Sports fans will take to social platforms and messaging apps to "cheer on their teams and banter with their mates," according to Bigballs Media CSO James Kirkham for MARKETING MAGAZINE. But there "could be some big changes in the ways brands tap into this year's sporting fervour." In January, Facebook announced the launch of Sports Stadium, a "hub that aggregates all the buzz, chatter and conversations from Facebook which occur during live sporting events." Timed to coincide with the Super Bowl, Facebook "hopes it will steal a march on Twitter." While it is a "little too early too tell how successful it will be," this year’s int'l sporting events should "prove to be its litmus test." Equally, YouTube has made developments within the sporting world -- it beta tested real-time ads during the Super Bowl, "allowing advertisers to time their spots with big moments during live events." It is likely that it will "roll this out to other big sporting occasions." But Twitter, Facebook and YouTube "will not be the only players in the sports game this year." Messaging apps such as WhatsApp, kik, WeChat and Line in Asia "offer a brilliant and simple way for people to chat together during live sports." Brands will use the messaging apps for engaging with sporting moments -- and it is "high time." The social media model of the last few years "is not working." Brands thought they "had to be always on, and ended up spouting non-stop into an already cluttered world." Messaging could help brands find the "true meaning" of always on -- to be there when the opportunity is right, at the right time and at the right place. The new marketing mechanic is "less about trying to always be where people might be looking." Instead, "content is brought to you as you require it, on demand and where you are" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 3/1).
