The Social Media Case For A Shorter MLB Season

The October classic as it is widely known may be a bad idea strategically. This season especially there has been a growing contingent of baseball fans calling for the sport to start their playoffs in August Rather than October. We have had a more than few conversations around the office about this topic, and it seems like we aren't the only ones.

After having, hearing, and engaging in these conversations I decided to do some Social Research. Using just the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL as keywords I decided to do a comparison test. The objective was to determine weather a strategic advantage from a Social standpoint actually exists in having Playoff games start in october.

This chart represents conversations from the past 30 Days



This chart represents conversations in August



During August (a non-playoff month) MLB has a 4% edge in the percentage of Social conversations occurring. The volume of conversations are down significantly during August which suggests the ability of the MLB to grow their share of voice by generating conversations. Strategically from a Social Stand-point the shift would make sense.

(Repost of my work from Nostrum Inc.)

The New Gap logo... Was It A Stunt?

One week ago Gap pulled off either the biggest blunder in branding history or one of the most brilliant moves ever...

I agree the Gap logo needs an update but the logo to the right is clearly not the solution. The new logo barely provides a hint as to what the brand was/wants to be. The outcry against the brand was fast and furious making Gap a trending topic on twitter in recored time. The brand even trended above Brett Farves...*ahem* so needless to say the new logo created a stir.

The Problem:

Gap as a brand has been loosing relevance year after year. Brand sentiment was at a near all time low, and this problem had nothing to do with bad press. Gap stopped being remarkable, they stopped pushing the edge...in short they became the poster child for average.

Was it a stunt?

Gap an average brand that had lost their ability to be remarkable, found a way to do something pretty remarkable. The new logo pushed forward far too fast. The speed of change reminded people what they loved about this brand. Their loyal fans didn't want it to change that fast and they spoke up. This left Gap had two choices ignore the backlash which would indicate a true re-branding effort (ala Pepsi) or cave... 10 days after launch they caved... I cant say for sure it was or wasn't a stunt but this conversation timeline might tell the story...the timing on the decision to revert back is questionable at best... my guess next week they will have a new logo with a subtle update.

(Repost of my work from nostrum inc.)

The Devil is in the detail

Sure a lot of people have bad credit, but should they really be forced to drive their car over their flower beds?

No matter how great an idea is poor execution can result in a poor product. Take the time to finish the task with attention to detail behind schedule rather than submit a mistake that will live on the interwebs for all time.

Return to Normality?

I am finally returning to blogging on a regular basis. The Chicago trip was great I love that city its one of my favorite cites of all time.

I am not totally back up to speed with news but that is okay.

I guess that is really the point of this post! I took a vacation I checked out of my routine and my work is still here! I might be a little slow, I might have some work ahead to get momentum again. I needed the time off, so I took it. Now I am fresh and I am back...

Coming up::

Social Media Engagement tool Reviews (1st in a series)
What brands should learn when making a major change from Twitter
Facebook Places and why its actually helping foursquare

And Much Much More...

The Ignored Crisis!

Pakistan is experiencing one of the worst natural disasters in recent history! This story has been largely ignored, buried in the news cycles... but in reality this is a nation that needs our help.
Hopefully Social Media can make a dent and start the News Cycle. For more info check out the video below...


We all have a part to play... Please share...

How do you build a giant?

This is how google did it...