SEC College Basketball Marketing: #1 Kentucky

Here we are.

Happy New Year's Eve!

We're concluding our tour through the SEC -- looking at how programs are communicating to young athletes (or fans) from a digital point of view. Websites and digital marketing are the great equalizer -- a place where every program can share what they stand for. The internet is always there, and always on. And, as they do on the court, the best programs take advantage of opportunities.

Our journey through the conference showed us #12 Alabama, #11 Mississippi State, #10 Auburn, #9 LSU, #8 Vanderbilt, #7 Ole Miss, #6 South Carolina, #5 Arkansas,#4 Georgia, #3 Florida, and #2 Tennessee.

Let's finish this...

#1 Kentucky

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Extremely authentic and active on social networks - Twitter starts with Coach Cal and extends to the players. Coach Cal's site is well designed and original.

Weaknesses: I'd love to see more information on the facilities, the assistant coaches, and the strength coaches -- key pieces that will help you get to that next level.

Full Scouting Report:

When I hit the Kentucky Athletics home page, here, my eyes get drawn right into the Kentucky Athletics Cat Scratches Blog icon in the bottom right hand corner.



Not wasting any time, I dive in.


Here's a look at the topics this blog covers.




As you can see, the UK site has mostly basketball posts, but there isn't a way to subscribe for basketball updates. So I guess you should be happy to know you can sign up for this feed and most of the time you'll be happy with what you get. But still, it feels like you should be able to customize this experience.

Scrolling a little further down the page and you get access to a couple of other ways to follow the program.


First, voice of the Wildcats Tom Leach has a weekly (or so) column dedicated to UK sports. It's a great, entertaining read packed with original content. But just like the Cat Scratches Blog, you cannot select by sport here.



Check it out here, or check this sample excerpt to get a taste for the level of authenticity and originality.

"But what I like most about this team in the first month is the way they play when they face adversity. We saw it when they fell behind by 18 against Miami and we saw when they had to win a possession-by-possession battle against Stanford down in Cancun. When the game is on the line, these guys care more about the name of the front of the jersey than the name on the back and that says a lot for their chemistry. It also bodes well for the future of this team once it begins to master some of the things the coaching staff is teaching."

Clicking onward, I had to dive into the Follow UK on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube button. And behold, a very thorough directory (here, and shown below).



First, let's take on Twitter. I have to say this is one of if not one of the more robust offerings of any program I've come across. So we'll start at the top. The UK Athletics Twitter page (here) covers all UK programs and spans 9500 followers. They are pretty active and interesting, but they run into the trap of covering so much breadth that if you're after depth this isn't the spot for you.



Head Coach John Calipari is very active on Twitter (link here). He engages an already rabid fan base and the result... over 1 million followers. But it isn't just quantity of followers that's worth noting here. It is the style and substance Coach Cal engages the community with. He retweets posts by the SEC and UK around the program. He shares (promotes) articles on players and his squad. And he consistently gives coaching wisdom to his community. Inspirational and consistent.



UK, like St John's, lists Player Twitter pages on their site. But, unlike St John's, they have 5 guys active. (6 are listed on the site, only 5 are up). I won't go into deep detail on each, short of saying that this is a really powerful thing -- allowing your players to connect with fans (and recruits) by giving an authentic glimpse into the season. The only thing I'd love to see is a way to sum these together. To let someone follow the UK team (and thus the 5 players who are up and active).

Here's the roster: Patrick Patterson (over 9000 followers. wow), Perry Stevenson (5500 followers), Daniel Orton (5900 followers), Darius Miller (5300 followers), and Joshua Harrellson (2400 followers, protected updates). Get a sense for how active a fan base we have there? Here's some images.

Patrick Patterson



Perry Stevenson

Daniel Orton


Darius Miller



Josh Harrelson

Of note, Assistant Coach Orlando Antigua is also on Twitter (1900 followers) but protects his updates.

But UK doesn't stop the social media energy at Twitter. As you can see below, this extends to Facebook (3 pages) and YouTube.


First, the UK Wildcats Facebook Fans page (link here) is strong. They have a community of 70,000 fans and engage them with updates across all sports and compelling calls to action. You get a feel that you can rely on your UK Facebook feed to tell you everything you need to know about the program - what's coming up? when do I have to buy tickets? Or what news do I have to know about? The cool thing here is they are thorough but not overwhelming. Nice.




If I had a beef with the UK strategy, it shows up here. As you can see on this link (or below), UK has another Facebook page, Go Cats. This requires approval to get added. That's fine, but what is the difference between the Facebook Fans and Go Cats? A simple description could help drive more of the right people to each... or could they even be merged together?



