Cavs are burning up the Net
When the Cleveland Cavaliers took the court Jan. 7 to face the
Charlotte Bobcats, something looked different.
It certainly wasn't their three-point shooting or dazzling dunks, as
they won that game, 111-81.
Instead,
it was their uniforms. They weren't the traditional white with wine,
navy and gold trim. In fact, they had never been seen by the fans in
Quicken Loans Arena or by ones watching the broadcast at home.
However, the blue and yellow jerseys'
jock tags did include a logo that was becoming increasingly popular,
recognizable and advantageous for the team and organization.
The
knitted emblem represented CavFanatic, the team's social networking Web
site that allows fans to publish blogs, upload videos and share in the
camaraderie of the hometown team.
The uniforms reappeared two
nights later against the Boston Celtics, and served to drive home a
central point of a record-breaking season — in addition to winning, the
Cavs also covet keeping fans informed, connected to and excited about
the players and coaches they support through game tickets, merchandise,
and food and beverages.
Showcasing the logo revealed the
organization's foray into an open-door type of marketing where fans can
interact with radio personalities online or see text messages they sent
from their cellular phones appear on Fox Sports Ohio's postgame
television shows. The activities are fresh, exciting and seem to fit in
with the team's fun-loving, relaxed attitude visible in everybody from
owner Dan Gilbert to security guards at The Q.
"(The Cavs
technological marketing efforts) include two elements: To move our
business forward, but also just to be cool," said Tracy Marek, the
team's senior vice president of marketing.
"Technology is
obviously our major driver," she said. "Our goal is to make Cavs
information, on every level, as accessible as possible."
The
team's marketing, communications and Web officials say that plan really
began to take form during the 2008 NBA playoffs, when the Cavaliers
quietly launched CavFanatic. That summer, team employees pored through
data and decided which additions would make the site the hit that it
has become. To date, the network serves 10,000 users. More than 70,000
receive the team's weekly newsletter, Cavaliers Insider.
Once
fans create a free CavFanatic account, they can use the site to post
photos, videos and join discussion groups with others who want to talk
about the same topics. For example, forum users were furious Friday
regarding ESPN personality Skip Bayless' charge of NBA Most Valuable
Player LeBron James being "classless."
"The purpose of
CavFanatic was to let our most passionate fans interact with each
other," said Jeff Lillibridge, Cavs director of Web services. "We feel
it is one of the strongest NBA social networks."
Cavs telecaster
Fred McLeod, arena announcer Ahmaad Crump and former players like Jim
Chones have their own profiles and blogs that allow users to post
comments and engage in dialogue with each other and those particular
users. Players like James and guard Mo Williams also have profiles, but
they are far less active than other Cavs affiliates.
Lillibridge
estimates that fewer than 10 NBA teams have similar networks. Team
officials said there is no real way to measure exactly how many of
those "CavFanatics" are buying jerseys and helping the team achieve its
routine arena sellouts. However, the increasing traffic to the site
will surely continue attracting big-name advertisers and gives the team
more space to display the logos of companies they partner with for fan
contests and promotions.
The ideas and initiatives usually arise
from meetings with the Cavaliers' SWARM team, a 15-person conglomerate
of employees from the Sales, Web, Analytics, Research and Marketing
departments, said Jeff Ryznar, director of strategic marketing. The
group meets biweekly with its own ideas, but even those are a function
of Gilbert's willingness to see what sticks to the marketing wall.
"Dan
Gilbert is an extremely successful, savvy, tech-based marketer," said
Tad Carper, Cavs senior vice president of communications. "The success
that he's had in Quicken Loans and other ventures, as well, have really
translated well to the Cavs business operation.
"We're fortunate
in that we have a foundation with our ownership that's been laid to
encourage us and push us to be tech aggressive," Carper said. "Not
everything works, but Dan has really put us in a position to experiment
and try new things."
Another new thing introduced this season is
the team's mobile phone initiative. The multifaceted, interactive
campaign allows fans in The Q to win prizes by answering trivia
questions through texting. They also can send camera phone pictures to
be displayed on the Q Tube.
The Cavaliers also instituted a
Mobile Alert System that offers breaking news, statistics and
information on team giveaways. Ryznar said this is the first year of a
three-year mobile plan for the team. But with 20,000 Mobile Alert
subscribers, the Cavs lead the league in mobile database subscriber
volume.
"I anticipate that we'll keep that title," Ryznar said.
However,
the Cavs' mobile initiative is different than the FS Ohio display of
fan text messages on television. The scrolling texts that let fans
proclaim The Q as the "King's Court," are really the result of a
partnership between FS Ohio and San Francisco-based mobile marketer
Phizzle. But the Cavs wanted in, and now, fans who send those messages
receive a bounce-back text that thanks them and invites them to join
the Cavs Mobile Alert System.
"It's really a mutually beneficial partnership," Ryznar said. "Mobile
(technology) is developing and evolving so quickly."
The
Cavs also have joined the worldwide Twitter party, constantly sending
followers tweets about in-game activities, contests and game-changing
plays like James chasing a ball out of bounds and hugging a courtside
fan on his way back.
The team's tech-based initiative also will
include face-to-face interaction. Next season will be the first year
CavFanatic Web site members will have their own section, within The Q's
Loudville, to enjoy games together and bond in the flesh.
"In all these initiatives, there's an underlying theme," Ryznar said.
"Managing the relationship between us and our fans."
For
all that the Cavs business has done to market the team, winning
certainly helps. When innovation mixes with an elite team contending
for a championship, all involved parties enjoy the results.
"Basketball
leads everything we do, there's no question about that," Carper said.
"It's really been the perfect storm. It's one thing to sort of ride the
wave, but it's another to try to make the wave bigger."
So, do the officials leading the team's business SWARM believe the Cavs
will bring home a championship next month?
"That's the goal," Carper said.
