Stanley Cup Social – “Real-time Reactions to In-Game Event(s)”

I'm constantly fascinated by the "live stream" of updates / conversations from Facebook, Twitter, etc during a live sporting event or big TV show. It's like a seemingly endless supply of contextually-relevant "meta-commentary" which (in most cases) adds value or entertainment to the actual product itself. Unsurprisingly enough, the flow and ebb of the comments is virtually welded to the shock and awe (or lack thereof) of "real-time" events.

For shits and giggles, I set up a little system (if you could call it that) to 'sip from the firehose' and capture mentions of the Stanley Cup Game 2 and 3 (so far) via both Twitter and Facebook's live public feeds utilizing various keywords that I though might be relevant. Put all this in a database, and report on it later once all the data is in, and then annotate based on what ACTUALLY was happening during the game (which becomes blatantly freaking obvious, when reading the updates / tweets).

First up, Saturday night's game from Prudential Center...


Then there was Monday night's bloodbath at the Staples Center....

Plus, it was a much "hotter" night for SM chatter about the game (very Kings-centric too).

Devils fight back and send the series back to NJ...

Highest Twitter reaction numbers yet.

"In the near future, smart and agile brands and marketers could ride these fleeting moments of excitement all the way to the freaking bank."

It's coming. I know that Gary Vaynerchuk even mentioned a similar scenario a few months back in a interview (Inc 500 Keynote, December 2011, at about 41 minutes in I think). He was thinking a bit more down the road (Watching TV with integrated secondary devices (iPad, Phone, etc) to "activate" consumers, instantly monetizing dynamic events; buying jerseys on the spot, etc. Possibly with a pre-opt-in and then an expertly timed content "push" at the right momeny), however, I think that some createive and forward-thinking brands could pull off a more primitive version of this NOW.

Think "near-realtime blitzkrieg one-on-one marketing".

Hey, just a thought... Maybe if I get bored this week, I'll chart the rest of the game(s) and make and epic roll-up post. ;)

Data + Contextual EQ + Speed = Opportunity

Not a "real" formula, just trying to prove my marketing point. If you see realtime interest spikes in your product / brand, have the knowledge, and ability to quickly act on them - I believe that there might be biz opportunity in there somewhere.
Disclaimer: Numbers are probably a *bit* low on Facebook, partially to eliminate false positives - but mostly because Facebook, as a platform, isn't used in the same 'realtime' way as Twitter is. Most of the heavy Facebook update volume comes an hour+ AFTER the game(s) ended. Different mindset. Different Platform. Regardless, I'm working on improving my "collection methods" all the time.
  • http://russiansphinx.blogspot.com/ RussianSphinx

    Perfect like always :)

  • Matt Booher

    Love the visualizations…but the quote caught my eye as well. Do you talk more in-depth about it elsewhere?

    • http://ryrobes.com/ Ryan Robitaille

       Hey Matt, the quote about riding “temporary excitement waves” to the bank you mean?

      I think its right around the corner. Watch Gary V’s video where he mentions it (linked above somewhere) – but I really think it is possible to have brands interact and connect to fans at THAT VERY moment where they might be most likely to buy something (or at least opt-in).

      I know it sounds lame or scummy, but me (as a sports fan) feels the same thing when great stuff happens at certain ‘epic’ moments (esp after a few beers). :)  Hell, I’ve done it before “in the moment” and had to do a lot more leg-work! Hah.

      • Matt Booher

        Yep…not sure I’d see it as scummy provided the “sale” provides a tangible link to the experience generating the excitement. I can see it now “I was at Len Barker’s perfect game and all I got was this crummy t-shirt!”

        • http://ryrobes.com/ Ryan Robitaille

          Haha, exactly. I guess I just meant that people get skeeved out when they are actively being SOLD something – BUT that’s kinda what they signed up for in the first place, right? :)

          Games 5,6 are going up tonight- which will be interesting because twitter was exploding with kings / devils stuff last night (understandably).

  • Ray

    This is really cool. I had an idea that involves analyzing a bunch of facebook posts. Do you post anywhere how you get the facebook and twitter data into a db? I’d really love to know. By the way I liked your Metallica post too. It’s cool the kind of stuff you can do with BI software. Thanks dude!