This is NOT your father’s register to to win program

MyColts.net launched a new promotion last week in which title sponsor, RCA, is giving away flat-screen TVs for the fans who write the best blogs. RCA is asking Colts fans to talk about what it’s like to watch Colts games on TV, and how much better their experiences would be if they had a brand new TV set from RCA.

So far this promotion could serve as an example to all sponsors, especially those who have shied away from social media because they think fans will say bad things about their products. In this case, this promotion seems to have tapped a lot of pent up love for RCA.

A few things that make this contest interesting:

1. It’s more than JUST a register to win contest

The MyColts / RCA promotion requires a lot out of the fans. To win this contest you gotta earn it. Fans are writing well thought out posts, many of which are over 500 words. Many include photos. All are very passionate. These fans are investing a lot of emotion in the contest, and they’re doing it amongst the friends they have come to know in the MyColts.net community. All of this emotional investment is money in the bank from a Colts brand equity standpoint. It’s the kind of stuff that members enjoy. It gives them a chance to compete, express their passion, gives them stronger identity among their peers, and gives them a chance to earn special privileges from the Colts.

2. Fans appreciate MyColts.net and value RCA’s sponsorship

Above is just one of several comments that appeared on MyColts.net immediately the promotion was announced. Click on the image to see the rest.

Note: these are not the contest entries. These are just the fans’ initial reactions to hearing about the promotion. Note that fans take time to thank both RCA and the Colts. This is a perfect example of how we want fans to feel…we want them to feel closer to the team, and we want them to realize that fun stuff like MyColts.net would not be possible with our sponsors like RCA. RCA is adding value to the fans’ experiences, and these posts illustrate the fact that the fans understand and appreciate this fact.

3. Fans appreciate RCA, on MyColts and Facebook and RCA is responding

I clipped these comments from a long thread of similar fan posts on RCA’s Facebook page. Click on the image to see the rest.

How many promotions have you seen that have inspired fans to praise a product to their friends? Seems to me that if I’m a Colts fans, and I read a friend talking about how much he or she loves RCA TV sets, I will probably at least consider purchasing RCA next time in the market. Don’t you think?

So far this promotion is a success in the eyes of RCA partly because of the buzz it has created on mycolts.net, but also because the promotion has spilled over onto Facebook. One of RCA’s secondary goals with this promotion was to breath some life into its Facebook fan page. In the first few days after launching, membership on the RCA fan page nearly doubled, and as you can see from the image above Colts fans are posting unsolicited testimonials about RCA and its products, and perhaps more importantly, RCA is replying to the posts and participating in the community. This is another big step in the right direction, and hats off to RCA for investing the time to engage with Colts fans in this way. This is a great example – albeit small – of the right way to engage in online sports sponsorship.

Here’s a summary of fan activity so far:

There were 103 blog post entries in five days 10/15/09-10/20/09. Subsequent posts will be entered to win a TV Next week. In all, RCA is giving away five televisions from October through January. Fans are encouraged to write every week for chances to win.

The posts were a lot of fun for site members. Seems nothing bonds fans like their TV viewing experience.

Some fans watch with family, some friends, some both. Some are outside the TV viewing area and tell tales of searching for the game in sports bars.

Some talked about calling/texting other fans during the game. Others detailed the struggle to watch the game while caring for young children.

The winning post:Week 1
Why I NEED an RCA LCD here in NJ

Posted 10-20-2009 by karenloves18
How I Watch My Colts on Game Day:

Sunday is the highlight of my week during NFL season. I awake early and remember to put on my blue #18 jersey and my lucky horsehoe-charm necklace in anticipation of a Colts victory. Here’s the intriguing part now: I live in New Jersey (the actual home to not one, but two NFL teams as you know) and finding a Colts game airing on television here is virtually impossible, unless it’s a prime-time, nationally-televised game. This leads to one of two scenarios for me on game day. Read the rest

She has posted some juicy tidbits about sponsorship and social media. Here are some of my favorites:

“Sponsorship hasn’t changed. The world has changed.It’s been a sobering year”

AmEx Rich Learfield VP Global says Social Media allows them to gain scale & engage passionate fans so we look for best ideas

Soc media importance will grow more w/location based services @tpmcghee ie where fans congregate after game? share pic of experience

Anheuser Busch doubling spend on social media. Huge platform to access fan base- ask fans imp questions. Want to go where fans are

talked to several sports ppl w/influence last night in NY who still don’t have a clue- others part of the social media momentum

Not re: brand awareness must be activation according 2 Dan McHugh- Anheuser Busch. Partners must ans. How can U move more beer

Gatorade dropped TV spend from 87% of budget last year to 66% this year. Digital marketing moves from 0% to 6%

ROI is king BUT @tpmcghee AT&T says sponsors don’t have answers to what makes ROI which is 1 reason why sharing doesn’t happen

NFL CMO says must look at fans dfferently, sponsors differently. Dialogue must B deeper but partners won’t share metrics for ROI

sports attendance down. Made industry sharper. Competition that doesn’t adjust won’t be around-

More and more fans are using the site to plan events like this and real community is being formed among Colts fans, both online and offline…which is what the Colts were hoping for in the first place. Now the team can come alongside the energy being generated by the fans…and work with this community to do great stuff in the community.

Also, you cannot underestimate how much passion these fans have for the team…and meeting a Colts staffer, regardless of job title, is ALWAYS cool for fans.

Each week during the season one fan will be selected to receive a personalized game ball. These balls are official NFL footballs, and they’re painted by the same company that does the balls for Colts players and coaches.

Winners are not selected at random. To earn this prize, a fan has to add value to the MyColts.net community in meaningful ways. The Colts are interested in building quality interaction within the community rather than merely attracting game players. The game ball carries the winner’s name as well as his / her screen name.

It’s great to see how fellow mycolts.net members react when a winner is announced. Note all the supportive comments on this thread.

The game ball promotion is just one example of MyColts members gaining special access and prizes through participation in community. Some prizes are awarded based on the number of Colts Cred points a fan has earned. Others are awarded more subjectively by moderator based on the quality the fan has added to the community.

So far fans have earned chances to attend the team’s private kick-off luncheon (seated with alumni players and coaches), appear on pre-game radio show as guest football expert…and more.