Are sporting brands forgetting the importance of face-to-face interactions? Questions RTL Progressive

RTL Progressive is the direct sales and marketing agency based in Birmingham. As the firm focuses on face-to-face marketing campaigns, they are looking to the sports industry and urging brands not to forget the importance of in-person experiences.

RTL Progressive: About the firm

“Sporting clubs and brands need to be cautious of relying too heavily on social media. Operating in an industry that focuses exclusively on face-to-face interactions, we know this can’t be undervalued. Fans must still be able to create a meaningful connection between themselves and the experience,” declares a spokesperson for RTL Progressive.

RTL Progressive details their concerns over a recent shift from physical interactions with fans to a much more on-line attempt at generating connections through the use of social media - a technique used to reach a larger scope of fans. The business believes that this could be damaging the relationships between fans and sports teams.

“The sporting industry is incredibly customer-focused and offers a unique opportunity for brands to tap into the customer’s passion for their product. We believe that the best way to do this is in person. Social media is a great tool, and many sporting brands are using it incredibly well, but we’re hoping they don’t rely on it too heavily,” concluded the spokesperson.

RTL Progressive echoes the musings of Craig Hepburn, the Global Director of Digital and Social Media at telecommunications and sponsors, Nokia. “Twitter is not the world, and online sentiment does not always mean engagement. I think from a brand perspective we would love to see clubs and athletes being able to develop a product around their customers.”

RTL Progressive are eager to see more industries look to face-to-face interactions with consumers and viewers as the most effectively engaging way to create meaningful and lasting relationships. The firm is hopeful their latest statement on the decline of personalisation in the sporting sector may encourage other SMEs to heed their lessons of experience.

The RTL Progressive mission is to generate standout direct marketing campaigns that are as unique as each of their clients. RTL Progressive invests in people, a statement that remains at the forefront of each and every day, a strong focus on each of their clients, consumers and contractors.

Source: http://www.thebiponline.co.uk/bip/social-media-in-danger-of-detaching-fans-from-sports/