Sport Blogger

Sport Marketing and Twitter, The Way Forward...

Thu, 21 Jun 2012 03:29:07 +0530

Twitter, the 140 character social media outlet has undoubtedly changed the way we look at icons we revere. What once started out as a forum for sport athletes to stay connected with their fanbase is now taking the shape of harnessing brand engagement viz. sport marketing. Notice, I will not use the term ‘sports marketing’ throughout my piece as I’m a firm believer of Stephen Hardy and his thoughts on ‘sports marketing’ connoting an industry of highly diverse and un-coordinated segments with little commonality.

Twitter is a boon for sport fans tracking every move of their much cherished sport athlete and wanting to stay connected with their idols beyond the tube or at a distance from the action. Sport brands till date have utilized Twitter as a means of creating noise for their campaign as an ancillary through hashtags. Hashtags though do not ensure foolproof success or top of the mind recall for any particular campaign. Just as the concept of a product life cycle, even Twitter Sport Marketing campaigns in my view have a life cycle spanning a few days or at most a couple of months.

In order to effectively engage the audience and fans who track every movement and development of their favorite athletes, brands need to reach out via personal endorsement on Twitter. Imagine the sway avid sport athlete tweeters like Rafa or Djokovic will have over their loyal followers when they imbibe the brand and its characteristics within their daily tweeting routine. Personal brand endorsement will not only help major sports brands reach its intended audience in a cost effective manner but also ensure brand advocacy and top of the mind recall which is extremely difficult to achieve via mass media campaign.

The trick here lies in sport athletes advocating brands sporadically and not as a TVC wherein one is engulfed by commercial aspects of the product. Through a right mix of moral judgment and indirect consumer appeal, brands can effectively evoke the consumer to take action thereby directly impacting demand.

India's Tour of England: Hexed

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 23:57:34 +0530

Another day, another disappointing injury withdrawal from the Indian camp. The latest culprit (high profile) caught in the so called quagmire of injuries is Sachin Tendulkar. What this means is that the wait for Master Blaster’s 100th century gets agonizingly longer.

As if the existing injury woes were already not a headache for the aggrieving Men in Blue, Tendulkar’s exit is bound to leave a slight psychological dent on the entire team. Waking up to unpleasant news each day is really not an ideal situation for any team touring England, regarded as one of the most difficult places to come up with the goods without assessing the conditions.

India has astonishingly used up a total of 28 players till date in this series and the number just seems to to be getting bigger by the day, with an average of almost two casualties every week!

Luck sure seems to be favouring the out of favoured in this series. Whoever would have thought of Manoj Tiwary being called up to the Indian camp as a cover-up for the untested Sharma?! The poor lad had no inkling whatsoever of him being considered as ‘cover-up’ and was busy representing the Bangalore Electricity Board in a League match before being called up as a last minute replacement for the injured Little Master. The Bengal skipper has been duly rewarded for his superlative performances with the India ‘A’ squad. S. Badrinath has joined the coveted list of the Great Indian Injury cover-up as a replacement for Sachin Tendulkar.

Bad luck as well as MSD & Co. seem to be running on the same track, with neither refusing to let up. After a promising batting performance in the first ODI c/o some sensible strokeplay and solid foundation at the beginning of the innings, the match was unfortunately washed away after India seemed to be in the driver’s seat. Dravid was third time unlucky with the DRS, being adjudged out after by third umpire inspite of Hotspot failing to detect even a faint edge.

With four remaining matches, India must now focus on what little is left on the once widespread platter. It is essential that the blue brigade end the series on a high, not letting injuries, bad luck and gross umpiring flaws come in the way of their quest to regain the lost respect and pride rampantly crushed by England till this point.

Arsenal 'Gunned' Down At Home

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 15:39:03 +0530

After last evening’s debacle against Liverpool, Wenger must be left wondering how to flay the aggression of Arsenal fans who are now wearing thin of patience. Gunners performance to say the least, was sorry. Its shocking to see one of the most dominant teams in EPL over the years, being reduced to resemble an amateurish side that has just been promoted to top flight. If yesterday was any indication of worse times to come at the club, a complete overhaul is needed to restore the image of the club.

Coming back to yesterday’s game, it was an unpleasant sight to watch one of the most elegant passing clubs in the world, struggling to string a series of passes together and getting stuck for majority of the match in a third of the pitch. Emmanuel Frimpong was red-carded thanks to a horrendous tackle which once again raises questions on his ability to handle pressure in top flight. In an already woe ridden club grappling with more issues on hand than what they can handle at the moment, centre-back Laurent Koscielny had to be substituted out of the encounter.

