Maxys Feed

Coke 2020 - The Digital Roadmap Ahead

scott.maxworthy@gmail.com (Administrator) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 01:35:03 GMT

These two clips from Coke have become an essential introduction for my new clients trying to understand the current and future digtial landscape ahead of us.

I personally applaud Coke for sharing this presentation - it not only creates a framework that educates potential creative partners but also inspires (raises the benchmark) for other businesses.

The Key to Success - Do It With Passion

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:58:19 GMT

Here we go again, I'm starting a new business, well not really new, it's more an ongoing activity.

Starting a new business is never easy - I don't have any misconceptions - most fail and takes years to be an overnight success. Author Malcolm Gladwell talks of the 10,000 hours theory to be an expert or a champion (in any field)

I have about a dozen ideas I'm currently tossing around - some good, some need more work - most will sit on the shelf and never see the light of day.

Each approach has its pros and cons. What’s needed is a plan and focus.

The key difference is that instead of trying to work out ways of making money I've decided to follow my passion and let the money hopefully be a result of the pursuit - you see I've been bitten hard by the photography bug - I've always enjoyed photography but up until now it was like a seed that had not been given enough nutrician and taken root - any creative pursuit had taken second place.

I've also been round long enough to know about cash flow, marketing, customer service and that creating a sustainable competitive advantage are some of the key the things you need to consider for any business - new or existing.

No customers, no cash - it's not a business it's just a hobby!

I suppose, when it comes down the crunch I’d rather spend my limited time left on something I love to do. If you have passion then you’re willing to learn and work through the night, as you learn your skills develop and from a creative perspective you improve your ability to transform a thought into a piece of work.

If you do that process well and develop a unique style (competitive advantage) then it may resonate with an audience and encourage someone to part with their hard earned cash (or at least earn attention).

There will always be a need in helping others transform their ideas into a reality - whether that's photographically, internet video or digital strategy.

Yep, photography is very competitive and creativity is practically a commodity - the question is do I just do something else and add my photography interest into the mix?

I sit down now and begin to map out the path ahead. I think there's an opportunity here to document and share the progress so I don't make the same mistakes time and time again, are hopefully useful or at least entertaining.

Comments and feedback are part of the process.

Tomorrow - where to start

Coming from the digital media space I've already developed the name and logo, built a website and have began incorporating social media (Facebook, Twitter and Google+) into the marketing process. I'll talk more about these in later blogs.

You can subscribe to this blog via RSS, email or by completing this form - welcome along.

Tell Me A Story That Sells

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:01:28 GMT

A man is asleep on a bed, fully clothed in a suit, the camera moves across to an alarm clock on a bed sitter.

Frank Sinatra Justin Timberlake is playing Frank Sinatra - (Kutcher was busy and can't sing that I know of). They could have cast Lada Gaga to make it different - both icons of their time. Between Timberlake, Kutcher and Gaga they have over 39m Twitter followers (source). Maybe they could throw in cameos from Kim Kardashian, Justin Beiber or a Steve Jobs holograph - that would increase viewers and sharing. I digress, it's gettting late.

I check the time, switch off the tele and post my last tweet - time for bed, tomorrow we're heading away for a couple of weeks R&R.

Funny, we don't tend to have alarm clocks any more (or watches for that matter) - those period type movies are soooo... - time offers a reflective property, a bit like looking at old photos of your grand parents - that was then, this is now.

I set the alarm on my phone.

INTERIOR. BEDROOM - MORNING

The SOUND of traffic in the background, faint light coming through the thick drawn curtains, we pan over a half packed suitcase. Clothes strewn across the room.

CUT TO:

On a bedside table sits a Samsung Galaxy Nexus Google Android phone and a half eaten ice cream sandwich. The time shows 5:59AM

[Insert: gratuitous product placement and SEO link bait - Note: the ice cream metaphor also relevant to select audience]

CUT TO:

6:00AM the alarm goes off - the SOUND phone effect of a rooster crowing.

ECU - That moment of waking up dazed, the transition from subconsciousness to conscious reality and then.....?

Picks up phone and immediately checks email and Facebook.

Stop there!

You're busting to do a pee but you check whether someone has sent you a message - that's bizarre! Is there some kind of compulsive addiction thing happening here?

