Chad Ochocinco is pushing the limits again. (For those that don’t know, Ochocinco is the outspoken-yet-uber-talented wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals.) The NFL bans cell phones during the game and creates policy to quell Facebook and Twitter interaction, and he comes up with a plan to still Tweet during a game. So should this be deemed another publicity stunt by a player with a history of controversial behavior? Or should it be viewed as a player better understanding social media marketing than his employer, and setting out to prove it? I’m going with both.
I understand where the NFL is coming from in respect to their fear of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like. It’s based mostly on the owner’s and coach’s views that this could lead to spilling the beans on game tactics and the real health of players, and it could draw unwanted media distractions among other things. But let’s be serious for a second… why would a player want to divulge these things? It would hurt his team, his wallet (’cause if he did post things like that, he would surely be fined) and his future marketability.
Where the NFL is being terribly myopic is in regard to marketing. Fans want to get closer to the game. They want to feel like the wall between field and fans is being erased. You can witness this via fans willingness to stand outside a chain-link fence to watch training camp, and in the popularity of fantasy football leagues. (I’m in five leagues this year myself.)
Ochocinco has a much better grasp on this. Letting people get a “first person” view of what’s going on under the helmet and on the turf is bound to make fans pay more attention to the game… and that means more TV viewers and therefore, exposure to the NFL’s advertisers. And it will probably bring new fans to the game, if even out of curiosity.
The NFL should follow his lead. They should mandate team sponsored sideline Twitter agents to post player quotes during the game. They should post video highlights to YouTube during the game—a “look what you just missed, you oughta tune in” tact. Something tells me they won’t… but they should.
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August 27th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
One could argue that it is both. True, fans want to get closer to their favorite teams and players. But the fact is that when players hit the field, they are there to do a job. Doing something such as “tweeting” from the sidelines, he is distracting himself and his teammates. This is just immature behavior on hs part, not really rogue per se.
Posting video to Youtube during the game by team reps (marketing individuals) is a brilliant idea, though. That way instead of grainy video from cell phone cameras, etc. fans will have a better chance of seeing quality video. The catch is not making other teams, etc. think they’re trying to cheat.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
Thanks for commenting, Philip. You make a couple of very valid points… one of which, I think, leads to a reason why the NFL should loosen the grip of a ban, and try a different tact. “Tweeting by proxy” was already done once during a professional sport: http://bit.ly/zXVIj . If people like Ochocinco are going to try to work around the system anyway, a strategy like that could allow for both focus and engagement.
Thanks again.
August 28th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
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August 31st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
interesting follow on to this discussion… NFL just released their social media policy. stiff. http://mashable.com/2009/08/31/nfl-social-media-policy/
September 9th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
And now Ochocinco has found loopholes. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4458612 I’m really looking forward to this… I want to see what he’s got up his sleeve, and how the NFL responds next. (You know the NFL lawyers are combing through right now, trying to figure out what they worded poorly.)
July 26th, 2010 at 8:58 am
[...] the ochocinco plan: rogue behavior, brilliant marketing or both? – chad ochocinco is pushing the limits again. (for those that don’t know, ochocinco is the outspoken-yet-uber-talented wide receiver for the cincinnati bengals.) the nfl bans cell phones during the game and creates policy to quell … [...]