Samir Nasri seemed intent on proving why he’s considered one of the safest bets of EPL going into the future, delighting fans in what may be one of his last appearances for Arsenal. With the ball under his feet, Nasri not only oozed the sense of authority but also came close to scoring on a couple of ocassions for the Gunners.

Arsenal suffered their first hiccup after Aaron Ramsey’s own goal and were subjected to a last gasp strike c/o substitute Luis Suarez. Suarez sprung like a buck after a carefully executed counter attack, handing The Reds their first victory at Arsenal, which was no doubt well deserved, after more than a decade.

It is up to Wenger now to silence the irate fans who were agonized after the thrashing meted out to them yesterday. Fans once again reiterated their stance for the Arsenal management to invest in at least a couple of well known names before it becomes too late. Wenger has his task well cut out before the next game; repose fans faith in the club as well as rally the players to come up with a stellar performance.

To sum up Arsenal and their slim chance of finishing within the top four this season, if the club does not get its act right in the beginning of the season itself, it risks becoming a victim of its own backfired strategy.

Never Ending Woes for the Men in Blue

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:34:00 +0530

M.S. Dhoni was in for a rude shock yesterday when it was confirmed that the Singh duo namely: Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh will play no further part in the ongoing test series due to their respective injuries. The Turbanator has been sidelined for the next 4 weeks with a Grade 1 Abdominal Muscle Strain whereas, Yuvi will be laid low for 3 weeks due to a fracture in the left index finger.

The phenomenal question reeling everybody’s mind is, how did Bhajji actually manage to pick up an Abdominal Strain when he has seldom strained himself in this series? Receiving flak from every quarter due to his poor bowling performance in the first two tests, the offie, who has claimed more than 400 wickets in test cricket, has looked a shadow of his old self. What may be interesting to note over the last two tests is the fact that even Dhoni’s patience seems to be wearing out thick and fast with the temperamental Punjab bowler. The man who was essentially India’s second bowling change in test matches was virtually reduced to an extra in the second test, fielding near the boundary. Harbhajan was brought on by the Indian skipper only around the 40th over during the second innings of the second test held at Nottingham which showed a complete lack of faith in MS Dhoni’s belief in the Turbanator’s ability.

Technically, Harbhajan seems to still possess the same sting, but, what is lacking is the self-confidence to grab wickets. The lynch pin of Indian spin bowling attack post Kumble’s retirement has been reduced to an incumbent bowler over the past year. The once wicket taking bowler is now a run containing bowler, looking to stem the flow of runs rather than go for the kill. Maybe, Bhajji just needs a sports psychologist who is able to analyze his mental block and reform himself.

Coming to Yuvi, bad luck continues to mar his growth as he seems to be grappling from one injury to another. Though, he seems to be in the pink of his health over the past few years, looking extremely fit and agile, the Man of the Series of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has no option but to pack his bags and head home.

Another burning issue which can be raised with so many injuries striking key Indian players is- injury management. It is whimsical to witness so many key Indian players break down after every match due to some injury, most of which are related to stress and work-overload. With BCCI laughing its way to the bank, players are the individuals bearing the brunt for a cramped schedule. The Great Indian Cricket Dream seems to be coming to a grinding halt with the Men in Blue looking dejected and really dis-spirited on field. Most of the Indian players seem to be craving for a well deserved break to cool down their breaking bodies.

The England tour is proving to be a major embarrassment for the Men in Blue staking their claim as the numero uno test team in the world. Now is the time for the Indian team to get their act/s right before its gets too late. With third test round the corner, India have to lift themselves to have any chance of leveling the series.

India gain the upper hand on Day 1 in Nottingham

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:35:09 +0530

The Indian pace trio pulled off a Robin Hood-esque spectacle on the opening day of the first test in Nottingham, bagging three wickets apiece. Whether or not they had an inkling of Nottingham being known as the Robin Hood county had little to do with their renewed performance, after a largely sporadic effort in the first test.

Sreesanth or rather Sree ‘Shaanth’ was the pick of the bowlers, completely bamboozling the opposition with his disciplined bowling. What was noteworthy during his bowling effort was the realization to stick within his limits, consistently pitching the ball fuller and letting the pitch do the rest. It was really a sight lo and behold, not to notice him losing his cool or performing his usual on-field antics due to frustration the entire day. It was almost as if he was on a leash and at his best behaviour, trying hard to please the principal of a college after serving a suspension notice. The principal in this case being MS Dhoni who appeared to be really pleased with Sreesanth’s effort through the day.

