The Social Media Scoreboard Now Available From Wasserman Media Group And Navigate Research

CHICAGO and LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Wasserman Media Group, leading sports marketing and management agency, and Navigate Research, industry leader in measuring and evaluating marketing investments, announced the availability of their first annual "Social Media Scoreboard" study. The Social Media Scoreboard, available for purchase, provides brands, agencies and properties with an in-depth look into the impact social media has on sports fans within seven U.S. sports  - NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, PGA Tour, NASCAR and MLS. More information can be found at TheSocialMediaScoreboard.com.

Some of the most frequent questions from the industry-at-large that the study set out to answer include:

1. How are fans using social media in sports?
2. What impact is social media having on fan behaviors and actions?
3. What is the effectiveness of social media vs other mediums in driving key sponsor metrics?
4. How should the elements of sponsorships be valued differently based on effectiveness drivers?

"We consult with brands and properties daily to help them more strategically negotiate and activate sponsorships, and it has become clear that the industry has an urgent need to better understand the impact of social media on sports marketing," said John Harper, SVP of Consulting at Wasserman Media Group. "The insights we uncovered in the study are hugely compelling and will help properties price and sell the social media elements of their media plan now with a much stronger foundation in fact. Furthermore, from the information, brands can now better understand how to value social within their overall sponsorship spend and how to leverage it in activation across the board."

"One instinct we had was that social media is not being valued appropriately within sports partnerships," said AJ Maestas, Navigate Research President. "A compelling insight we uncovered is that fans are more likely to have a positive perception around a sponsor brand and be more inclined to purchase a sponsor product if they initially became aware of the sponsorship through social media. This notion of effectiveness is now driving us to develop a more robust valuation approach for social media across the marketing journey that brands and properties can leverage moving forward."

Examples of findings brands and properties can leverage from the study include:

• Fans are more likely to recommend brands they become aware of through social media
• Social media drives fans to engage with other mediums following message exposure:
  • 42% Watched on TV
  • 29% Followed a player, team or league
  • 16% bought tickets to a game
  • 15% bought property/branded merchandise
  • 13% Invited friends to an event
• Social Media influences consumption. Fans are enticed by:
  • 20% Discounts on social media
  • 15% Products/service reviews/info on social media
  • 15% Advertisements on social media
  • 7% Professional team, league or athlete endorsements via social media
• 20% of sports fans purchased products/services in the past 30 days because of discounts they saw/received via social media
• 15% of sports fans purchased products/services in the past 30 days because of product or service reviews they saw/read via social media
• Fans are more likely to take action on social media via teams and athletes (e.g. follow, like, post, retweet)

To view more of the report's findings and request information, visit  TheSocialMediaScoreboard.com.

ABOUT NAVIGATE RESEARCH
Navigate Research is the industry leader in evaluating and measuring marketing investments in sports and entertainment, with an emphasis on sponsorship valuations, campus-wide partnership deals, custom market research studies and sponsorship ROI studies. Based in Chicago, Navigate has measured ROI and effectiveness for hundreds of sponsorship deals and has valued billions of dollars in sponsorship transactions on behalf of brands, properties and agencies. Past and current clients include: NFL, ESPN, The Ohio State University, Anheuser-Busch, MLS, Sony, State Farm Insurance, Red Bull and more.

For more information, visit http://www.navigateresearch.com.

ABOUT WASSERMAN MEDIA GROUP
Founded in 2002, Wasserman Media Group is a global sports, entertainment, marketing and management company with expertise in media rights, sponsorships, brand consulting, athlete management, digital, creative and multicultural marketing. Wasserman is headquartered in Los Angeles and also has operations in Carlsbad, London, Miami, New York, Raleigh, Sao Paulo, Singapore, UAE and Toronto. 

For more information please visit www.wmgllc.com.

SOURCE Wasserman Media Group