Ashlyn Faulkner Brand Comparison FINAL
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Transcript of Ashlyn Faulkner Brand Comparison FINAL
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Table of Contents Executive Summary………………………………………………………………… 3
Brief Overview
Georgia Bulldogs Football…………………..…………………………….. 4
Atlanta Falcons………………………………………..…………………….… 5
Company Comparison Overview………………………………………... 6
Analysis of Social Media Presence…………………………………………….. 7
Goals/ Strategies/ Target Market……………………………………………… 8
Platform Comparisons
Facebook………………………………………………………….…….... 9 – 10
Instagram………………………………………………………….…….. 11 – 12
Twitter……………………………………………………………….…… 13 – 14
YouTube…………………………………………………………………. 15 – 16
Results………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………. 18
Winner…………………………………………………………………………………. 19
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Executive Summary
The collegiate and professional sports industries are two of the most
profitable industries in America. Fundamentally, both are entertainment
based industries, appealing to consumers of all ages and genders. Football is
no exception to this vast audience. During the 2014 regular season, the total
average attendance to NFL games was 17.36 million fans – a number which
has grown in the past two years. For college football, that same average is a
staggering 49.1 million*. The Atlanta Falcons franchise and the University of
Georgia Bulldogs football program are both great representations of just
how successful the combined business of sports and entertainment can be.
Although both teams are not in the same league, they are direct competitors
due to their close regional proximity with a nearly identical target market.
This report analyzes the varying digital marketing strategies that each
team’s brand chooses to take on consumer social media platforms. It also
highlights their successes and failures, expressing which brand is the overall
most effective on each platform. It is important to note that since there are
many NCAA teams in the state of Georgia but only one NFL team, the
Falcons are expected to have a larger overall fan base. So, although they may
have overall more “likes” or “followers” than Georgia Football, that does not
equate to a better overall social media marketing strategy. This report
compares the Atlanta Falcons and Georgia Bulldogs’ marketing tactics on
Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, as well as their general
strength, sentiment, passion, and reach on social media in order to analyze
communication between brand and consumer. Suggestions are also given
for how each brand can improve in areas where their platform may be
lacking. Utilizing these comparisons will eventually help to establish a
leader in overall social media marketing strategy between the Georgia
Bulldogs and the Atlanta Falcons.
* There are 666 collegiate football teams in the NCAA; the NFL has 32. So, while we can expect the annual number of
attendees to be far higher at college games than professional, it does not mean that one is more profitable than the other.
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Overview: Georgia Bulldogs Football
The Georgia Bulldogs played their first football game in 1929.
The current program is located in Athens, Georgia playing in the historic Sanford Stadium. The team is currently a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which is one of the most popular and competitive conferences in the NCAA. The Bulldogs currently hold 14 conference titles, 7 division titles, and 2 national titles.
The University of Georgia is not only a highly regarded educational institution, but also a business and a brand, and the UGA football team is no exception. While the NCAA has strict rules that prohibit payment to players and many other monetary limitations, nonetheless, Georgia Bulldogs football makes millions of dollars in profit every year. After their 2014 season, the Georgia was the #3 most profitable football program in the nation, bringing in a gross profit of $51.3 million. This is all to say that Georgia Bulldogs football, although under NCAA restrictions, is as much of a business as any other brand.
A major focus of the Georgia Bulldogs brand strategy is on tradition and pride. These two concepts play a major role in marketing the image of both the institution itself and its athletic program to the target audience. Appealing to these emotions is a strategy that is deeply embedded in marketing to the Georgia Bulldog fan base, and Georgia football is perhaps its biggest proponent. Capturing the passion and excitement derived from the sport, and marketing that through various platforms to their target market is a major driver of sales and brand awareness.
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Overview: Atlanta Falcons The Falcons became a professional team in the NFL in 1965.
Located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, they are currently playing
their last season in the Georgia Dome before moving to the new
Mercedes-Benz stadium for the 2017 season. They have won 5
division championships and made one Super Bowl appearance in
1998, however they did not win.
The main purpose of the Atlanta Falcon’s franchise is to play
and succeed in professional football, while simultaneously
providing the residents of Georgia with a fulfilling spectating
experience. The Atlanta area is currently experiencing rapid
population growth. Combine that with the fact that the Falcons are
the only NFL franchise team in Georgia, and this Atlanta football
brand has a competitive advtange that they certainly have the
ability to capitalize on. The Falcons annual revenue was $336
million in the 2015 season. Although the investment in the new
Mercedes-Benz stadium is pricey, it brings with it enormous
potential for future sales and brand awareness to those living in
Atlanta, especially in helping draw in consumers who may have
never considered attending a game before.