Not far to be left behind, Praveen Kumar carried forward his incessant pegging, seldom giving an inch to the opposition. Kumar dried up one end with his precision bowling, in turn applying additional pressure on the English batsman, majority of whom were victims of not giving due respect to the seaming and swinging ball.

After having England on the mat at one stage for 120-8, Broad and Swann staged a fantastic partnership taking attack to the pacers. Broad especially seemed to have come out with a clear brief from coach Andy Flower, play his natural game and try to give each ball the kitchen sink treatment, or so it seemed. The entertaining partnership which added precious runs to the England kitty came to an abrupt end when Swann gloved an unplayable delivery that rose like a cobra, into the waiting hands of the second slip.

Thanks to the resplendent knock by Broad, England did manage to avoid posting an embarrassing total. The day at large was dominated by the Men In Blue who have gotten into the habit of staging a magnificent comeback, time and again after a not-so-great start to the series.

AVB- The New Chelsea Miracle Man?!

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:13:37 +0530

Does the following name, Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas, strike a chord with football fans? If the name sounds a bit familiar, the man commonly referred to as André Villas-Boas (AVB) is currently the center of attraction in EPL, even overshadowing the luminous Chelsea players in the pre-season build-up.

So, why is there so much hype surrounding the latest entrant to the Chelsea coach/es club, entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring EPL as well as most importantly UEFA Champions League success?! Lets analyze the enigma engulfing AVB.

Firstly, André Villas-Boas is the youngest coach to win a European title during his highly publicized stint at FC Porto. Secondly, his whopping 13.3 million pounds move to Chelsea from FC Porto is the most expensive ever in the history of football. Thirdly, (here’s when things get better) he is considered to be a prodigy of the famed Jose Mourinho, working as an as an assistant coach under Mourinho at FC Porto.

No wonder then, that the man who got his first UEFA coaching license at the age of 17 has been a subject of much adulation by fans and media alike. Delving further into the functioning of AVB, like his mentor Mourinho, he considers it a prerogative to technically analyze every opponent in the League, chalking out their strengths and weaknesses well before going into the match. His astute understanding of the game and motivational ability to derive the best out of what he has on his hands are two highly spoken qualities of the Portuguese.

Therefore, in fact, it comes as no surprise that Roman Abrahamovich hastily scrambled to sign André Villas-Boas and pay the buy-out clause to land him at Stamford Bridge. This move has surely increased Abrahamovich’s dipping rating points after a disappointing season under Carlo Ancelloti, who after a wonderful start to the last season lost the plot without any discerning reason. Fans and players at Stamford Bridge seem to be pretty kicked with AVB coming in; its as if he has brought in a fresh belief in the club that required an assuring influence.

Pure Genius! (Vintage take on Modern...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:17:24 +0530

Pure Genius! (Vintage take on Modern Technology)

shivvermetimbers:

If Social Media Was Around For The World Wars

theeconomist: This week’s cover: readers in Asia got their own...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:13:44 +0530

theeconomist:

This week’s cover: readers in Asia got their own cover this week. Twenty years after India’s historic economic reforms, it’s time for another big effort.

comicsalliance: Archie’s Gay Character Kevin Keller to Get...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:12:59 +0530

comicsalliance:

Archie’s Gay Character Kevin Keller to Get Married, Have Ongoing Comic Series [Comic-Con]

The star of Kevin Keller continued to ascend last weekend at Comic-Con International in San Diego, where it was announced that the first openly gay Archie Comics character would graduate from his in-progress miniseries to a full-fledged ongoing series next February. Not only that, Kevin’s popularity with readers (and the media) has earned him a spot in the Life With Archie series, which explores the lives of the characters as they extend into the future. In Keller’s feature, the character will be married to another man.

Read more at ComicsAlliance.

photojojo: Here’s a roundup of camera guns!: guns hidden inside...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 14:23:09 +0530

photojojo:

Here’s a roundup of camera guns!: guns hidden inside of cameras (made by the CIA), cameras that double as guns and cameras that just look like guns.

Pictured here: the Enjalbert Photorevolver (the one that looks like a gun), the CIA Stinger Pistol (the Pentax), and the Kilburn Gun Camera.

Camera Gun Roundup by Christopher Carlsson

via Laughing Squid

photojojo: Check out this Camera Beanbag Chair from Woouf in...

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:57:12 +0530

photojojo:

Check out this Camera Beanbag Chair from Woouf in Barcelona!

