social media
The 2019 and 2020 seasons have each posed their own sets of hurdles; keeping fans engaged through team hardships and a pandemic was difficult. However, as made even more clear this season, social media was an amazing tool for giving fans a look inside the ballpark. Below are a few examples of some campaigns I have worked on during my time with the team.
stadium photo project
329K impressions • 67K total engagements • 900 replies/quote tweets
With the 2020 season being delayed, our social media team was looking for unique ways to engage with fans who were stuck at home. Having exhausted much of our creativity during our original Spring Training, we were determined to bring something fresh to the the table. The Stadium Photo Project was intended to be a part of our “Opening Day At Home” campaign. However, after a delay, I pushed to utilize this idea before MLB’s new Opening Day in July.
Spearheading this initiative, I can say with full transparency that I was completely overwhelmed by the response we received. We anticipated around 20-30 responses— instead we got hundreds. I spent the following day running around the ballpark, lining up and capturing all of the photos and then responding to the fans. It was a truly rewarding project to execute, and I’m glad we were able to give our fans a piece of the stadium during this unusual Opening Day.
pujols foundation: the ultimate drive
9M impressions • 3.5M media views • 1.2M total engagements
The Pujols Foundation graciously allowed us to cover their Topgolf charity event, The Ultimate Drive, during 2020 Spring Training. It was a unique opportunity as the event welcomed some of baseball’s biggest stars (Clayton Kershaw, Mike Trout and Cody Bellinger to name a few).
While gathering quotes from Albert Pujols regarding his foundation, my coworker and I were able to utilize this event as an opportunity to capture organic content. Towards the end of the event we went to capture some footage of Mike Trout taking golf hacks and we were not disappointed. I decided to push this video out immediately—within the hour it had gone viral. The video was picked up by ESPN, Sports Illustrated and USA Today. It was aired on multiple major news stations, garnered millions of views on social media and even grabbed the attention of Phil Mickelson.
mic’d up series
Creating a visceral fan experience is a priority for our social media team. We decided to push for increased access to mic up the athletes and coaches during 2020 Spring Training. As a result we were able to bring our fans closer to the action and give them a more in-depth look at the players.
Producing this type of content was an amazing experience for many reasons: fans were engaged and excited to hear insights from their favorite players, our relationships with the players and staff were further developed as we built the groundwork of trust and created a new level of comfort in collaborating with our social media staff. In addition to this, ideas for future interviews and features were cultivated because of the success of this series.
Overall, we were able to work with players and coaches in ways that our social team has not been able to do in the past. This series was a huge success as we created a product that was enjoyed by all who were involved.
the rise of david fletcher
I believe that keeping a finger on the pulse of your fanbase is key to your platform’s success. Being able to engage with fans and having an understanding of what they want to see will only enhance your brand’s value amongst your consumers. To better understand this relationship with our followers, I’ll point to Angels utility-man, David Fletcher.
Fletcher is a young Angels player and Orange County local. His unassuming personality and smaller frame are deceptive of his true talent. His grit and love of the game have made him a fan-favorite. What’s not to love about David Fletcher?
It became very apparent to us that the fans were passionate about David Fletcher. They created their own memes with his likeness and devoured every piece of Fletcher-related content we served. Once we recognized this infatuation, we began playing into the memes and provided the fans with more Fletcher content.
This eventually spread from our account to other teams, MLB’s main account, Cut4 and other notable baseball accounts. The baseball world had bought into the legend that is David Fletcher. Some even joked that more attention was given to Fletcher than three-time American League MVP and Angels superstar, Mike Trout.