Last year a study by Oxygen Media and Lightspeed Research found that as many as one-third of women aged 18-34 check Facebook when they first wake up, even before they get to the bathroom (or sex!). Men are generally less internet socially skilled means they'd be slightly less compulsive (as a group).

Either way, you acknowledge how intrusive and pervausive social technology now is in our lives. If we are not constantly connected we feel withdrawn like some alcohlic or junkie.

Internet Addiction - It's "all good" or is it?

The "technatics" (technology fanatics) will simply say this is the way it is - that it's not bad becuase it's "connecting" people and ideas - that it's "doing good". There are many strong arguments in favour - you only have to think of social media driven revolutions and the sharing of inspirational TED presentations.

There's some "good TV"; there's some "good people" BUT (there's always a "but"), is it "ALL GOOD"?

More time is spent online today then watching television and over 20% of that time is on/ in social media;

Another report - more than half (53%) of the Facebook users surveyed had played a social game, with two thirds (65%) starting to play in the last year including 13% in the last month. 19% of social gamers considered themselves ‘addicted’.

So, is playing games a waste of time?

In terms game playing benefits - is watching reality TV shows any different than playing a computer game or cyberchatting with your friends?

Is it all just escapism from the drudgery and challenges of normal life or is this just life abd we have a much more transparent window?

With everyone now being a publisher (and so much noise) - from a business marketing perspective how do brands get cut through?

What's Important to your audience?

Last week IBM published the CMO - Leadership and Innovation Report - the key findings revealed that CMOs (Chief Marketing Officers) see four of these challenges as pervasive, universal game-changers:

the data explosion,
social media,
proliferation of channels and devices, and
shifting consumer demographics.

Additionally, most CMOs are struggling in one vital respect — providing the numbers that demonstrate a return on marketing investment (ROMI).

Exploring Digtial Solutions & ROMI

In terms of Digital Strategy and Internet Marketing then at the moment I'm looking at this whole corporate transmedia storytelling thing - it goes way beyond the basics of Facebook fan pages; Twitter accounts, web pages and SEO.

It goes to the essence of "shareworthyness" - of creating an interactive story experience that resonates and connects with potential customers and influencers.

Following is a recent prezi presentation mash up that looks at Digital Media Strategy and Transmedia Marketing

Transmedia Corporate Storytelling on Prezi

Times have changed - the old ways we considered the "norm" are like the alarm clocks and film only movie cameras. How do we adapt and implement; how to we lead; and how do we engage and service our customers?

We developed our stories - we build our teams - we create and deliver - we share, influence, sell and service.

If interested in more information please connect via Twitter; Facebook; email OR you can RSS my blog feed updates here http://feeds.feedburner.com/maxys

Cheers

Maxy

Does It Spread? Online Retailing #OREC and Social Video

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:10:29 GMT

With 65% of instore purchases initiated on the web - the new battlefield for customer attention is online and, as we all know, the web is increasingly social.

Today your prospective customers are being influenced by blogs; forums; friends; other customer reviews and what people share online.

When we look at TV, advertising and the movies, we see the most powerful mass storytelling media is video (the majority of us are predominately visual in the way we consume information about the world around us).

Combine video storytelling with the communications power of the Internet and you have a "social video" platform which every organisation can leverage - from the very big to smallest organisation.

It's all about strategy and creativity; your story; and the telling and sharing of it, how it resonates, that matters most.

BUT be warned - there are 48 hours of content uploaded to Youtube every minute - how is your content different? Does it spread? Does it connect with your audience? Does it achieve a business objective? Does it spread?

This week I presented at a workshop at the Online Retailer conference in Sydney on creative internet video and customer engagement.

Following is the presentation in prezi (great from brainstorming to presentation) - it's a mash up of years in business anmd marketing plus weeks researching the web on "social video" - it is around 45 minutes long but by no means complete (note: I'll add a list of great sources soon - just ran out of time for this post).

Ironically, I didn't allocate enough time to properly edit the content down (personal lesson learnt) - will cut out 50% of the content and make message stronger (that's an overall work in progress)

Online Retailer - Creative Social Video & Customer Engagement on Prezi

What do Justin Timberlake and Brian Solis have in common?

