17 February 2011

@2

01

1LL_

NV

an C

ase

Stu

dy

1

The intersection of business and sport.

Goals:

1) Sponsorship outreach and acquisition

2) Community engagement and media partnership development

3) Drive attendance (this will become more prevalent closer to the event)

4) Sponsorship Activation – during event (we eventually need enough followers and friends to

successfully activate online campaigns to the satisfaction of sponsors)

Challenges:

Short one-off event with minimal public exposure pre-event

Very geocentric level of interest

Biggest Opportunities

Everybody has some level of connection to community sport, and often Little League in

particular (something in it for everyone). Well-regarded and attention-grabbing event leading up

to the internationally televised World Series (positive sentiments and strong recognition with

potential sponsors & spectators, great for media partners). Opportunity for local business

community, as well as regional and national partners to participate given the profile of the

event. Kids at focal point (terrific advantages for sponsors at a reasonable participation cost)

2011 Canadian Little League Championships Social Media Case Study

17 February 2011

@2

01

1LL_

NV

an C

ase

Stu

dy

2

Solution:

Developed “brand voice” and presence built out around supporting the kids.

Positioned the event as hugely significant to the North Shore community as a whole. This built

on the community’s view of the 2010 Olympics as a large draw that benefitted the entire

community.

Build out of twitter lists to promote the communities assets, such as local tourist attractions and

popular restaurants. This positioned the event as a catalyst that would benefit and showcase the

community

Conducted offline community media partnership development to seed and lend authority and

reach to initial online presence

Targeted follows in North Shore area including, local small businesses, families (mothers and

fathers), sports fans, baseball players with much more to come.

Outreach, follow blast and listing of all retailers and businesses in the city

Connect with key influencers in the area to gain their support, voice, and reach

Plans to coordinate offline outreach driving people to connect via Twitter and Facebook closer

to the event. Banner, in-school signage, VIK media placements directing traffic online.

Results: (pre-event as of February 17)

In only a few days’ of focused work supported with relatively low involvement maintenance:

o Connected with 5 target sponsors and have moved them into the sponsorship sales

funnel

o Initial online activity and commitment was included in decision criteria when signing

both the Blue Jays and other sponsors to the program.

o Earned over 120 highly targeted twitter followers already and are well on track to

earning over 2000 by the time of the event. According to twittercounter.com.

o Developed an extensive list of media partners and contacts via online outreach including

Bloggers, Twitter influencers, Sports Journalists, Television personalities and more.

o Earned a significant level of pre-event publicity with CityTV, the NorthShore Outlook,

and the NorthShore News.

NorthShore News partnership to be leveraged on and offline leading up to event

for maximum, exposure and reach.

o Already connected with 60 friends on Facebook including players, alumni, and last

season’s championship coordinators to provide feedback and direction to organizing

staff of the 2011 Championship.