Twisis? What Twisis!

With the growth of social media, sponsors are rightly keen to utilise channels such as Facebook and Twitter to engage with fans. For some, the holy grail is to use the profiles of leading sporting stars to showcase what they are doing. These channels present virgin territory for sponsors both in the sense that they are a growing outlet for sponsorship activation, but also in that they offer an “unbiased” channel in the minds of fans, who have consciously chosen to “follow” this personality. Using these channels is growing in importance in leveraging a sponsorship today, but it is important to remember that these channels also come with risks, and to prepare for them accordingly. In the same way that leveraging social media is virgin territory, crisis preparedness within social media is equally nascent, but being prepared is best.

Many brands are often reported to be scared of using social media. They are fearful that they can’t control it, especially what comments might be posted, rather than seeing it as a fantastic opportunity to start a dialogue with consumers. Throw in the fact that they might get drawn into an issue, started by their brand ambassador and some will run for the hills. This month has seen Kevin Pietersen and Dimi Mascarenhas both fined for their Twitter rants and latterly Australian swimmer Stephanie Rise dropped by Jaguar for alleged homophobic comments posted on Twitter whilst celebrating Australia’s victory over the Springboks.

Leading sports stars are passionate and competitive individuals; they have to be in order to be good at what they do, and this passion is what appeals to many fans and why they follow them. Channels like Twitter present a great opportunity for sponsors looking to make the most of this emotional response, but it is important to be prepared for the times when this passion goes too far.

Ian Budd