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Fans Are the Nets’ Good Luck Charm

sports Clients By Sam Taggart May 18th |

As many of you know, the National Basketball Association’s New Jersey Nets are a VaynerMedia client. Last month, VaynerMedia facilitated a campaign between the Nets and geolocation platform Gowalla, which some of you might have read. This month, the Nets have found another fun way to utilize social media, incorporating the fans into a major real world event.

Tonight is the NBA’s Draft Lottery, where the league’s bottom fourteen teams (every team that did not make the Playoffs) find out their picks in the NBA Draft. The Nets finished the year with the league’s worst record, and thus, have the best chance (25%) at the enviable #1 pick.

It is customary for each team in the Lottery to bring a good luck charm to the event. Each team’s representative typically gets a chance to display the good luck charm on television. In the past, teams have brought everything from a horseshoe to a crystal ball.

While the Nets’ representative, new owner Mikhail Prokhorov, will bring a good luck charm to the event as expected, the team has a second (digital) good luck charm this year as well. This morning, we helped the Nets launch www.NetsGoodLuckCharm.com, a site that will only exist until shortly after the end of the NBA Lottery later this evening. The site is a place for Nets fans to come wish the team good luck in obtaining the first pick in next month’s NBA Draft.

NetsGoodLuckCharm.com takes advantage of several of Facebook’s new social plugins (Activity feed & Like button) as well as Twitter OAuth, to give Nets’ “like”-ers and followers the chance to wish their team good luck without leaving the page.

Overall, the site is really a tribute to the fans who withstood a difficult season and have shown continued support through social media (and elsewhere). And we’re all hoping they can bring the team some good luck!

What do you think about this initiative? How have you seen other sports organizations incorporate their fans into significant moments? Let’s discuss in the comment section!

Filed Under: Clients, sports

Author: Sam Taggart

Sam may be a graduate of the University of Southern California in sunny LA, but he is a native Philadelphian. At the age of five, Sam witnessed Joe Carter hit a three-run walk-off home run against closer Mitch Williams, propelling the Toronto Blue Jays into a World Series victory over his hometown Phillies. It was from that awful and agonizing moment forward, that sports took over little Sam’s life. Now, as a project manager at VaynerMedia, he is thrilled to be able to combine his passions for sports and social media on a daily basis, and he will never, ever forgive Joe Carter.
  • TheGreatWazu

    Letting fans participate is an awsome idea! It makes them feel special. Fans like to think that they were part of an outcome. If I might think out loud and type extemperaneously (cause I don't care about coming off as being smart lol) I think that fans, players and superstition go hand in hand. Maybe sports teams should have more interaction on their websites and/or Facebook pages in that fans could vote for the lucky charm of the night or month or whatever, that could be displayed on the scoreboard during games. I think that it would increase viewership and page hits. Even the announcer at games could tell everyone about it during intermissions.
    Fans might even tell other fans to vote for thier favorite good luck charm. If a team is in a deep slide the fans might vote for a different lucky icon to try and change the luck of the team. They would feel as thought they had a part in it. My two cents. Be well.

  • gosam

    Thanks so much for the comment! I think the “digital” good luck charm was especially great for the Lottery because good luck charms go hand in hand with the event. However, I think you're right! Fans can be very superstitious, and your proposed campaign would certainly get the fans more involved on a consistent basis. Thanks for the suggestion!

  • good luck charms

    Really the fans are major real world event because of them the person becomes popular. Hear the good luck charm also plays a major role by giving the second charm.

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