Facebook results are music to the ears of Sony
Sports New Media hold a position of strength on facebook that few other companies can dream about, giving us the opportunity to offer unparalleled opportunities to anyone who wants to take advantage.
With an accessible and growing fan base of around 4.2 million people worldwide, Sports New Media are in a position to offer targeted messaging that takes into account a number of factors that include age, nationality and language.
Tom Webster, Head of Agency Sales for the company, is the man charged with getting the word out for this exciting product, and one of the first people he contacted was Sony BMG.
We were delighted to take advantage of a test with Sports New Media, and were delighted with a very impressive set of results delivered through the Pages on Facebook
“I had a relationship with them from my previous role at AOL, and saw them as recently as Christmas before I started at Sports New Media,” notes Webster.
“There were issues with us persuading them to get an initial test budget away, and at the time we were in a position to give them a free 5k test to prove that we could drive a bank of results.”
The importance of a product being relevant is crucial to Sports New Media, who have managed to build-up their fan base from 1.1 million to its current level in less than six months.
This is done by targeting messaging, both with news and video stories related to the player as well as advertisement features. In the case of Sony BMG, Kasabian launching the new England away kit was a perfect opportunity to test the waters on facebook with a product that met all of our own requirements.
“Sony were solely interested in what we were doing on facebook, and they buy directly from them a lot. This meant our results would be comparable against the most common form of advertisement on the social networking site, and our results prove that we are offering great value for money,” said Webster.
“Whilst you’re looking at around £1 per click with the traditional facebook advertisement, we work back to around 38/39p per click. These results are obviously very favourable for us.”
The information and feedback received from the campaign is difficult to get using any other advertisement tool, and we will definitely be looking to work further with Sports New Media in the future
Roly Elliott, Account Director at Manning Gottlieb OMD, was behind the test deal from the agency side. He pointed to the extensive feedback from the advertorial posts, something that isn’t received through standard advertisement, as another major bonus from the campaign.
“We were delighted to take advantage of a test with Sports New Media, and were delighted with a very impressive set of results delivered through the Fan Pages on Facebook.
“The information and feedback received from the campaign is difficult to get using any other advertisement tool, and we will definitely be looking to work further with Sports New Media in the future.”
The Sony BMG test was a case of right place, right time for Manning Gottlieb OMD. Since their video rollout, further successful advertorials have left Sports New Media in a position of strength without needing to offer tests.
This particular case study showcases all of the positives that can be accentuated from the Fan Pages, and Webster has been happy to use it in front of other possible clients.
“In the beginning we were looking to get our pipeline going and getting as much coverage and exposure as possible within the agencies. At the time it was appropriate to give a test to get the ball rolling, but that isn’t the case anymore.
“We now have this to showcase to other possible entertainment clients. It’s all about hitting the right demographic for such companies, and we can give that to them with results that match up against anything.
“Advertisers love that we can measure brand engagement with regards to likes and comments alongside traditional results, and these are yet more bonuses that other media owners can’t compete with.”
Positive responses have become commonplace for Sports New Media on facebook, and Webster has noted the speed at which word-of-mouth is beginning to move through the industry.
“People are contacting us about the Fan Pages, and we’re having lots of positive conversations with a number of clients.”
“The whole team at Sports New Media is working hard to deliver a great service to potential clients.”