India slump to a morale crushing defeat

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 23:07:00 +0530

The final day of the test match at Lords between India and England at Lords which was set up to be a visual spectacle, instead turned out to be a batting debacle with the Men in Blue failing to live upto expectations on the last day. Thanks to an extremely defensive approach while batting, barring two exceptions namely Laxman and Raina who tried their best to salvage the situation, the Indian batting effort in the second innings was a collective failure.

With hordes of fans apparently queuing up from about 3 am BST to grab a ticket and witness the once in a lifetime opportunity of watching the Little Master score his 100th ton, Tendulkar once again disappointed the legion of fans. The Mecca of Cricket somehow, seems to be a jinxed venue for the man whom many consider ‘The God’ of Cricket. After a positive start to his innings, the highest run scorer in test cricket appeared to totally go into a shell in the post lunch session, seldom looking to score runs and surviving a close LBW call. The extreme defensive batting proved to be a downfall with Sachin finally perishing to an in-swinging delivery by Anderson.

Laxman in his typically wristy fashion tackled the English bowlers extremely well. His innings was laced with exquisite cover drives, hooks and pulls. India’s most gifted timer of the ball seemed to be quite at ease during his entire knock. All of a sudden, a mistimed pull led to his untimely demise from the crease.

Raina salvaged his first innings failure with a classy knock, getting into his groove after a restrained beginning. The left hander from UP proved to be an ideal foil for the England pace trio. His effort should see him maintaining his place at number 6 in the playing XI ahead of the second test match at Nottingham. Yuvraj Singh may end up carrying bottles onto the field atleast for another test match, thanks to Raina’s batting form.

As a devoted fan of the Men in Blue and MSD over the last 3 years, this defeat does hurt. As the famous proverb goes, ‘slow and steady wins the race’, here’s hoping MS Dhoni and Co. take many learning cues from this test match to emerge victorious in this series, even though it looks a uphill task from here.

washingtonpoststyle: We usually leave the whole “reblogging of...

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 22:00:15 +0530

washingtonpoststyle:

We usually leave the whole “reblogging of vintage advertisements that now ring through with appalling sexism” to other Tumblrs, but wow. We will be purchasing this tie for our birthday. Both the male and female us.

Copa America 2011: Missing Latino Heat

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 00:03:00 +0530

As I write this blog just about half an hour away from the Copa America 2011 final kick-off, a nagging question constantly rings through my mind, ‘Where has the classic, spicy Latin American fast gameplay disappeared?!

Looking back at all the action that Copa America had to serve up before today’s final, South America’s biggest and most prestigious football competition has been an unworthy spectacle, to say the least. Big guns in the form of Brazil and home team Argentina whom fans even in the sub-continent were up late in the night to root for were a major let down, thanks to patchy form, evidently due to lack of adequate full team practice. Barring Messi who shone bright, lighting up an otherwise dull competition for Argentina and fast rising Brazilian wonder kid Neymar whose twinkle toes and creativity with the ball brought to mind images of Ronaldinho, Copa America has failed to produce a new prodigy or talent associated with such an awaited South American football spectacle.

One would wonder, how the hell could a team that did not win a match in regulation time reach the finals of Copa America?! But, believe it or not, Paraguay have earned this dubious distinction and literally scraped through to the finals. If there was a team that deserved its place in the finals, it had to be Uruguay who are living upto their reputation of being a giant killer, post FIFA World Cup 2010. An absolute scorcher of a performance against Brazil in the quaterfinals was once again proof of how far the nation has progressed, reveling in the pride of a successful FIFA World Cup campaign last year.

In all probability, the final may end up being a totally one sided encounter with Uruguay crushing Paraguay by a couple of goals or more. But, one thing which will keep the Paraguayan players motivated for sure will be the vision of seeing a naked Larissa Riquelme and is bound to inspire them to lift their game for a cause!

Hail 'The Wall'

Sun, 24 Jul 2011 17:56:00 +0530

If one could describe Day 3 of the first test between India and England at Lords in a nutshell, it would aptly have to be ‘unpredictable’. After an assuring start by both the openers who saw off the new ball by displaying a great level of restraint, the middle order barring ‘The Wall’ struggled to cope against the swinging Duke ball.

Kudos to the English bowlers for exploiting the conditions to the hilt. Special mention has to be reserved for Stuart Broad who appeared to have exorcised the demons of an awful series against Sri Lanka with an inspired bowling performance, pitching the ball fuller and extracting swing either ways to bamboozle the Indian batsmen. It was extremely disappointing as a fan to see the Master Blaster walk back to the pavilion after an innings riddled with some insecurity, especially against the burly Tremlett who managed to cause relative discomfort with his short balls directed at Sachin’s ribs.

