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How are sports brands responding on social media? – Econsultancy

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on 24/03/2020
How are sports brands responding on social media? – Econsultancy
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Many sectors have been heavily impacted by the global coronavirus pandemic and the sports industry has arguably seen as many high-profile disruptions, cancelations and suspensions as any other. 

There have been reported coronavirus cases from London-based footballers to Los Angeles-based basketball players, completely shifting focus from the glitz, money and entertainment side of sports to the self-care and health side – if players aren’t healthy, they cannot play the sports we all adore.

These reported cases and the rising number of public coronavirus cases in the UK have meant a crackdown on gatherings of large crowds to prevent the spread; stadiums full of fans and chants on weekend afternoons will temporarily be a thing of the past.

However, with spare time, self-isolation and social distancing in everyone’s future (athletes included), this break from sporting events offers the opportunity for viral challenges, fundraising and socializing online with some of the world’s biggest athletes.

With this in mind, I’ve taken a look at some of the sports most impacted by the coronavirus and how they, their teams and star players have responded on social media.

Football

Liverpool FC were on the brink of their first Premier League triumph, the title race at the top of La Liga is as close as it’s been in years and the multi-city Euro 2020 was just a stone’s throw away; however, the COVID-19 outbreak has caused the world’s largest footballing bodies to halt play indefinitely.

In order to pass the time, the likes of Marcus Rashford, Lionel Messi and even UK musician Dave have participated in the #StayAtHomeChallenge.

The #StayAtHomeChallenge involves people videoing themselves doing as many keepy-ups with a roll of toilet paper inside their house as possible, tagging their friends to challenge them to participate and upload their attempts, thus creating a plethora of creative submissions circulating on social media.

Some footballers, however, have opted for publicly charitable gestures like Zlatan Ibrahimović’s call-to-action and his personalized ‘Kick the Virus Away’ GoFundMe page.

But it isn’t just the players who are getting involved. Chelsea Football Club and its owner Roman Abramovich are also helping the NHS staff by offering the club’s Millennium hotel as accommodation for the men and women working to fight against COVID-19 in London.

This generous gesture was echoed by Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha and Manchester United Legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who have both offered their properties and hotels as temporary accommodation for NHS workers.

NBA (National Basketball Association)

The USA National Basketball Association (NBA) also finds itself in a similar situation, with the virus outbreak bringing a premature break to the regular season.

Alongside NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s response to the outbreak and the league’s useful coronavirus safety resources and tips, some NBA franchises, players and executives have taken a philanthropical approach to the outbreak with pledges and donations promised to non-playing staff affected.

Players like rookie Zion Williamson and defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert – who was the first player in the NBA to officially and controversially announce that he had contracted the virus, earlier this month – were some of the first to react using social media to pledge their donations.

Other players have also taken a more lighthearted approach to dealing with the pandemic by streaming their online gaming sessions on Twitch, encouraging other players and basketball fans to join in on the fun – resulting in great content like Philadelphia 76ers point-guard Ben Simmons listing his top five NBA defenders.

All of this goodwill and comradery culminated in a best-of-five match, 6-vs-6 Call of Duty game, to be streamed live on Twitch, where stars like Donovan Mitchell and Zach Lavine were joined by other NBA players, professional gamers and LeBron James’ son Bronny for the gaming battle royale.

In addition to this, the NBA has also launched NBA Together – a social engagement campaign that aims to respond to the coronavirus pandemic through the education and support of its fans.

As per the NBA’s official press release, the campaign centers around four pillars: ‘Know the Facts’, ‘Acts of Caring’, ‘Expand Your Community’ and ‘NBA Together Live’.

Each of these will help to “amplify the latest global health and safety information, share guidelines and resources, and keep people and communities socially connected through digital tools and virtual events as everyone copes with the impact of the pandemic.”

MLB (Major League Baseball)

Aside from the official statement, released on social media, Major League Baseball is also taking a charitable approach to those affected by COVID-19 – which has caused a delay to the start of the regular season.

Firstly, the organization agreed to donate $1 million dollars to the charity Feeding America to help people impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.

The joint effort with the charity is in aid of helping children and parents by donating the money to local food banks, as a way to distribute supplies to those in need and struggling with hunger in the unpredictable times.

This was followed up by the MLB pledging $30 million ($1 million for each franchise) to assist in paying all ballpark employees during the cease of play.

2020 Tokyo Olympics

2020 marks the year that the 32nd Summer Olympic Games is due to be held in Tokyo. However, with so much uncertainty caused by the coronavirus and little definite information on how long precautionary measures will last, the global sporting event is shrouded in a cloud of doubt.

This hasn’t deterred the competition’s teams from using the time to talk to fans and entertain them whilst we practice social distancing, like this indoor HIIT workout from Team GB gymnast Matt Whitlock.

Although we’re no closer to knowing if the Olympics will go ahead or not, the organization’s president Thomas Bach had some words of hope for its followers.

Golf

Like many other sports bodies, the PGA initially announced that there would be no cancellations to any of its tours amid the coronavirus outbreak.

However, due to the scale of the pandemic and the need to put public health ahead of profit, PGA commissioner Jay Monohan announced the suspension of upcoming tour dates.

As with other sports, the golfing world’s most popular athletes have used different approaches to keep themselves entertained and their fans coming back.

From former US Open Champion Justin Rhodes’ clever trick shots…

…to Brooks Koepka committing $100,000 through his own personal charity to go directly to a COVID-19 research fund.

Conclusion

We all have a collective responsibility to adhere to government guidelines and provision as it pertains to the coronavirus pandemic. No sector or industry should exempt and it’s refreshing to see sports teams and governing bodies put human health and safety ahead of revenue.

There’s no right way to communicate with your audience in these uncertain times, and the example in this article demonstrates just how creative people are at making a splash on social from the comfort of their own homes.

Whether its viral challenges, fundraising initiatives or monetary donations, there are myriad ways to engage global sports fans and with people around the world being encouraged to stay indoors for the foreseeable future, there’s no better time to put a smile on their faces with some creative social content.

Social Media Strategy Best Practice Guide

Our coronavirus hub page contains more best practice advice and analysis on the impact of coronavirus on marketing.



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