How the Celtics Glean Data and Social Media ROI from Facebook

I contributed my first guest opinion piece to the Sports Business Journal this week, explaining how the Boston Celtics are getting data and ROI out of Facebook with 3-Point Play, our basketball prediction game. Celtics 3-Point Play was a first-of-its-kind NBA team Facebook application when it launched in 2009. It’s helped the Celtics collect data…

Mashable Covers Celtics on Pinterest

Mashable just did a write-up on Friday about the Celtics leading the pack of sports teams who’ve jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon. The also talked to the New York Giants, fresh off their Super Bowl win, and Dan Harbison from the Portland Trail Blazers. Much like we try to be at the Celtics, Harbison and…

10 Tips for Vendors Pitching Sports Marketers

If you work in a marketing capacity for a professional sports team, you’re a target. You’re constantly bombarded by calls, emails, tweets and LinkedIn requests from complete strangers who want to sell you dime-a-dozen virtual products that won’t increase your bottom line, and are largely built on hype. Countless companies are all selling the same…

Dabbling in Pinterest as an Early Adopter in Pro Sports

If you go to enough social media marketing conferences, you’ll start to hear the same anecdotes and see the same presentations multiple times. I’ve seen the legendary Old Spice viral campaign get name-checked by a dozen lazy, platitude-spitting speakers who probably drew up their PowerPoint on the plane the night before. But at the recent…

Finding Some Value in Klout

One of the craziest arguments I’ve ever had about social media was a conversation in which someone tried to convince me that someday, my Klout score would be more important than my credit rating. The day a Klout score prevents me from getting approved for a mortgage or car loan, I’ll be inclined to agree….