If marketers are looking for a concrete example that social media can’t cure their ills, they need look no further than college football’s Bowl Championship Series. Almost two months ago, the BCS took to Facebook and Twitter and was immediately dogpiled by thousands of angry college-football fans. The BCS learned quickly that if your product is hated, social media might not be the place for you.
Now, I’ll give the BCS some props for trying… even though execs should have known the reaction before this initiative even moved out of the “napkin” stage. And, perhaps it deserves a couple more points for saying the right things some of the time. BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock said the series wants a “two-way conversation… That’s the great thing about social media. (duh) It gives everybody a chance to weigh in.” (golf clap everyone)
Of course, that sentiment was undercut by other statements, including the claim that the BCS is encouraging active debate on its Facebook page (which I can’t believe is still active), and Hancock dragging out the standard statement the BCS has been issuing for years: “We think a lot of the feelings out there are because people just don’t understand it.”
That’s right, Bill… your audience else is wrong. The problem isn’t the product; it’s the customers. Wow. The truth is that other than the executives of the BCS, the sponsors who have money tied into the current bowl system, and the coaches who are at the top of the BCS standings when interviewed (and therefore have a financial interest in “staying happy” with the system), it’s hard to find any real fans who support this system as it stands.
Sure, the BCS has turned to social media because of a everyone-else-is-there-so-we-should-be-too mindset, but it has also closed its eyes and covered its ears as it goes on saying the same message it always has. If doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is the definition of insanity, then saying the same thing over and over and expecting people to start believing isn’t much better.
Excerpted from Ken Wheaton’s editorial commentary “Viewpoint” in the November 30, 2009 issue of Advertising Age.
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That’s a good article that effectively condenses the whole BCS boondoggle for the heretofore uninformed while also providing some eruditious insights into some of the uses and misuses of social media. Thanks for posting! And good luck to the TCU Horned Frogs in the “Separate But Equal Bow” tonight! (You guessed it, I have BCS issues too………)
Thanks for the feedback, Bill! Yes, it will be interesting to see if the sheer number of disgruntled commentary on Facebook actually causes any change to (or perhaps the death of?) the BCS. Happy New Year!