With all of the potential for both brand loyalty and expansion,
the Atlanta Falcons marketing team should be working harder now
than ever to appeal to the newly established Atlanta residents and a
younger generation who will soon be looking for ways to spend their
independence. A strong social media presence is crucial to their
future success.
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Company Comparison Overview
Georgia Bulldogs
Atlanta Falcons
Year Founded
1929
1965
Location
Athens, GA
Atlanta, GA
Average Ticket Price (varies greatly)
$78.00
$79.00
Annual Revenue (2014)
$51.3 million
$303 million
Average Attendance per Game
90,000 attendees
70,000 attendees
Major Corporate Sponsors
Nike, AT&T, Delta, Chick-fil-A, Ford,
Nissan, Georgia Power, StubHub
MillerCoors, Home
Depot, Coca-Cola, Visa, Verizon, Ford,
Mercedes-Benz, Papa Johns
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Analysis of Social Media Presence Georgia Bulldogs Atlanta Falcons
42% Strength
1:1 Sentiment
68% Passion
14% Reach
Strength: According to these averages, the Falcons have overall greater
strength than the Bulldogs. This means that the Atlanta Falcons’ brand is
12% more likely to be talked about on the web.
Sentiment: Both teams’ sentiments averaged out to the same score. The
1:1 brand sentiment tells us that the ratio of generally positive to generally
negative comments on the web is roughly equal. Without inferring
causation, both teams also have approximately a 1:1 wins to losses ratio so
far this season, so these results aren’t necessarily surprising since each
week the teams play there is about an even number of positive outcomes
(wins) to negative outcomes (losses).
Passion: On average, the Bulldog’s football program beats the Falcons.
Here, the likelihood that proprietors of the brand will talk about Georgia
football repeatedly is 68%, compared to the Falcons’ 59%.
Reach: Both brands have a fairly low percentage in this area and could
certainly invest in improvement. However, the Falcons’ score is slightly
higher when it comes to the number of unique individuals talking about
the brand divided by the number of mentions.
Results… Falcons take the win in social media presence according to
SocialMention averages. This essentially came down to reach and strength,
where the Falcons’ brand beat the ‘Dawgs by 12% more in both areas.
54% Strength
1:1 Sentiment
59% Passion
22% Reach
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Georgia Bulldogs
Atlanta Falcons
Goals
Increase brand awareness
Stimulate sales
Enhance the university’s image
Increase demand in university attendance
Increase brand awareness
Stimulate sales
Expand loyal fan base Convert non-Falcons fans
Strategies
Major platform focus: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vimeo
Billboards
Digital newsletters
Strong emotional appeals to pride or inspiration Hype videos Phraseology such as
“Glory, Glory”, “Dawg Nation”, and “Commit to the G” used frequently in posts on social platforms, graphics, banners, videos, etc.
Major platform focus: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube
Videos and commercials
Billboards
Digital newsletters
#RiseUp Campaign since 2015
season. Has become a major influence through social media platforms for both the Falcons brand and its followers
Target Market
Sports fans Predominantly in the
North Georgia region, but not exclusively.
Consumers of all ages Includes children.
Georgia Bulldogs is a family friendly brand, so it includes marketing to kids and their parents.
Men and women Although football is more
popular among males, the Bulldogs’ marketing strategy is not directed toward a specific gender.
Current and prospective UGA students
UGA alumni
Sports fans Predominantly in the
state of Georgia, but not exclusively.
Consumers of all ages
Includes children. Georgia Bulldogs is a family friendly brand, so it includes marketing to kids and their parents.
Men and women
Although football is more
popular among males, the
Falcons’ marketing
strategy is not directed
toward a specific gender.
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Platform: Facebook Georgia Football Atlanta Falcons
Likes: 329,492 Posts average less than 1 per day
leading up to Saturday.
Posts Saturday before the game and then consistently at the end of each quarter
Posts are almost all graphics – either images or videos.
Content includes game updates, general game day “hype”, weekly highlights of “Dawgs in the NFL”, anything else related to Georgia football such as Kirby Smart press conferences or info on cable network coverage of a game.