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 20:58:38 GMT

Viewer, reader, fan - attention is scarce, a big bang then fill in the details. It's the inverted pyramid approach - big blocks down to the detail - it's like a movie trailer.

I'm speaking at an online retailing conference on Monday about creative internet video.

With all presentations (offline and on) you need to undertstand who your audience is?
What your key messages are?
What "action" you desire (and how you'll measure success?)
About being creative - does the content connect and share - what's the story? What's the hook?
How else are going to promote, engage and influence your audience?

Much of the talk today in the digital marketing space is about "earned media" (where influencers spread your brand message [think PR & Word of Mouth]). It's about brand storytelling that resonates with your audience.

When thinking "branding" and "storytelling" then advertising and movies comes to mind.

In looking at digtial media and social media strategy then one of the leaders in the field is Brian Solis, rated the world's #9 marketing blog by Advertising Age's "Power 150".

"In Time" is a new Crime/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller movie coming out on the 27th October featuring Justin Timberlake , Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy. At this time of writing 5,458,687 views, 4,000 likes.

I love the top rated comment on Youtube "Why the FUCK didn't they call this movie Justin Time?" baaahhhaaaaaa :)

The central characters name is "Will Salas" - is that serendipity (I hope that's the right use of the word) or influential social marketing?

The pre film marketing includes a Facebook photography contest - put together by Talenthouse - JT tweeted the competition announcement out to his 6.5m followers.

Sub branding engagment

Another URL offered Comic-Con Fans posters to Like and Tweet to engage

http://www.therichcanliveforever.com/

Timberlake, Seyfried talk "In Time" at Comic-Con

"(Reuters) - By now, most anyone who knows anything about Comic-Con International knows it has become a grand platform from which Hollywood's studios launch promotional campaigns for upcoming films and television shows."

We'll track progress

http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/youtube/Official_In_Time_Trailer_%5BHD%5D?id=fdadZ_KrZVw

Note: I'm typing this while waiting in a Doctors reception area - my appointment is 45 minutes late. Time is Money!

Presenting Like Jobs

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:16:27 GMT

ACT I

You know the problem, you've been asked to speak at a conference or seminar. These types of gigs are important for your business and personal growth so you want to make sure the presentation is not only great but highly effective.

Where do you start?

You need a story to tell, to understand your audience, set the opening scene, introduce your main character, create a goal, then an inciting incident (and the Antagonist), a plot point or two, conflicts and solutions and finally a climax/ resolution. All within an easy to consume narrative.

Introducing The Protaganist, the main character

As you may of heard Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO from Apple - this thing called the Internet that you are currently browsing, your PC, your ipod, your new smart phone or tablet is partly becuase of Job's influence.

Note: There's a great blog by BNET on Steve Jobs and Apple which I highly recommend

Anyway, beyond the technology it is Job's refinement of presenting and communicating that I'm deeply interested in. If you've ever seen a Job's presentation they are super slick. His time with Pixar must have also helped refine his storytelling and presenting skills at not only engaging an audience but inspiring them - but that's too much detail for now so I'll edit it out.

There's a lot to learn from the Masters.

For the last few days I've been putting together some notes for a 30 minute presentation on Internet Video for Online Retailing - the event organiser just called - how's my presentation going? (The Inciting Incident)

I'm now thinking about "The Antagonist" - this helps flesh out ACT II - problems and solutions - to see things from their perspective.

ACT II

It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the elements involved - you're looking for a road map with tips and traps. How much detail do you need to provide? Customer attention is highly valued - there's a difference between talking to kindergarten kids and adults (some would argue not a lot of difference). You want to inform and engage.

Research - are you imitating or innovating?

Innovation is great - immitation is faster.

All innovation incorporates lessons and influences from others. If you watched the BNET presentation above the Apple Mac mouse and GUI (Graphical User Interface) were inspired by Xero.

Presenting like Jobs

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

View more presentations from Carmine Gallo

Now comes our story telling stage (more to come) and the narrative.

ACT III

The clock has run out - it's too late to turn back.

Your hand out is finished

OBJECTIVE:

Producing Internet Videos for Online Retailers

PREREQUISITES:

A Marketing Communications Plan
The Brief
- Your brand positioning
- Know your target audience?
- Reasons to buy
- Measurable goals - What is the end result of the video?
- Budget expectation?
- When?

