Communicating a Mega Sporting Event in a Social Network Environment
Arguments on a popular microblogging site were analysed by means of a methodological approach to business rhetoric focusing on the logos communication technique. The focus of the analysis was the 100 day countdown to the 2011 Rugby World Cup as advanced by the organisers. Big sporting events provide an attractive medium for sport event marketers in that they have become important strategic communication tools directed at sport consumers. Sport event marketing is understood in the sense of using a microblogging site as a communication tool whose purpose it is to disseminate a company-s marketing messages by involving the target audience in experiential activities. Sport creates a universal language in that it excites and increases the spread of information by word of mouth and other means. The findings highlight the limitations of a microblogging site in terms of marketing messages which can assist in better practices. This study can also serve as a heuristic tool for other researchers analysing sports marketing messages in social network environments.
[1] E.C. Schwarz and J.D. Hunter, Advanced theory and practice in sport
marketing. Oxford: Elsevier, 2008, pp. 14-15.
[2] D.C. Funk, Consumer behaviour in sport and events marketing. Oxford:
Elsevier, 2009, pp. 5-8.
[3] L. Dong-Hun, "Attraction of sports marketing as means of
communication", SERI Quarterly, July 2010, p. 113.
[4] American Marketing Association. "New definition of marketing"
(Online). Available:
http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Documents/American%2
0Marketing%20Association%20Releases%20New%20Definition%20for
%20Marketing.pdf, 2009.
[5] J. Drengner, H. Gaus and S. Jahn, "Does flow influence the brand
image in event marketing?", Journal of Advertising Research, March.
DOI: 10.2501/S0021849908080148, 2008.
[6] L. Chalip, B.C. Green and B. Hill, "Effects of sport event media on
destination image and intention to visit", Journal of Sport Management,
Vol. 17, pp. 214-234, 2003.
[7] A. Tombs and J.R. McColl-Kennedy, "Social-Servicescape conceptual
model", Marketing Theory, Vol. 3, p. 447, 2003.
[8] G.R. Milne, A. Mark and J. McDonald, Sport marketing: managing the
exchange process. Sudbury, USA: Bartlett, 1999, p. 24.
[9] K.I. MacDonald, J. van Duinkerken and J. Stephens, "It-s all in the
marketing: the impact of a virtual reference marketing campaign at
Texas A&M University". University Library Faculty Publications.
Paper 30 (Online). Available:
http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/univ_lib_facpub/30, 2008.
[10] D. Evans, Social media marketing: an hour a day. London: Wiley, 2008,
p. 13.
[11] D. Charton, Why social networking matters for SA marketers (Online).
Available: http://www.marketingweb.co.za, 2007.
[12] G. Cosmo, Social media: an introductory guide for your business,
organisation or agency (Online). Available:
http://www.ginocosme.com/downloads/Introduction-to-Social-
Media.pdf, 2008.
[13] V. Stevens, "Trial by Twitter: the rise and slide of the year-s most viral
microblogging platform", TESLEJ:
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, Vol. 12, No. 1
(Online). Available: http://tesl-ej.org/ej45/int.html, 2008.
[14] M.D. Drapeau,"What is Twitter-s vision?" (Online). Available:
http://mashable.com/2009/02/02/what-is-twitters-vision/, 2009.
[15] Twitter (computer software). (Online). Available:
http://www.twitter.com, 2011.
[16] A. Java, X. Song, T. Finn and B. Teseng, "Why we Twitter:
understanding microblogging usage and communities", Proceedings of
the Joint 9th WEBKDD and 1st SNA-KDD Workshop (Online).
Available: http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/get/a/publication/369.pdf, August
2007.
[17] P. McFedries. "All a-twitter", IEE Spectrum, October, p. 84, 2007.
[18] B.J. Jansen, M. Zhang, K. Sobel and K. Chowdury. "Twitter power:
tweets as electronic word of mouth", Journal of the American Society
for Information Science and Technology, Vol. 60, No. 11, pp. 2169-
2188, 2009.
[19] K. Weaver, "Connecting fans and sports more intensively through
social media", Cutting-edge Technologies, Vol. 2 (Higher Education
Administration with Social Media), pp. 191-207, 2011.
[20] D. Parry, "Twitter for Academia" (Online). Available:
http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia,
2008.
[21] J. Young, "Forget e-mail: new messaging service has students and
professors a-twitter", The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 54, No.
25 (Online). Available: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i25/25a01501.htm,
2008.
[22] M. Borghagen, "Enterprise microblogging: productive use or
productivity loss? How microblogging may serve as a useful tool to
yield team communication" (Online). Available:
http://www.strategie.wi.tum.de/fileadmin/tuwib17/www/TUitter_student
_paper_Enterprise_Microblogging.pdf, 2010.
[23] L. Hong, G. Convertino and E.H. Chi. "Language matters in Twitter: a
large-scale study", Proceedings of the Fifth International AAAI
Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain,
July 17-21, 2011.
