"The Passion of the Fan"

From Adweek

Review by Sean McGough in KIN 332 

Digital Media is constantly changing in today’s society. More specifically, it is forever changing how fans interact with their favorite athletes, teams, leagues, and sports brands they follow. Fans are no longer turning to newspapers, magazines, or radios for their information. Why look something up when it could be found in a 0.002 second Google search? That is the mentality many sports fans have today and now that sports sponsors are a main source of information, they too must keep up with advancement of digital media. 

Fans want to be entertained with videos of their favorite athletes, play games, and win prizes. This article “The Passion of the Fan” by Stuart Feil digs deep into the sports and sponsorship marketing that is “fan involvement”. As sports marketing agency Catalyst found in its 2012 Fan Engagement Study, digital channels such as: league websites, fan sites, online sports news sources, sports-related Twitter feeds and other Internet and social media outlets are now second only to TV as a primary and trusted source of information for sports fans. With that information, marketers look to find a way to create sports advocates. A hot area for doing that now is with the use of “super fans” and loyalty programs. Organizations are utilizing Facebook pages and social media apps to extend their reach of gaining more fans. By giving fans more insight or “behind the scenes” content, they will be more engaged and connected.

However, once a fan is connected, they must also be continuously entertained. Sponsors and promotional marketers have created plans to do this, as well. Through commercials, documentaries, videos, and contests the fan always has entertainment at his or her fingertips with the click of a button.