TASKS - Five Phases of Video Production:

Development
- Why video?
- DIY/ Outsource - Not all video producers are the same (selecting production)
- Scriptwriting
- Define objective in one simple sentence.
- What's your Story (message) in one simple sentence?
- Who is your audience?
- What do you want and how will it be measured?
- Call to Action
- Viability
- Resources
  - Talent
  - Budget/ ROMI (Return On Marketing Investment)
Pre-Production
Logistics
Creative Planning
Talent/ Rehearsals
Production Elements
Production
Execution
Post Production
Editing
Sound Design
Visual
Distribution
- Delivery
- Marketing

TIPS:

Development
- Time spent in Pre-Production yields Quality
- Video is better at communicating emotion than facts and details.
- Allocate 50% your time planning; 30% on production/ editing and 20% post production
- KISS > One objective = one video
- Video is storytelling - how does your Story help your viewer?
- Where to start your video story? Begin with the end in mind (objectives and outcomes)
- The Brief

A bad brief starts you off in the wrong direction. So you have to stop, figure out where the heck you are going and start again. Or worse, you follow that brief to Trash Town, a total waste of time and energy.

http://www.adcracker.com/brief/Sample_Creative_Brief.htm

Choosing a video production company
- Use a specialist - in particular online video
- How long has the company been trading?
- Examine previous work - portfolio, case study, testimonials
- Ideas for your business?
- Are they web savvy? - Ask about online video optiminisation
- Do they have design skills?
- Are they business focused? The difference between benefits and features?
- Do they understand your products and services

Scripts
- Know the basics before breaking them - apply the Three Act Structure.
- Avoid excessive details - if your video is boring - your viewers “gone” - you’ve about 4 seconds on whether they stay or go.
- Avoid humour - maintain your brand identity – consistent and entertaining.
- Value your viewer attention - keep it short and relevant - Get view attention early
- 40 words = 15 seconds Script Calculator http://www.clivevideo.com/FAQs/New-to-CLIVE/clive-video-script-calculator.html
- Consider upstream elements - production, editing, distribution (social media, embedding, mobile).
Talent
- People buy from people - establish trust - make your video authentic – trustworthy and honest – that connects – like talking to a friend.
- A professional presenter will deliver an unrehearsed script perfectly to camera in 1-2 takes
- Brand Ambassadors work.
- Non Professional Presenter coaching
  - Voice; tone; inflection; body language.
- http://www.starnow.com.au

Pre-Production
- Scheduling - run sheets; shot sheets
- Crew
- Permisssions - eg council permits - always make sure you talk to the person who knows
- Artwork
Production
- Execution
Post Production
- Encoding
- Apple and Flash
- Video Players
- Mobility
- Internet television
Distribution
- Television, Tradeshow, Point of Sale, Youtube; Vimeo; Facebook; Twitter; Corporate Streaming
- VSEO
  - Think metadata – search engine optiminisation keywords
  - Think Shareable – transmedia (integrated marketing)
  - Analytics

TRAPS:

Lack of Planning – solution – know your message and storyboard your script.
Underestimating how much work is involved – 2-5 minutes can take days/ month to produce
Video is a very powerful tool but one bad video can ruin years of work - Online forever
Make sure you’re not just hiring a cameraman
Avoid humour
Be aware of copyright/ licensed/ non authorised images, audio in shots.
Video streaming - is it fast?

Now to work on the Storyboard.

Brain, Attitude and Customer Love

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:17:34 GMT

How much do the businesses and brands you consume love you?

Popularity is such a fleeting thing - one minute you're interesting the next you're old news.

We're sitting in the new coffee shop overlooking the bay, the old favorite is so yesterday as getting a car spot is a nightmare now the place is so popular with the masses. Last time you went the waitress didn't even know your name (shameful I know)

Word of Mouth

Don't you find that always seems to happen? What makes something initially cool and special creates the word of mouth buzz which in turn reduces risk and increases acceptance for the mainstream masses.

At the moment the cafe owner is milking the proverbial cash cow BUT in a few months or a year competition will likely increase and the mass will fragment or move elsewhere - where's there's profits, low barrier to entry and no sustainable competitive advantage then market saturation will occur (at some point)!