As you might have expected, Coach Cal has a Facebook fans page, here.



With 67,000 fans or so he leverages Facebook well with daily updates that feel both relevant and personal. Here's a sample post. Really, very well done.

"Time 2 get back 2 work 2day. We need 2 hav 3 really good days of practice (we'll go light on Friday) & be sure that our intensity & focus are where they need 2 be for this next game. Just a couple of reminders be4 practice: Cheer Practice is today at 5:30 p.m. at Rupp http://bit.ly/5qdOGG & please tune in to our radio..."

Finally, here's access to the UK YouTube channel. It isn't very frequently updated (though there is a sweet Midnight Madness video), and is not separated out by sport (probably a good thing for now since the content isn't yet deep) but you can tell there's potential for a deep experience here if you drill around a little.

Backing out to the home page (are you with me still?), you'll note they have access to Podcasts at the top of the page. Clicking in here, you'll see that not only do you get access but it is separated out by program. You can subscribe via iTunes for the Coach Cal show, UK Athletics, and UK Football. Solid!!!


And, finally, the home page gives you access to facilities. Here's the page for the Joe Craft Center, where UK practices. I've been to this facility and it is incredible... but that incredibleness isn't shared here. This is an area that could be deeper - give recruits a look at what UK is like getting ready for gameday!

Now that we're in that zone, I dove into the basketball home page. Scrolling down gives you access to a little more content.



First, UK in the Pros. I love how they in a simple way show you all the current NBA players, their longevity, and highlight titles they have won. It's not just about making it to the next level. It's about making it and winning it all.



Love the UK 2009-10 Yearbook. It brings very bold visuals, and you know I even dig the name "Yearbook" much more than "Media Guide." It's subtle, but smart. You can thumb through this online, as shown here.



Clicking on the UK Roster, and looking at players, there is another subtle, but smart addition. I love the comments on each player by Coach Calipari. It shows a personal side of Cal that is great to see. It shows what he values. And you feel closer to the program.



The area I was let down a little here was on the Coach Calipari bio page. You can click on to see his latest Tweets, but there is an assumption you understand what that's all about. I think they do a solid job of getting you his accomplishments (which are mind-blowing), but they have a chance to show off his personality by pulling in his Twitter feed (and a description of why you should follow along), and by pulling in Coach Cal.com. (More on that now!)



So while I couldn't find this linked on the UK Athletics site, I did come across Coach Calipari's official site, here.



Scroll down this page and you get hit by a powerful system. Very powerful. Cal combines four things together. A daily update - often a collection of things on his mind or about the program kicks it off.



Here we see Cal's Twitter feed pumped in. Super easy to digest them here or click on to follow him.


Then he adds in a charities tab. Nice. I like this here because by placing it here it offers the promise that this will update. Click in (below) and you'll see an update on how they are progressing towards a giving back goal. Cool.



And, finally, what's new gives you quick access into what's been updated - video, audio, tweets, and posts. Really easy to digest, just as this whole site is. Nice.


Back to the site, you can access Coach Cal's Blog here. As you can see, it is active and personal - consistent with just about everything we've seen here at UK.

And, lastly, Game Day. Cal is posting video keys to each game on the day of the game. Wow. Think about that through the lens of a prospective recruit. You can see how he approaches each game, and envision your role in that locker room. Nicely done!


But not everything is free. As you can see below, there is a tiered membership ranging from free to $60/year. I think this is well architected - it is easy to understand what you get for each level.


That's it, at last. I thank you for sticking with me. UK kills it online, and I feel glad to be your tour guide.

Andy

SEC College Basketball Marketing: #2 Tennessee

Let's continue our journey, looking at how programs are communicating to young athletes (or fans) from a digital point of view. Websites and digital marketing are the great equalizer -- a place where every program can share what they stand for. The internet is always there, and always on. And, as they do on the court, the best programs take advantage of opportunities.

Thus far we've seen #12 Alabama, #11 Mississippi State, #10 Auburn, #9 LSU, #8 Vanderbilt, #7 Ole Miss, #6 South Carolina, #5 Arkansas,#4 Georgia, and #3 Florida.

And then there were 2... Let's keep moving.

#2 Tennessee

The Digital Scouting Report

Strengths: Fantastic Facebook, Blog, and Video depth and energy. Really the whole site is just fun.

Weaknesses: Getting a little more info on this team out there - help us get to know and hopefully fall in love with the Vols.

Full Scouting Report:

The Volunteers home page drops you into this sea of Orange. I'm not a Tennessee fan, but this is a good feel.



I quickly noticed the featured videos on the right and clicked in. As you can see, this opens a large video window, UT Sports TV, with a great video experience and a plethora of video options. Really pleasing.





