Strategy for 2013:
Based on the premise of engaging the social community watching particular matches called by ITV:
* Top of the Hour "talking tactics."
Get feedback from the fans watching that particular match on the tactics being employed and what should be employed. Production chores: simply cue our respective announce teams to discuss match-related tactics at the top of the hour, and to field tweets on the topic.
We should do this hourly to get viewers into the habit of tweeting out and listening for their comments at a regular time. Talent, SM, and Social Mgr. should be monitoring tweets to @ITVtennis, the talent's personal account and #(particular court).
* Tomorrow's ORDER OF PLAY
We will put up a Full Screen graphic of the next day's ORDER OF PLAY when it becomes available in the late afternoon. Talent should give a call to action to the viewers to determine the most vulnerable seeded player/favorite in the lineup. Those responses will be tallied and delivered to the main ESPN talent for their morning O/C previews. The show-court favorite most likely to face a threat (according to our social community) will be mentioned by the ESPN talent in their O/C.
* The Daily Slice
Whether it be from ESPN photog Scott Clarke or (preferably) a member of our social community, we will post a photo of the day, the Daily Slice, from around the grounds of the U.S. Open. This will be done on a daily basis, late in the day. Production wise, the graphics deck will need to lift the community still-photo and position it in a pre-built template. The name "Daily Slice" is not set in stone.
* PICK SIX
Social mgr will record our available talent every morning as they try along with our social community to pick the designated daily six matches. Talent are welcome to record their picks independently with their smart phones via Tout). The 6 matches will be posted on the inside of the truck's tape room door each morning @ 8:30. The only payoff is if anyone correctly picks all six. Then he or she, talent or ITV social community, gets on-air recognition. If one of the PICK SIX matches is being called by the ITV talent, they could mention that it is one of the PICK SIX matches. There is no call to action in the PICK SIX because the first match could very well be underway by the time the talent gets to the shout out. Due to size and enthusiastic past response, this is a FB operation.
--------------lower priorities---------------
* 2 daily items for Social Interaction
When our talent does its regular Social reminders, its good to have a couple of interactive items on standby. Social mgr. will provide two daily items for talent-community interaction
1. Y/N question (i.e. "Will Djokovic drop a set?" "Will Serena get off the court in less than hour")
These are questions we can tally up and pay off easily. Research tells us that the simple Y/N Q's get the most social response. NOTE: Many of the Y/N's are time relevant, so they need to be asked earlier in the day.
2. U.S. Open Memory Lane. Odd days 1, 3, 5, 7 will be memories from the men's side; days 2, 4, 6, 8 will be devoted to women's memories. Talent calls for contributions from ITV's social community, and then cherry-picks the ones he or she can contribute to with the most insight. (I.E. Todd Martin and his only Major Final; Woodie and a memorable doubles final; Shmerler and a particular story that she may have covered in depth; etc.) This particular "poll" needs no statistical payoff, it just increases the interaction between talent and our community. The goal here is to keep the talent in their comfort zone, and not to derail the flow of the commentary.
Based on the premise of engaging the social community watching particular matches called by ITV:
* Top of the Hour "talking tactics."
Get feedback from the fans watching that particular match on the tactics being employed and what should be employed. Production chores: simply cue our respective announce teams to discuss match-related tactics at the top of the hour, and to field tweets on the topic.
We should do this hourly to get viewers into the habit of tweeting out and listening for their comments at a regular time. Talent, SM, and Social Mgr. should be monitoring tweets to @ITVtennis, the talent's personal account and #(particular court).
* Tomorrow's ORDER OF PLAY
We will put up a Full Screen graphic of the next day's ORDER OF PLAY when it becomes available in the late afternoon. Talent should give a call to action to the viewers to determine the most vulnerable seeded player/favorite in the lineup. Those responses will be tallied and delivered to the main ESPN talent for their morning O/C previews. The show-court favorite most likely to face a threat (according to our social community) will be mentioned by the ESPN talent in their O/C.
* The Daily Slice
Whether it be from ESPN photog Scott Clarke or (preferably) a member of our social community, we will post a photo of the day, the Daily Slice, from around the grounds of the U.S. Open. This will be done on a daily basis, late in the day. Production wise, the graphics deck will need to lift the community still-photo and position it in a pre-built template. The name "Daily Slice" is not set in stone.
* PICK SIX
Social mgr will record our available talent every morning as they try along with our social community to pick the designated daily six matches. Talent are welcome to record their picks independently with their smart phones via Tout). The 6 matches will be posted on the inside of the truck's tape room door each morning @ 8:30. The only payoff is if anyone correctly picks all six. Then he or she, talent or ITV social community, gets on-air recognition. If one of the PICK SIX matches is being called by the ITV talent, they could mention that it is one of the PICK SIX matches. There is no call to action in the PICK SIX because the first match could very well be underway by the time the talent gets to the shout out. Due to size and enthusiastic past response, this is a FB operation.
--------------lower priorities---------------
* 2 daily items for Social Interaction
When our talent does its regular Social reminders, its good to have a couple of interactive items on standby. Social mgr. will provide two daily items for talent-community interaction
1. Y/N question (i.e. "Will Djokovic drop a set?" "Will Serena get off the court in less than hour")
These are questions we can tally up and pay off easily. Research tells us that the simple Y/N Q's get the most social response. NOTE: Many of the Y/N's are time relevant, so they need to be asked earlier in the day.
2. U.S. Open Memory Lane. Odd days 1, 3, 5, 7 will be memories from the men's side; days 2, 4, 6, 8 will be devoted to women's memories. Talent calls for contributions from ITV's social community, and then cherry-picks the ones he or she can contribute to with the most insight. (I.E. Todd Martin and his only Major Final; Woodie and a memorable doubles final; Shmerler and a particular story that she may have covered in depth; etc.) This particular "poll" needs no statistical payoff, it just increases the interaction between talent and our community. The goal here is to keep the talent in their comfort zone, and not to derail the flow of the commentary.