With three new local coffee shops I'm reminded on the tulpengekte - Danish Tulip mania bubble.

Social Media BS

I always find it interesting when online social media helps make a place popular quickly - yet it's also amazing how many businesses either don't engage in the space or equally think it IS the magic answer to their marketing problems. Negative online word of mouth spreads faster than good.

Another one of my favorite cafes is slowly building their business to be a special destination - they aim big - no rapid fame - quality focus.

Anyway, as digital marketers we try and focus on connecting with people that will like, spread, influence and amplify the core messages yet we only have to look at our own personal preferences to understand the marketing challenge - it's like some sort of real-time constantly changing matrix of features, benefits, pro and cons.

Real-time Relevance

An advertising challenge is real time relevance.

Behavioral guru BJ Fogg talks about the activation threshold and the three elements which must converge at the same moment for a behavior to occur: Motivation, Ability, and Trigger (When a behavior does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing). http://www.behaviormodel.org/

I get up and shut the window, the noise from the busy street outside makes it hard listen and concentrate. There's a nice warm sunlight streaming through but now I'm missing the soft ocean breeze that keeps the air alive and fresh - there always seems to be some kind of trade off.

Message Filtering

We constantly filter our messages and see what we want to see.

Anne Marie is the Marketing Manager of a small- mid sized business, she's sipping her soy decaff latte "Bloody hell, just when you think you've got a grasp on this social media thing the playing field changes" - she's referring to Google + and telling me she's already hearing how the cool kids are leaving the Facebook party, that they're bored with the everybody you know knowing everything you do scenario, that Facebook was like high school and just a phase they went through, that until now there was no other real option. They've moved on - that their attention and time elsewhere.

"We've invested a lot of energy understanding Facebook and LinkedIn - does this mean it's yet another digital channel we now need to invest, engage in and understand?" she asks.

Yes, your brands, online and offline ("inline") need to be where your most new prospective and current customers are but it's your call on how much investment or resource is allocated and what level of social media engagement you deliver.

Also, social media marketing is not the answer to everyone - it's an element of your sales, customer service and marketing mix. I can't see fans of washing powder having as much passion as Sports teams but you can be creative and produce content that resonates with you audience - that they'll share.

Social media understanding is also maturing - it's less now about the quantity of contacts and more about the quality of the relationships and conversations within the network (Google + Circles). Note: As these circles and conversations are indexed this will influence search engine results. (This is more in tune with the way we already do things offline - ie trusted third party referral).

Technology will get smarter

You see every bit of data, tweet, blog post, comment, photo and video uploaded is already help building your online profile and reputation. (There's even a website and app that calculates what your next tweet will be http://yes.thatcan.be/my/next/tweet/)

Technology will get smarter at delivering more relevant opportunities based upon our real time needs and as choice and competition increases, it's important for businesses to remember that it takes 80% more effort to find a new customer then to service a happy existing one.

The answer, invest in happy customers - the only true sustainable competitve advantages are your brain, attitude and customer love.

Video Fan Hub Test

scott.maxworthy@gmail.com (Administrator) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 00:43:01 GMT

Fan Hub video concept test

{jumi [*39]}

Monetising Internet Video

scott.maxworthy@gmail.com (Administrator) — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 06:45:01 GMT

If you're a regular reader of my blog then by now you already know that video content is about to explode on the web. The fact is we love video and if you're like me you'll look for a short 1-2 minute video instead of having to reading a page full of text and, if the content is good, you'll likely share.

In fact, your social sharing of content and your online reputation (online domains of expertise) is increasingly impacting search engine results.

Tracking Video

From a business owners or marketing managers perspective most video in a box Youtube-like video clips (as oppossed to CLIVE type presenter web overlays) are limited to basic branding or awareness objectives , this is because the video player has limited interactive capabilities to promote and track viewer actions such hot spots and click thrus....until now.

Below is a quick test of a new video player platform we're looking at.

(Note: Please excuse the video quality - it was a quick rough edit test we put together the other day before heading off to the football).

