National Dodgeball League’s Browser Boom! It’s a Hit! by Kevin Dwinnell

You may not associate laughing and having fun with athletic prowess and skill, but that’s the appealing mix when it comes to the game of dodgeball. The National Dodgeball League’s Browser Boom! (branded browser) is no different.

It’s a clean and stylish design for a browser that keeps you in and around the dodgeball world. But, it also pulls in the sheer joy of the game. Click the News button, not just for the latest in professional and amateur dodgeball news, but also for the built-in video player featuring matches that you can watch while still surfing the web.

At three to five minutes in length, the games are the right length for a little indulgence of competitive sport and fun. If you’re in the mood for more in-depth viewing, click the NDLtv.com button and you’ll find yourself in the full library of tournament play.

So whether or not you’re actively playing dodgeball, this is a Boom! to try. It’ll bring back a lot of good memories, offer a lot of insight into the current game and may just have you forming a league of your own. Check it out here.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, Dodgeball, Games | 2 Comments »

Interactive Tools for Building Fan Relationships – A Soccerex London Session Preview by Kevin Dwinnell

A conference session at the upcoming Soccerex London Forum is titled “Fans – Interacting with footballs’ number one stakeholder.” Since this topic hits directly in the market Brand Thunder serves with it Booms (branded browsers), I thought we should offer our take. Also, Brand Thunder will have a representative, Boyd Butler, at the Forum. If you’re attending, please contact us to arrange a time to continue this discussion in person.

The description of the session is: “In the modern era, developments in marketing and technology have dramatically increased the number of ways for football clubs and their fans to interact. However, does this increased interaction truly benefit the fans?”

Yes, and in a more meaningful way than one might expect. At its core, the purpose of an interactive marketing tool is to build the team/fan relationship and a healthy relationship is beneficial to all parties.

Interactive tools, like a Brand Thunder Boom or other web apps, are communication devices. Sure, many offer branding capabilities that play to social identification factors – a nice bonus. To create a deep and ongoing relationship, however, you’ve got to have communication. And for communication, style matters.

Consider this:

1. There are steps an organization can take to create a healthy relationship with their fans
2. There are strategies to move that relationship toward increased fan identification
3. Strong identification with a specific sports team provides a buffer from feelings of depression and alienation

Wow. Pretty powerful, right? (See. That time watching football really is therapeutic.) That’s why the increased interaction is a benefit to the fans as well as the organization. When you consider how a tool like a Boom elevates the awareness of that communication and increases the frequency of engagement, its value beyond just looking really cool becomes apparent.

The following gets into the data that backs it up the claims above and practical uses for a Boom. The sources, all listed, are interesting as well because so much of the information is applicable across relationships (personal, professional and social).

First, Jim Mastrich has a nice summary on his site. It states:
The four primary qualities that ensure a positive and constructive relationship are:

• Creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and acceptance.
• Honest and direct communication.
• Accepting responsibility for one’s actions.
• Staying intellectually and emotionally engaged with the other.

These are elements of positive interactions that have proven vital in personal (Gottman) and professional (Frederickson, Losada) relationships. (Gottman really has groundbreaking research.)

By using the real-time communication capabilities in the browser, teams are respecting their fans, providing direct communication and engaging them on an intellectual level. These are positive exchanges between team and fan. A team honors the fan by getting them news as soon, if not before, the media receives it. Then add the emotional engagement driven by the visual capabilities within the Boom, and it’s even more powerful.

When looking at what content to leverage and how to use it, explore options using the four strategies suggested for increasing fan identification proposed by researchers from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.

• Increase team/player accessibility
• Increase community involvement
• Reinforce the team’s history and tradition
• Create opportunities for group affiliation and participation

If applying this results in a more successful business and a less depressed world, then we’ve done our jobs.

Here are some of the studies and articles referenced above:

What Predicts Divorce? The Relationship Between Marital Processes and Marital Outcomes
John Mordechai Gottman

Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing
Barbara Fredrickson, Marcial Losada

Creating and Fostering Fan Identification in Professional Sports
William A. Sutton, Mark A. McDonald, George R. Milne, John Cimperman

The Positive Social and Self Concept Consequences of Sports Team Identification
Nyla R. Branscombe, Daniel L. Wann

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, browser boom, custom browser, Research, soccerex, sports marketing | No Comments »

NHL Teams More Than Double Their Chances of Making the Playoffs by Signing with Brand Thunder by Kevin Dwinnell

It’s true. Ninety percent of the NHL teams that have signed with Brand Thunder are heading to the playoffs. Only 35% of the other teams get to make that claim. Coincidence? I think not.

