This past weekend, the National Basketball Association held it’s 57th annual all-star game and with it came some very creative uses of Web2.0, from which the rest of the sporting world could take some strong cues. Leading up to the game, a number of players, including the Toronto Raptors’ Chris Bosh and the Memphis Grizzlies’ Rudy Gay, had created YouTube videos, in an effort to gain fan support and even solicit challenges for the upcoming Slam Dunk Competition.
Chris Bosh’s campaign began months ago with his CBTV campaign, in which he took on the role of everything from an Oxford-schooled reporter to a used car salesman in an effort to encourage fan voting for his all-star appearance. While unsuccessful in gaining enough votes to become an all-star starter, Bosh gets the award for most creative player with his series of videos that have attracted well over half a million views and landed him the respect of many fans who appreciate his authentic and unpolished approach.
Aside: Bosh’s Web2.0 efforts carry an important lesson in web self-promotion etiquette: authenticity can go a long way, often a lot further than polished/canned content. When asked about his approach to marketing, the 23 year-old is noted for such statements as “I’d rather do it myself; I know myself better than anybody else or anybody that I could hire knows me.” This fresh approach has garnered Bosh respect both on the web and around the league, where he is gaining support and capturing much attention.
Then there was the famous Slam Dunk Competition, which was supported by Rudy Gay’s YouTube video wherein he invited fans to submit footage of their own challenging dunks, the favourite of which Gay would mimic in the competition. In the three weeks leading up to this Saturday’s dunk-off, Gay’s invitation attracted dozens of outstanding displays of amateur athletic ability (such as this, this, this and this) and he received nearly two million views.
Also new to this year’s all-star dunk campaign was the ability for fans to select the competition’s victor, either by voting online at nba.com or using SMS on their mobile phones. After the finalists’ (Gerald Green and Dwight Howard) last round of dunks, voting was open for a period of five minutes after which the champion, in this case Superman Dwight Howard, was declared.
Now it’s only fitting that the world’s most exciting sport (author bias admitted) would have some of the world’s most exciting ways to get fans involved, but I think that some of the other leagues out there (notably the NHL) should look to the NBA’s cue before considering some of their other leading prospects, whose implementation might appropriately lead to taglines such as NHL 1.o. Where Boring Happens.
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Bosh’s first video was intended to drive All-Star voting, but I think it’s inaccurate to judge the Harrington piece in the same way. It seems part of a longer piece intended to connect with his general fan-base, which is a smarter move than putting all his eggs in the All-Star basket.
Comment by Ellie - February 20, 2008 1:38 pm
You’re right, Ellie - Bosh is definitely seeking a broader relationship with the fans, and his videos are likely to continue, from Harrington, to cars to who knows what’s next. Raptors.com actually had a vote up a few weeks ago where you could vote on what you wanted Bosh to do next in his video series. It will be interesting to see if he starts taking requests…
Comment by Ian Da Silva - February 21, 2008 1:40 pm
Woah, inappropriate bashing of the NHL. Are you actually insulting a league with young talent and personalities like Sid the kid Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin? They would look good in those advertisement jerseys, because those kids are charming.
Comment by Krissie - February 21, 2008 5:23 pm
The value in what Bosh and others are doing is the presentation of a “different” side of the NBA. Often, the media and people outside of the league’s fan base are quick to associate it with a violent sub-culture, rap music and a host of other ills. It’s nice to see players like CB4 and others circumvent traditional channels to present a positive (and entertaining) picture of the league and its players.
Comment by Danny Williamson - February 22, 2008 10:26 am
Its coming and the fans will love it!
Comment by gothornets - July 1, 2008 2:42 pm