Regular season is finally here! You made it through the summer, anticipation grew during the pre-season and now it's finally arrived.
Although you're excited to execute the plans you developed during the off-season, it's important to refresh on the basics. Home runs are great, but it's often the singles and doubles that win the game.
Fans want to be involved. Campaigns don't always have to be a big collaborative project; they can be something as simple as replying to your team's tweet. Social media buzzes naturally during the game, but you need to give fans something to look forward to when the team isn't playing.
By creating a consistent series of engagement campaigns, fans have the chance to take part in a unifying team tradition. A campaign series sets the expectation for your fans that every game they have an opportunity to win an awesome incentive.
5 Ideas for a Fan Engagement Series
1. Game Day Head-to-Head
Campaign type: Tug-of-War
Before each game, ask your fans to make a pre-game prediction of the night's outcome. Is your team a virtual lock to win? Is it a coin flip? Challenge your fans - and even your opponent's fans - to a conversational head-to-head battle with our fun tug-of-war campaign.
2. Pre-Game First Goal Prediction
Campaign type: Vote
Unlike the tug-of-war where you have a 50% chance of success, predicting which player will score your team's first goal is much more complex. Is your top scorer going to come up clutch or will the underdog rise to the occasion? With our vote campaign, your fans have their say!
3. Post-Game Sponsored Coupon
Campaign type: Coupon
Team up with a corporate sponsor to offer fans a discount based on any game statistic or metric. We're inspired by MLS' Vancouver Whitecaps current post-game campaign, where they give out a store coupon to keep fans engaged even after the game is over. The mystery of what the coupon is worth and what metric it's based on creates the feeling of anticipation which otherwise evaporates once the game ends.
4. Plays of the Month
Campaign: Vote
Re-live the best dunks, touchdowns, goals and saves with a monthly series featuring highlights over the past four weeks! Plays of the Month are a fun way to entertain your fans and remind them of some of the big moments they loved. Whether you want to include strictly plays during the game or mix in some humorous off-ice antics, the options are unlimited.
5. Game Day Ticket Giveaway
Campaign type: Instant Win
It's the morning of game day. A college student couldn't come up with the money to buy tickets to tonight's game, but they've eagerly anticipated the game-day tweet prompting fans to enter their ticket giveaway contest. Unfortunately, they didn't win today, but they keep their heads high knowing there's another chance in a few days!
This Instant Win example is precisely why a consistent series of engagement campaigns is such a successful strategy. Typical fan engagement only spikes when the team is playing or they announce significant news. Implementing a regular set of campaigns gives fans more events to look forward to, building anticipation for something other than the game.
