Connect with us
Jim Cutler Demos

BSM Writers

Super Bowl Week Success Is About What You Do, Not Where You Are

“We’re coming to the party, but our section of the party is going to be the most fun section of the party. It’s going to be where real fans want to come and hang out.”

Demetri Ravanos

Published

on

Radio Row is dead. The days of the convention center in the Super Bowl’s host city being filled wall-to-wall with sports stations from around the country is over. Plenty of them are still there, but now there are just as many ring lights and cameras as there are microphones and Comrex units. The podcasters sit side by side with the broadcasters. There’s a whole lot of audio production, but there is just as much video production. Now it’s Media Row. 

And here is a dirty little secret: Media Row is kind of dead too.

Outlet participation is dwindling. The expense of taking a station or social network to Media Row isn’t worth the content many of these platforms are able to put out. Hell, ESPN Radio didn’t even send its shows this year. 

If you were on Media Row this year, you saw as many ads as you did media outlets. Westwood One sold part of its set to Kay Jewelers. Sleep Number beds erected a huge podcast studio. Kansas City, Arizona, and Las Vegas all had huge booths to promote tourism.

On Wednesday of last week, JB and I were invited to check out Barstool’s Mini Golf Open. The event was live streamed on the company’s website and featured all of its top personalities. It made money and served the brand identity, but more importantly, it showed everyone that you don’t need to rely on the game and the NFL to make great content during Super Bowl week.

Mesa, Arizona’s Golfland Sunsplash was the home of the competition. That is a sixteen mile drive from the Phoenix Convention Center, where various former NFL players and OnlyFans girls were pedaling various offshore sportsbooks and boner pills. 

Barstool came to Arizona with a plan to make entertaining content for its audience. The company was not going to leave itself at the mercy of Media Row. Local stations can take a lesson from that. 

It’s no secret that Barstool and the NFL have a bit of an adversarial relationship. The league was never going to do the company any favors. The league office initially tried to keep the company’s popular podcast Bussin’ With the Boys off of Media Row entirely. That left it all up to the bosses, talent, and producers at Barstool to put a plan in place to generate the most entertaining content possible.

“We’re not knocking on the door. We’re just coming in. You know, we’re just going to go ahead and make ourselves at home here,” Adam Ferrone, better known to fans as “Rone”, told me. “We’re coming to the party, but our section of the party is going to be the most fun section of the party. It’s going to be where real fans want to come and hang out.”

Pringles made Barstool’s plan a little easier, at least for the Mini Golf Open. Omega Accounting Solutions and Curve served as sponsors of the event as well, but whether you watched the event live and in person or over the internet, Pringles was unavoidable.

“At one point, it seemed as though the chips became just as popular as the Barstool players,” Senior Account Executive Maggie McAteer said. “Over on the 6th hole, players had to stand on a Pringles branded platform and putt while having “can hands,” which meant their hands had to be in a Pringles container while putting. On the 18th hole, the 3D Pringles chip helped PFT Commenter secure a crucial play to make par. Carts of Pringles were displayed throughout the course, and other fun brand moments were captured.”

It wasn’t just mini golf. Pringles was worked in everywhere for Barstool. Cans showed up at the company’s New Amsterdam Vodka House, the home base for content throughout Super Bowl week, the Pardon My Take studio and at the live edition of The Dozen Trivia

If your network or station is going to the Super Bowl, if it is going to travel and broadcast from any event really, it has to be profitable. Barstool took it a step further than profitable, and there’s a lesson in that. Barstool put Pringles in the center of the action for the entire week. It made the sponsor a star and likely earned loyalty from Kellogg’s for a very long time.

Courtesy of Demetri Ravanos

As for Bussin’ With the Boys, the podcast did eventually make it to Media Row. Hosts Will Compton and Taylor Lewan got to experience both sides of the event. They welcomed guests of their own to tape interviews for their podcasts. They were also “lead around like show ponies” Compton told me, promoting their show with stations and networks that would have them.

After spending a few days in sell mode and having to fit into the sometimes stuffy culture of Media Row, Compton was happy to get back to a Barstool Super Bowl event.

“You’re at home here. You’ve got the boys around and everybody’s chirping,” he said of the competition at the Mini Golf Open. “Over there, you’ve got to be a little bit more buttoned up in front of all these other outlets. You got to know what’s going on.”

It may not always seem like it, but that is at the heart of every decision Barstool makes. Even the decision to hold a miniature golf tournament and stream the competition live instead of opening it to the public, is part of CEO Erika Ayers’ larger strategy for Barstool in 2023.

She still expects the company to “fly all over the place” and try a number of different things. When it comes to live sports though, Ayers is convinced that what Barstool pulled off with the Arizona Bowl in December is a model they can thrive with while the rest of the industry plays catch-up.

“What I really believe in is the infusion of comedy and entertainment in a broadcast experience of live sports,” she said on Variety’s Strictly Business podcast last week. “That’s going to be the future. And I really see us at the forefront of that.”

The Barstool Mini Golf Open delivered just that. Between the charisma of the company’s best-known personalities and the absurdity of mini golf in general, there was plenty to celebrate. But it didn’t all happen by accident. 

Lisa Litvak, Barstool’s VP of Live Events, and her team staged a production that pulled out all of the stops. Drones buzzed overhead with cameras attached to them to capture aerial views of the action. Cameramen followed each group and framed the action perfectly without ever getting in the way. 

Mini golf is not Litvak’s first rodeo with Barstool. Just like the content being created by Rone and by Bussin’ With the Boys, she wants her team to think about what works best, not what fits in with what everyone else is doing to cover the Super Bowl. The company has experience with live sports, first staging a college basketball invitational event and then a bowl game. Litvak trusts that she knows what works for the Barstool audience.

“I think we’ve learned a ton from doing basketball and football, and now this,” she told me. “I think the biggest thing we’ve learned is that we can do it and we can do it just as good as any network.”

Courtesy of Demetri Ravanos

Everyone involved had a plan, not just for the mini golf tournament, but for generating content and delivering for advertisers across the entire week. 

“Some people expect Barstool not to be on the most solid footing,” Rone told me. “They used to call it the Barstool difference, where if a broadcast goes out, well that’s just part of Barstool being Barstool. At this point, there’s so many moving pieces and talented people that it’s like you don’t have that excuse anymore. Everything has to be perfect. So people are taking this really seriously to make it look like it’s not a lot of work at all.”

People feel all kinds of ways about Barstool, and you see in talking to members of their PR staff, that they get it. Some people’s minds are never going to change. But that is about content. Whether what the company puts out is good or bad or offensive or hilarious is always going to be subjective. 

We’re talking about business. When it comes to getting the most out of its decision to invest money and resources into going to Arizona and making the most of Super Bowl week for its audience, Barstool objectively put on a clinic that is worth studying.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

BSM Writers

How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

Published

on

Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

BSM Writers

‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

Published

on

NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

BSM Writers

Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

Avatar photo

Published

on

photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.