I think it’s the result of the immersive experience and the positive energy that the team/fan connection creates… OK, I realize that correlation does not imply causation. The playoffs are about winning. All the teams advancing had the effort, motivation and good fortune to advance into the post season. No single thing can guarantee achieving this. The best you can do is put as many factors in your favor as possible to give yourself or your team that chance to advance.

For companies, a Boom (branded browser) is one thing you can put in the “W” column for your business. We recognize that leveraging interactive media to connect with your user or fan base is not likely to be core to your business. That’s why we manage as much of the process as possible and limit your resource commitment to delivering a few assets from your existing web page, approval of the browser mock, a promotional link and download page (for which we also deliver assets). With a low level of effort, you enjoy a high return from increased web site visits and transactions from your fans. I wonder if any of the teams entering the playoffs had wins this easy.

In any case, congratulations and good luck to the Blackhawks, Blues, Canadiens, Canucks, Capitals, Flyers, Penguins and our home team, making their first playoff appearance, the Blue Jackets. If you’d like specifics as to how meaningful a Boom can be for your business, drop us a line.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, Brand Thunder Boom, Branded Browser, Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, custom browser, National Hockey League, Sports, Vancouver Canucks | 1 Comment »

First Fantasy Sports Custom Browser Launches – Congrats Fantasy Phenoms by Kevin Dwinnell

Fantasy Phenoms has partnered with Brand Thunder to launch the first Boom (branded browser) to serve the fantasy sports market. And “serve” is what Fantasy Phenoms does.

Where Fantasy Phenoms separates itself is that it’s not the game, it’s about being better at the game. The experts and sports addicts of Fantasy Phenoms deliver to you the latest news, insight and predictions to help you excel in your fantasy sports leagues. And the Boom is designed to get you that information immediately.

Using the Boom will give you the most current and timely news to make the best decisions for your fantasy team. That’s not just fantasy, that’s a very cool reality.

Check out the Boom here, and while your there – explore the rest of Fantasy Phenoms.

Posted in Commentary, News | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, custom browser, Fantasy sport, Sports league | 1 Comment »

Start-ups and Entrepreneurs – Look Local to Grow Global by Kevin Dwinnell

My career experience is diverse, with a great deal of expertise in Internet marketing, commerce and product development. Branded browsers were a natural fit to my skill set. Nothing like joining a start up for the sudden exposure to the breadth of what is unknown or needs to be relearned.

Fortunately, the local community is flush with people who can help and there are organizations active in getting those people together. Through these connections the knowledge gaps have closed and the company’s reach has expanded. Columbus OH is a medium-sized city, so I’d be surprised if similar organizations don’t exist elsewhere. Here are the ones that have been most beneficial to me and to the company.

TechColumbus

An early supporter of Brand Thunder, TechColumbus has provided funding, leads, direction, guidance, media support, marketing support, lunch & learns, networking events, counsel and the list goes on. Find your local organization focused on launching and growing early-stage companies and join. There are a lot of benefits here.

Ohio TechAngels

Ohio TechAngels and TechColumbus. The two organizations remind me of a saying I heard while traveling overseas – “same, same but different.” The benefits are similar, but each organization is involved at different stages of the company’s evolution. Central Ohio is fortunate to have this asset.

Columbus State Community College – Small Business Development Centers

This CSCC program is a partnership between the college, the state’s development arm and the SBA. Not only did it offer free programs to solidify the business plan and our company foundation, it was the first to connect us to TechColumbus and which became our first source of funding. Find those free sources in your town.

TechLife Columbus

Hard to say if groups like TechLife exist everywhere. It started with a group of people that wanted to engage their community and connect the deep but dispersed tech community of central Ohio. The result has been an amazing birth of gatherings and events that are forging new relationships.

Meetup.com

Meetup.com is a great and free tool to either find groups near you or easily start your own. Explore it.

LinkedIn.com

Build your network and knowledge by joining some of LinkedIn’s groups. There’s more value here than just staying connected to your co-workers.

Posted in Commentary | Tags: brand thunder, Branded Browser, Business plan, custom browser, internet marketing, LinkedIn, New product development, Small business, techcolumbus | No Comments »