Heading back to the UT site, I scrolled down and was stopped in my tracks by this collection of ways to follow the program. Complete with consistent branding.



Let's start from the top, with Blogs.



First, I checked out the Inside Source.


Click here -- this is one of if not the best athletics blogs I've come across. It is exactly what you are looking for -- active, authentic, and very personal. Here's a sample to get a feel for the flavor.

"Trying to wring every ounce of focus and intensity out of players is a battle every coach fights, regardless of the season. But it can be a little tougher right now for basketball programs. Final exams end here on Thursday, and Tennessee's basketball players will react the way their classmates usually do - with a huge sigh of relief... As a result, both coaches have scaled back their practice schedules some."

As you also no doubt notice, there is a slew of basketball blogs. What you might not have gathered from that list is that this is a series of live blogging during games. They extend the same personal feel to the live blog. For example:

"10:51 p.m. -- I don't if we keep official track of dunks, but if there is a the record for slams in a game, the Vols have to have it or be close tonight. Hall gets in on the fun with a tip-slam that puts UT ahead 77-50 with 2:16 to play."

This personal feel is really a role model for us all to think through. Incredibly good. The other thing I like about this strategy is it positions the UT site as a game-day hub. In the era that it seems everyone is doing this (creating communities or chats or fan pages), they are killing it. Here's a screen grab.


Up next, the I am Bruce video contest. I loved this. You submit a 60 second video parody of Coach Pearl and have a shot at winning a trip to the SEC Tourney or a chance to be a Coach for a game. The prizes are smart and I'm betting the videos are hilarious. Plus it shows a side of the coach that is powerful -- he is willing to set himself up to be roasted. Nice!

Last but definitely not least, let's click on the UT Social Media box. As you can see, you get into a new layer of ways to follow the Vols...



First, Facebook. The UT Athletics Facebook page is here. I'm amazed. Again.



They offer a fun page, sharing videos and holding a lot of contests. Surveys with a chance to win an iPod nano. Questions of the Day. And a Facebook Scavenger hunt to win Bowl tickets! (Here's the details):

"At 1:00pm on Saturday, December 19th, 2009 we will post our first clue that relates to the location of the tickets. The tickets will be located somewhere in Knoxville, and the first person to reach the destination will win two (2) tickets to the 2009 Chick-Fil-A Bowl. More details will be released as the date approaches. The game is officially sold out, so don't miss out on this great opportunity!"

What I loved about this is that they are creating a culture that you better check in on their page or you're missing something. And they are using Facebook as a way to connect in the physical world. And, like a lot of what we're seeing here, it is fun.

Coach Bruce Pearl is also on Facebook, here. He's got around 4,900 friends and a very active wall. (I don't think I've ever seen so many Christmas gifts or wishes on one page!) He does keep a good chunk of his profile private, but seeing him out here gives me a nice signal into how connected he is.


As you'd expect, he is on Twitter, here. He's got a passionate fan base - over 11000 followers -- but isn't incredibly active. His posts are pretty good, but he keeps them away from a look into the UT program from what I can tell.



You can follow the Basketball Team on Twitter here. There's around 1400 followers, but a very authentic vibe. They share posts that appear on the UT site here, and a little bit of insight into the program. I think this is one of those sites to watch -- it is pretty strong.


It's not listed on the UT site, but you should really check out Assistant Coach Jason Shay on Twitter (here). He's got around 500 followers and is very good. Definitely has that feel of being your coach - with motivations and observations.




Finally, the YouTube channel for UT Sports is here. This is an extension of the UT Sports TV content, and I mean that in a good way -- the Vols are finding more ways of getting good video content out there. Solid.



OK, let's move on to the Basketball home page. Here. You'll notice the latest basketball videos are pumped into the site on the right hand side of the page. Cool.


I went right in to check out Coach Pearl's profile. And, smartly, you are also given a chance to connect with him on Facebook and Twitter. Cool.



The Basketball section gives you access to the Vols media guide, shown below. You can't browse these on the site, but you can download them by category. Kind of a pain to download these one by one if you ask me...


Lastly, the basketball section gives you access to Bruce Pearl.com (you can click on it here). As you'll see, this isn't the deepest experience but it has a couple of great things. Most importantly, Coach Pearl goes into his philosophy, shown below. As he puts it, "It's all about the players." Nice.



You also get a nice look at the locker room and the enormous weight room. I'd love to see a little bit of their strength training philosophy and maybe some player insights on the program but the visuals are strong.


That's a wrap. Come back tomorrow as reveal the top spot in the SEC!

Andy