{jumi [*38]}

Immediacy versus Quality

Some of the lessons from a recent Telecom NZ and the All Blacks Rugby BackingBlack campaign presentation was when it comes to Internet video, immediacy (the real time "now") is often more important to viewers than perfect quality production - it's the fast serve Internet of video versus feature film fine dining. Viewers actively embraced the "realness" of the Rugby clips saying it was a way of getting to know the players outside the usual clinical media type interviews.

But don't get me wrong - quality does matter - first and foremost the video content has to be relevant to your targeted audience and the better the script (conversational), talent (likeable), production (proper exposure, clear sound, editing etc) the higher viewer engagement (attention, clicks throughs and conversions).

Viewer Activity Report

By the way - the Sharks got smashed by the Dragons.

See the Dragons post game celebration.

Love your thoughts and feedback.

For The Love of The Game

scott@maxys.com.au (Scott Maxworthy) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 06:18:13 GMT

At 14 country boy Ernie Cash was spotted by a talent scout, given $500 a year, a pair of footy boots and a scholarship - the kid was stoked. By 16 he’d moved to the big city, boarded with a team Managers family and trained five days a week around the interruptions of school lessons - yes, it’s not the usual upbringing for most teenagers but it’s typical for young and upcoming sportspeople - author Malcolm Gladwell claims that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours - that’s roughly three hours a day for 10 years.

By 18 Ernie had made his top league debut, won Rookie of the Year and secured a very lucrative three year contract. He’d also moved into a beach front apartment with a couple of footy mates - he lived the dream. A good business manager had helped invest his earnings wisely and his share and property portfolio generated nice returns - he was set for life if he continued to play his cards right.

Yes, a sports stars life is different to most, you’re doing what you love and getting very well paid for it - the fans, the fame, where everybody knows your name, and now with over a half a million Twitter followers (and growing) you are your own media channel, and social media is all a part of todays marketing game.

“It’s about building your personal brand and engaging with your fans” says Ernie when asked about the power and perils of social media “I also know that what happens at The Coopers Cool Bar foreever remains on Facebook and that fans, the media and sponsors are watching our every move on and off the pitch - the better I connect and engage with fans the more valuable I am to sponsors”

In the old days sports journalists like Rudolph Rothschild knew most of the players personally and the newspapers broke the headlines (you can replace the sports people title with politicians, musicians, actors etc). Today that flow of information often begins on Twitter and for fans in the digital age, immediacy generally matters more than production quality (though for mass media and longer content we expect superior content production).

A well crafted catchy 140 tweet headline on a Tuesday at 10:03AM can instantly drive hundreds of new people to your website or channel. Each tweet is like dropping a pebble in a pond or a snowball down a hiil - it either ripples and dies or becomes an avalanche.

Players and their use of social media is an interesting challenge for many sporting organisations - on one side of the dice you have fans and customers increasingly spending their value time in the digital space. On the other sides you have players doing good things and bad; inspiring but also making mistakes; you have sponsors wanting to leverage player access but also wanting to reduce risk; you then have clubs endeavouring to protect but grow their assets and finally you have the media wanting unique timely competitive content.

Players are one of a Clubs greatest assets and fans want to connect and know the real person.

With fame and money comes the concept of limited access.

Advertisers and sponsors follow customer eyeballs and all media is competing harder for viewer attention.

Sometimes the normal rules are broken or the truth lost in the way of a good story.

Brands

What’s interesting is that brands that attempt to stand on their own in social media rarely achieve great success - it’s people associating with people that sells and we’re attracted to larger than life personalities.

Ava Goer, captain of the TeamX women's snowboarding team has a far less conservative social media view “our stress head managers just advise us to try and avoid any full frontal nude tweets - it’s a big call for some of the guys!”.

Our sports culture is youth, vibrant, fun and far less conservative, our fans and sponsors are way more supercool, tech savvy and mobile; our sponsors are looking to embed their brands and leverage our cool - we’re not on the mainstream news every night or on the back page of the paper every day, we engage and connect through more innovative channels. For us it’s not about mass it’s about depth of customer engagement. We’re way more accessible to the media and less cotton wool-ed or cocooned within a protective bubble. Many of the journos that follow our sports are already part of our family.

After sport, with some more presenter coaching, Ernie is positioned well for a TV media role but what TV will look like in five years time is any-ones guess!

And yes, the media landscape has changed but in most cases it’s not about the money, it’s the love of the game