the East Coast Earthquake (5,106 TPS) – imagine that!

Not only has Tebow made his way through the twitter-verse, according to Mashable.com, Tebowing is now an official part of the English language. Tebowing.com defines this word as a verb and the definition is “To get down on a knee and start praying, even if everyone around you is doing something completely different.” This website has over 15,000 people/animals/objects Tebowing all over the world.

Although the rest of the world is talking about Tebow and his fame, those of us at Media Works wish Tebow and the Broncos pulled through last weekend and beat the Patriots so we could cheer on the Ravens at home this weekend. Unfortunately for us, we will be cheering on the Ravens in Foxborough and we sure hope they “tebow” before the game!

http://mashable.com/2012/01/09/tim-tebow-twitter-record/

http://adage.com/article/news/broncos-tim-tebow-worth-10-million-endorsements/232000/

Caaaa-Cawwwwwwwwwwwwww!

We have quite a big weekend ahead of us, my friends!  It is that time of year again- the time of year fans become more dedicated, rivalries become more intense, and players are pushed to their breaking point as professional athletes.  It is the NFL playoffs.  And they have begun.

I feel there is definitely an advantage to having a bye the first weekend of the playoffs.  Some much needed R&R for the Ravens will hopefully prove to be worth it when we take on the Houston Texans this Sunday in Baltimore as we host the second round.

For the most part, the women and men of Media Works are Ravens fans.  You will rarely hear someone rallying behind a different team or wearing another team’s jersey on a Friday in this office.   And although we bleed purple, a lot of the people we do business with are actually outside of Maryland, and can make things a bit competitive during this time of year with our fellow football lovers.  In addition to Maryland, we also do business in Arizona, Washington D.C., Pennsylvania, and Texas to name a few places.  Like us, those we work with out of state are dedicated to their teams as well.  KHOU, a radio station we work with in Houston, is going head-to-head with WMAR, one of our local Baltimore stations.   A meteorologist from each station has placed a bet on who will win this weekend’s game and the terms of the bet are INTENSE!   What are they betting you ask?  Well, Gene Norman, chief meteorologist at KHOU, and Justin Berk, a meteorologist at WMAR, aren’t betting with money, they are betting with food.  Crab cakes and Texas barbeque sauce to be exact.  The terms:  the loser must eat their opponent’s food choice on the air in the opposing team’s gear.  Wow.  If that’s not a quality bet, I don’t know what is!

It’s good to see that a little friendly competition can (hopefully) stay friendly even after the game is over.  We are keeping our fingers crossed and hope to see our rep in Houston eating crab cakes in a Ravens jersey on air after we beat the Texans on Sunday!  With elimination from continuing down the road to the Super Bowl on the line, we are cheering for the Ravens and sending them all our positive energy.  Hopefully, come Sunday night we will be making travel plans for Foxboro.   We wish everyone fun & safe competition this weekend.

Go Ravens!

The Biggest Losers of the NFL Lockout

As the NFL Lockout looms, I’ve tried to imagine what the Fall and Winter may be like without professional football.  What will I wear on Fridays, when I would normally don my purple Ray Rice Ravens jersey? What will I do to occupy my time on Sunday afternoons?  What will I hum on Monday nights, when I’d normally hear the MNF theme as a prelude to kick-off?  And what about the Super Bowl…no halftime show? No Budweiser or E-Trade ads with that cute little baby?  This Lockout will seriously affect my television viewing habits!

Prognosticators are estimating huge losses if the Lockout keeps players off the field this year. Retail stores are already bracing for a decrease in sales of NFL sports paraphernalia. Restaurants and bars around the country are facing huge decreases in food and beverage sales on Sundays and Mondays. Tourism in NFL cities is going to take a hit and the economy in local markets will also feel the pinch. Stadium employees will be looking for jobs elsewhere. Fantasy Football leagues will be canceled and Fantasy Football web sites will become irrelevant. In the US, Las Vegas sports books may lose as much as $850M, while online betting and betting in other countries could bring that total to $500B in lost revenue.

Who’s the biggest loser, aside from the fans? Possibly the media. According to Wells Fargo, CBS generates $825M per year in ad revenue with their AFC divisional games, while Fox makes approximately $975M per year with their NFC games and NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcasts yield about $850M per year. Disney’s ESPN makes about $175M each year with Monday Night Football telecasts, and with so much 4^th quarter NFL-centric programming, from pre-game to SportsCenter viewing, ESPN may suffer the most. Other lead-in and lead-out programming may be affected as well, since most viewers tune in early and watch later when NFL games are on TV. These networks also promote other programming during NFL games, and without that built-in promotional vehicle, ratings in other dayparts may decrease.

As media outlets across the country attempt to sell NFL packages to advertisers this year, those of us in the media industry are left wondering how we will replace dollars and points if the Lockout does, in fact, continue and games are canceled. No other sports franchise delivers the mass audience of the NFL. In five seasons on ESPN, Monday Night Football delivered eight of the top ten household audiences in Cable TV history. Advertisers know that most NFL viewers watch games in real-time, without DVR’s, making NFL games optimal advertising venues. Most prime programming doesn’t even come close in terms of ratings, viewers and engagement.

Without the NFL’s programming, advertisers will be faced with a classic supply and demand challenge. Few alternatives can achieve the same marketing and advertising results, forcing advertisers to scramble to reach their audience through other sports vehicles, such as college football, MLB playoffs, NHL and NBA games (assuming the NBA won’t have a labor stoppage). Dollars normally allocated for top-dollar playoff and Super Bowl games will have to be re-allocated. Sponsors will also have to spend money elsewhere.  Bud Light may need to find another home for the $1.2B they allocated over six years to be the NFL’s official beer sponsor.

Everyone seems to lose if the NFL and the NFLPA don’t come to some sort of agreement. As a media buyer and planner, I’m wondering if the MNF packages we’re reviewing are actually going to run. And, as a fan, I’m bracing for a Fall and Winter of NFL withdrawal.