[24] B.A Huberman, D.M. Romero and F. Wu, "Social networks that matter:
Twitter under the microscope" (Online). Available:
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0812/0812.1045v1.pdf , 2008.
[25] B. Krishnamurthy, P. Gill and M. Arlitt, "A few chirps about Twitter",
Proceedings of the First Workshop on Online Social Networks, Seattle,
WA, pp. 19-24, 2008.
[26] K.K. Cetina, "What is a pipe? Obama and the sociological
imagination", Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 26, No, 5, pp. 129-140,
DOI: 10.1177/0263276409106354, 2009.
[27] K. Riemer and A. Richter. "Tweet inside: microblogging in a corporate
context", 23rd Bled eConference eTrust: Implications for the Individual,
Enterprises and Society, June 20-23, Bled, Slovenia, 2010.
[28] R. Galer-Unti. "Guerilla advocacy: using aggressive marketing
techniques for health policy change", Health Promotion Practice, Vol.
10, pp. 325-327, 2009.
[29] C. Honeycutt and S. Herring. "Beyond microblogging: conversation and
collaboration via Twitter", 42nd Conference Proceedings of
International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS-09, 5-8 Jan,
Hawaii, pp. 1-10, 2009.
[30] D. Boyd, S. Golder and G. Lotan. "Tweet, tweet, retweet:
conversational aspects of retweeting on Twitter", 43rd Conference
Proceedings of International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS-10,
6 January, pp. 1-10, 2010.
[31] A.L. Hughes and L. Palen, "Twitter adoption and use in mass
convergence and emergency events". Proceedings of the 6th
International ISCRAM Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, May 2009.
[32] M. Hoffman and D.J. Ford. Organizational rhetoric: situations and
strategies. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2010, pp. 37-44.
[33] A. Skerlep, "Re-evaluating the role of rhetoric in public relations theory
and in strategies of corporate discourse", Journal of Communication
Management, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 176-187, 2001.
[34] N. Cavender and H. Kahane, Logic and contemporary rhetoric: the use
of reason in everyday life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2010, p. 42.
[35] W.D. Ross. Rhetoric by Aristotle. New York: Cosimo Inc, 2010.
[1] E.C. Schwarz and J.D. Hunter, Advanced theory and practice in sport
marketing. Oxford: Elsevier, 2008, pp. 14-15.
[2] D.C. Funk, Consumer behaviour in sport and events marketing. Oxford:
Elsevier, 2009, pp. 5-8.
[3] L. Dong-Hun, "Attraction of sports marketing as means of
communication", SERI Quarterly, July 2010, p. 113.
[4] American Marketing Association. "New definition of marketing"
(Online). Available:
http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Documents/American%2
0Marketing%20Association%20Releases%20New%20Definition%20for
%20Marketing.pdf, 2009.
[5] J. Drengner, H. Gaus and S. Jahn, "Does flow influence the brand
image in event marketing?", Journal of Advertising Research, March.
DOI: 10.2501/S0021849908080148, 2008.
[6] L. Chalip, B.C. Green and B. Hill, "Effects of sport event media on
destination image and intention to visit", Journal of Sport Management,
Vol. 17, pp. 214-234, 2003.
[7] A. Tombs and J.R. McColl-Kennedy, "Social-Servicescape conceptual
model", Marketing Theory, Vol. 3, p. 447, 2003.
[8] G.R. Milne, A. Mark and J. McDonald, Sport marketing: managing the
exchange process. Sudbury, USA: Bartlett, 1999, p. 24.
[9] K.I. MacDonald, J. van Duinkerken and J. Stephens, "It-s all in the
marketing: the impact of a virtual reference marketing campaign at
Texas A&M University". University Library Faculty Publications.
Paper 30 (Online). Available:
http://digitalarchive.gsu.edu/univ_lib_facpub/30, 2008.
[10] D. Evans, Social media marketing: an hour a day. London: Wiley, 2008,
p. 13.
[11] D. Charton, Why social networking matters for SA marketers (Online).
Available: http://www.marketingweb.co.za, 2007.
[12] G. Cosmo, Social media: an introductory guide for your business,
organisation or agency (Online). Available:
http://www.ginocosme.com/downloads/Introduction-to-Social-
Media.pdf, 2008.
[13] V. Stevens, "Trial by Twitter: the rise and slide of the year-s most viral
microblogging platform", TESLEJ:
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, Vol. 12, No. 1
(Online). Available: http://tesl-ej.org/ej45/int.html, 2008.
[14] M.D. Drapeau,"What is Twitter-s vision?" (Online). Available:
http://mashable.com/2009/02/02/what-is-twitters-vision/, 2009.
[15] Twitter (computer software). (Online). Available:
http://www.twitter.com, 2011.