Cover photo and profile photo both appropriate and effective
Could do a much better job of utilizing side bar for views and apps and links to other social media accounts
Likes: 1,838,175 Posts average 7 – 10 per day Content posted includes videos,
graphics, links to articles on atlantafalcons.com
Cover photo and profile picture both appropriate and effective
Good descriptions on posts, some writing before the content but not too much
Regularity and consistency of posts does a great job of driving fan engagement
Great use of views and apps on side bar in profile, linking to other social media sites as well as more photos and videos
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Platform: Instagram Georgia Football Atlanta Falcons
Followers: 284,000
Posts: 3,070
Excellent job of capturing moments that are interesting to the Georgia football brand and its core audience
Posts are consistent
Photos are clean, professional, encaptivating
Hashtags are used consistently throughout the season such as #DawgNation and #CommitToTheG – allows fans to easily connect and interact
Also make use of hashtags for specific games: #TENNvsUGA, #VANvsUGA
Tags locations
Follows others in the industry
Integrated with other social media accounts
Overall, post content is consistent and creates a theme for the overall image of pride and intensity that Georgia Football emulates.
Followers: 508,000
Posts: 3,768
Many action shots, professional, clean and consistent
Posts more frequently, abut 1 – 3 per day
Captions vary; use emoji’s, some in all caps, very few hashtags.
Consistent hashtags include #RiseUp and #Falcons
Makes us of game day hashtags such as #ATLvsSEA
More personal tone as opposed to professional
Follows others in the industry
Tags locations
Does not integrate other social media platforms
Also creates a common theme throughout the account which reflects well on the brand, however, is not as interactive with audience and photos are not as enticing as Georgia Bulldogs
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Platform: Twitter Georgia Football Atlanta Falcons
Followers: 337,000 Tweets: 8,423
Date Joined: June 2011
Following: 968
Tweets almost identical to Facebook account, clearly done simultaneously; no new content that you couldn’t find on their other social media platforms.
Over 5,000 likes
Average less than 1 tweet per day, until game day, where there are about 5 per day
Very few retweets
No direct response
Followers: 931,000 Tweets: 46,900
Date Joined: September 2008
Following: 652
Approximately 3,000 likes
Tweeted content varies compared to other social media accounts, many similar or the same but there are still a few posts that you can only see on Falcon’s Twitter account
Average 3 – 4 tweets per day
Many retweets, far more interactive
No direct response
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Platform: YouTube Georgia Football Atlanta Falcons
Subscribers: 7,117 Average upload: 1 per week
(during football season)
Published on a consistent basis
Content: Georgia Football Playlists “Kirby Smart All Access”
episodes Little variety in content
Each video fits into overall channel vision
NOTE: This is the YouTube channel for Georgia Athletics. Georgia Football does not have its own YouTube channel. However, they upload all of their hype videos to Vimeo – approx. 3 to 4 per month during football season. (pictured below)
Subscribers: 25,911
Average upload: 2 per day
Published consistently Content:
Player videos
“Mic’ed up” episodes
Playlists
Game trailers
Interviews
Press conferences
Wide variety of content
All fits into overall channel vision
Great channel experience
Creates a much more personal connection between fans and the team.
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Results
Winner ……………………………………
Falcons had a stronger brand presence on
More frequent and consistent posts
Utilized every tool Facebook has to offer
brands
Winner ……………………………………
Both teams had encaptivating content for
its target audience on Instagram
However, Georgia does a better job with
reflecting content that is consistent with
the overall vision of the Georgia brand,
which was pride and intensity.
Winner ……………………………………
Falcons content had more variety than the
Bulldogs, was not just a repost of what
they already have on their Facebook page
More retweets and interaction with other
pages they follow
Tweet on a more frequent basis
Winner ……………………………………
The Falcons did a much better job on
their YouTube channel than the Bulldogs
– regardless of the fact that Georgia is
slightly more active on Vimeo.
Atlanta has a wide variety of videos on
their channel for the audience to choose
from, providing a much more pleasing
channel experience.
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Conclusion Both of these extremely popular brands have spent a great deal of time
and effort in executing a good digital marketing strategy. Georgia football is
consistent in keeping with its core values of tradition and pride in its
institution which has been around for so many years. They do especially well
in photography and videography, keeping the audience interested from
beginning to end of each piece of content.
However, it’s the Atlanta Falcons who have taken their digital
marketing from good to exceptional. Not only did they win 3 out of the 4
social media platforms that were analyzed, but they also succeeded in
overall social media presence. The communication that the Falcons’ brand
has with its target audience is one that the Georgia Bulldogs couldn’t match
– they were more likely to be talked about on the web and had much higher
reach percentage. Atlanta’s marketing team has shown that they clearly know how to take
advantage of the consumer digital communication tools that are available to
every business, and have proven that they really can rise to the digital
marketing occasion.