“HOW THE LA KINGS ARE REDEFINING SPORTS SOCIAL MEDIA” One of the things that bothers me about some companies is the lack of pure enthusiasm and brand character they fail to display: too much bland or too much fake enthusiasm (read: exclamation points!!). The voice of a brand should be natural, not conservative. Enter, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings brilliant social media team:
[the LA King's] social media team have an unabashedly biased voice, regularly poke fun at opposing teams’ fans and hometowns and pull comedic stunts other pro sports teams would likely deem too lively.
In the sports arena where “chalkboard material” is seriously frowned upon, the Kings have used it to their advantage to rile up their fans, take time to poke fun at the media, and getting celebrities involved. Now, will other teams or even companies take a similar approach away from the cookie-cutter methods?
THE YEAR IN TV: QUALITY OVER QUANTITY? Tim Goodman from “The Hollywood Reporter” gives some quick insight on the current state of television programming and it could mean to the Emmys this year. As has been the case over the last several years, network TV is strong when it comes to delivering quality sitcoms, while basic and premium cable nets are superior in dramas. I can’t agree more that JUSTIFIED deserves some recognition (if not for Best Drama, at least for Timothy Olyphant) and will be curious to see how DOWNTON ABBEY fares now that it has left the cozy manse of the “mini series” category.
“10 LITTLE KNOWN SOCIAL TOOLS YOU SHOULD BE USING” A pretty good little guide from Entrepreneur to some analytic, management and insight applications. Very good stuff here.
TOO BIG, TOO SOON? Time’s James Poniewozik posits the question: is GAME OF THRONES getting increasingly complicated for viewers? While the audience numbers have not only stayed steady from season 1, but instead has grown, George RR Martin’s behemoth tale is only picking up more steam by adding new characters, subplots and locations. As a reader of the books (currently half way through Book 4), I’ve thought the weight of the universe and large number of player characters would overwhelm the show and the audience. HBO developed a good (but not great) viewer’s guide detailing the houses, pacts, characters and lands. The show and producers, in order to maintain interest and non-overload of “umm, who is he?” questions, should push this feature more during the next round of promotions for season 3 with the simple message of “Hey, dear audience, we know this is a complicated world but, honestly, it’s only going to get more crazy, so let us help you”
ANOTHER TAKE ON THE MERGE OF CRM AND SOCIAL MEDIA From goingsocialnow.com:
…the potential acquisitions of these social suite players by the major CRM companies represent the final nail in the coffin of social media. No more is it something separate, disconnected, cute and experimental. It has just moved to the heart of all marketing efforts