[16] A. Java, X. Song, T. Finn and B. Teseng, "Why we Twitter:
understanding microblogging usage and communities", Proceedings of
the Joint 9th WEBKDD and 1st SNA-KDD Workshop (Online).
Available: http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/get/a/publication/369.pdf, August
2007.
[17] P. McFedries. "All a-twitter", IEE Spectrum, October, p. 84, 2007.
[18] B.J. Jansen, M. Zhang, K. Sobel and K. Chowdury. "Twitter power:
tweets as electronic word of mouth", Journal of the American Society
for Information Science and Technology, Vol. 60, No. 11, pp. 2169-
2188, 2009.
[19] K. Weaver, "Connecting fans and sports more intensively through
social media", Cutting-edge Technologies, Vol. 2 (Higher Education
Administration with Social Media), pp. 191-207, 2011.
[20] D. Parry, "Twitter for Academia" (Online). Available:
http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia,
2008.
[21] J. Young, "Forget e-mail: new messaging service has students and
professors a-twitter", The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. 54, No.
25 (Online). Available: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i25/25a01501.htm,
2008.
[22] M. Borghagen, "Enterprise microblogging: productive use or
productivity loss? How microblogging may serve as a useful tool to
yield team communication" (Online). Available:
http://www.strategie.wi.tum.de/fileadmin/tuwib17/www/TUitter_student
_paper_Enterprise_Microblogging.pdf, 2010.
[23] L. Hong, G. Convertino and E.H. Chi. "Language matters in Twitter: a
large-scale study", Proceedings of the Fifth International AAAI
Conference on Weblogs and Social Media, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain,
July 17-21, 2011.
[24] B.A Huberman, D.M. Romero and F. Wu, "Social networks that matter:
Twitter under the microscope" (Online). Available:
http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/0812/0812.1045v1.pdf , 2008.
[25] B. Krishnamurthy, P. Gill and M. Arlitt, "A few chirps about Twitter",
Proceedings of the First Workshop on Online Social Networks, Seattle,
WA, pp. 19-24, 2008.
[26] K.K. Cetina, "What is a pipe? Obama and the sociological
imagination", Theory, Culture & Society, Vol. 26, No, 5, pp. 129-140,
DOI: 10.1177/0263276409106354, 2009.
[27] K. Riemer and A. Richter. "Tweet inside: microblogging in a corporate
context", 23rd Bled eConference eTrust: Implications for the Individual,
Enterprises and Society, June 20-23, Bled, Slovenia, 2010.
[28] R. Galer-Unti. "Guerilla advocacy: using aggressive marketing
techniques for health policy change", Health Promotion Practice, Vol.
10, pp. 325-327, 2009.
[29] C. Honeycutt and S. Herring. "Beyond microblogging: conversation and
collaboration via Twitter", 42nd Conference Proceedings of
International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS-09, 5-8 Jan,
Hawaii, pp. 1-10, 2009.
[30] D. Boyd, S. Golder and G. Lotan. "Tweet, tweet, retweet:
conversational aspects of retweeting on Twitter", 43rd Conference
Proceedings of International Conference on System Sciences, HICSS-10,
6 January, pp. 1-10, 2010.
[31] A.L. Hughes and L. Palen, "Twitter adoption and use in mass
convergence and emergency events". Proceedings of the 6th
International ISCRAM Conference, Gothenburg, Sweden, May 2009.
[32] M. Hoffman and D.J. Ford. Organizational rhetoric: situations and
strategies. Thousand Oaks: Sage, 2010, pp. 37-44.
[33] A. Skerlep, "Re-evaluating the role of rhetoric in public relations theory
and in strategies of corporate discourse", Journal of Communication
Management, Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 176-187, 2001.
[34] N. Cavender and H. Kahane, Logic and contemporary rhetoric: the use
of reason in everyday life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2010, p. 42.
[35] W.D. Ross. Rhetoric by Aristotle. New York: Cosimo Inc, 2010.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:51084", author = "Charmaine du Plessis", title = "Communicating a Mega Sporting Event in a Social Network Environment", abstract = "Arguments on a popular microblogging site were analysed by means of a methodological approach to business rhetoric focusing on the logos communication technique. The focus of the analysis was the 100 day countdown to the 2011 Rugby World Cup as advanced by the organisers. Big sporting events provide an attractive medium for sport event marketers in that they have become important strategic communication tools directed at sport consumers. Sport event marketing is understood in the sense of using a microblogging site as a communication tool whose purpose it is to disseminate a company-s marketing messages by involving the target audience in experiential activities. Sport creates a universal language in that it excites and increases the spread of information by word of mouth and other means. The findings highlight the limitations of a microblogging site in terms of marketing messages which can assist in better practices. This study can also serve as a heuristic tool for other researchers analysing sports marketing messages in social network environments.
", keywords = "communication technique, microblogging, rhetoric,
social networking, sport event marketing", volume = "6", number = "6", pages = "1102-6", }
