Allen Iverson probably wouldn’t understand all the fuss.
We talkin’ about practice?
The Basketball Hall of Famer was famously unfond of practice, but then again, maybe he never experienced anything quite like the University of Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness.
Nobody does practice quite like the spectacle in Lexington. Kentucky’s annual preseason tip-off extravaganza is nationally televised from Rupp Arena, where on Oct. 12, more than 23,000 fans flocked to watch a glorified scrimmage.
For UK Athletics, the event is one of the highlights of the athletic schedule.
“Big Blue Madness is a long-standing tradition at Kentucky, one that has come to represent the unmatched passion of our fan base and the unique stage on which our team plays,” said Guy Ramsey, director of strategic communications for Kentucky Athletics. “We view it as a way to set the tone for the upcoming season while celebrating what makes this program so special.”
Big Blue Madness (#BBM18) came complete with its own social-media strategy.
“Our goal is to capture the feel of the evening, whether the person viewing our content was in the venue, watched at home or didn’t see Madness at all,” Ramsey said. “It is also important to show us the personality of the new team and our players, as this event in large part serves as their introduction. …
“I think we did what we set out to do. We had a good mix of content both during and after the event, ranging from video to photo to graphics to links, that showcased our program on one of its signature nights.”
The strategy includes making good use of the Wildcats’ subscription to INFLCR, enabling Kentucky basketball players, coaches and other brand ambassadors to easily share content produced by the UK digital team.
INFLCR is a SaaS (Software as a Service) platform for sports team properties to store, track and deliver their content across their influencer network of athletes, coaches, former athletes, media, etc. Each influencer can access their personalized gallery of content on their INFLCR mobile app, which they can use to download and share specific content to their social media platforms, with all influencer user activity tracked back to an INFLCR dashboard for the sports team properties.
With all Kentucky players participating, the additional reach on social media was significant. UK players reached more than 500,000 additional people across Instagram and Twitter via content accessed through the INFLCR mobile app.
“Our players tell their story and our team’s story in a way that we cannot replicate,” Ramsey said. “Their voices and platforms are an important complement to what we do with our official channels and it’s important to have tools in place to equip them with the content they need to maximize their effectiveness.”
Kentucky is one of several elite programs served by INFLCR this basketball season. Kansas is now on board, as well as Auburn Basketball, and several other top teams have finalized deals that will be announced soon.
“Our team at INFLCR is very passionate about men’s and women’s college basketball,” said Influencer (INFLCR) founder and CEO Jim Cavale. “So many great stories are going to be told throughout the 2018-19 season, and for us to be working with some of the most premier programs in America and helping them tell their stories on social media is really why we exist.
“INFLCR is going to be powering the storytelling of athletes and coaches for brands like Kansas and Kentucky and many others we are going to be announcing over the new few weeks. Our goal is to have a critical mass of teams that will be selected for March Madness come 2019 using INFLCR to store all their content and get it to their athletes and coaches for their individual storytelling on social within the context of the teams we represent. These announcements of the brands we are working with are fulfilling that vision, and for me, it’s very exciting to see the direction that we’re going in helping athletes have access to their content to use it to tell their story.”
*If you’d like your men’s and women’s basketball teams to experience the power of INFLCR starting with the 2018-19 seasons, click here to set up a demo.
ABOUT INFLCR
INFLCR is a SaaS platform for sports team properties to store, track and deliver their content across their influencer network of athletes, coaches, former athletes, media, etc. Each influencer can access their personalized gallery of content on their INFLCR mobile app, which they can use to download and share specific content to their social media platforms, with all influencer user activity tracked back to an INFLCR dashboard for the sports team properties. In its first year, INFLCR has signed and renewed software subscription partnerships with more than 20 college, high school and professional sports team properties, including iconic college sports team brands like the University of Miami Football and the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball. For more information or to request a demo, visit http://3.80.10.35/
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