But, the day belonged to the second highest run getter in Test cricket who with his elegant stroke play and astute defense seldom looked uncomfortable at the crease even for a moment. Hardly has India’s most technical batsmen spoken in the same breath as Tendulkar, Lara or Ponting. Unnervingly, Dravid went about his job in clinical fashion, patiently waiting to dispatch the loose balls to the boundary. It was fascinating to notice the grit in Dravid’s eyes during his entire unbeaten innings at the Mecca of Cricket. Dravid has been a loyal servant of the gentleman’s game, silently going about his job, always playing second fiddle to the flamboyant players in the team. One thing that must be appreciated is his constantly yearn to re-invent himself, adapting to the requirement of any given situation.

Dravid was the only silver lining in the clouds for India on a day that otherwise belonged to the England pace bowling trio of Broad, Tremlett and Anderson with Swann ably pegging runs at one end.

DAY 1 of 2000th Test turns out to be a damp squib

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 18:30:32 +0530

2000th test in the history of the gentleman’s game, 100th test between India and England, Sachin’s anticipated 100th ton in international cricket, could the average cricket fan ask for anything more?! Alas, the situation got the better of both sides on Day 1 of the first test at the Mecca of Cricket, Lords.

It was quite difficult to comprehend the strategies on either side with England on one hand batting extremely defensive, moving at a snail’s pace and India on the other hand unable to exploit the overcast conditions, taylormade for pace bowlers. Except for Zaheer Khan and Jonathan Trott, players on-field including English batsmen looked extremely lethargic and out of color.

If one were to go by the toss results with MSD finally winning a toss, the signs were ominous for the Men in Blue. But, what followed afterwards was a different tale altogether. Barring Zak who caused relative discomfort to the English batsmen, in particular the England skipper Strauss who was undone on many occasions with the away swinging delivery, Indian bowlers failed to pitch the ball fuller and gain the upper hand. What added to a viewer’s frustration was the lack of any noise whatsoever on field to charge up the bowlers. Two dropped chances did not make things any easier for the number 1 test team in the world, with the culprit being the player with highest catches in test cricket, Rahul Dravid.

The day ended in a gloom (literally) for the World Champions when the lynchpin of bowling attack, Zaheer Khan had to leave the field due to a hamstring strain and play ending three hours before schedule.

Hopefully, the second day brings much cheer to such a fleeting occasion lifting players spirits, in turn making the match exciting to watch!

footballvids: Nike Viral: Mesut Ozil & leading German...

Sat, 28 May 2011 23:30:57 +0530

footballvids:

Nike Viral: Mesut Ozil & leading German female star Lira Bajramaj

Complete with English subtitles, enjoy the latest viral from Nike.

Footballvids: Manchester United v Barcelona: The tactical view

Sat, 28 May 2011 23:27:18 +0530

Footballvids: Manchester United v Barcelona: The tactical view:

footballvids:

This is without doubt the biggest match in club football every year…The Champions League Final.

Barcelona: While everyone raves about the way they keep the ball and distribute it, there is one factor that most fans don’t pick up on - and that is there closing down. In the odd occasion when they…

Footballvids: Manchester United v Barcelona: Facts, stats and omens

Sat, 28 May 2011 23:26:53 +0530

Footballvids: Manchester United v Barcelona: Facts, stats and omens:

footballvids:

Having trouble figuring out who is gonna win this one? Maybe these cane help:

• Man Utd are the only unbeaten side in the Champions League this season (nine wins, three draws).

• Barcelona’s only defeat in the Champions League this season was in London, when they lost 2-1 at Arsenal…

The 2011 Champions League Final - Who will win?

Sat, 28 May 2011 23:26:13 +0530

afootballreport:

In under 2 hours the 2011 Champions League Final kicks off, a game which has been dubbed as “match of the decade” and that could be the case. It’s a global game which may not be as glamorous as the World Cup Final but the prestige is equally as important. Don’t miss it! Two talented, distinct managers go head-to-head (again): the visionary Guardiola vs the experienced Ferguson, both possessing an army of quality players. Their attacking forces are brutal with Messi, Pedro and Villa running riot in the iconic Barcelona jersey against the lethal Rooney and Chicharito wearing the trademark red. Defensively both teams are equipped to the max, two sets of solid partnerships with Pique and Puyol stopping United’s efficient striking duo whilst Vidic and Ferdinand will be busy from the first whistle until the last. Some of the writers at AFR alongside a selection of talented bloggers have shared their verdict for the final, but what is your prediction?

Read More