I LOVE Marlins baseball. I love social media. And the two put together are a match made in Heaven, according to Alex Buznego, Director of Business and Digital Innovation for the Miami Marlins.
“Let’s face it – baseball is really awesome for social media because there’s a lot of built-in breaks in play,” Buznego told me on a recent show. “Social media and baseball are a natural marriage.”
Buznego was the first corporate hire in the digital marketing arena for the Marlins. He explores how to use evolving technologies to deepen connections with fans, and the mobile phone is at the heart of it. The Marlins were among the first MLB teams to let fans access the games via mobile phone.
“The mobile phone has become people’s gateway to the world,” he said. “Being able to offer a lot of different services on a mobile phone or a tablet is a big priority for us.”
A big structure of steel and concrete is not really conducive to Internet connectivity on your mobile device, Buznego said, but Marlins Park has installed equipment to amplify the WiFi signal of the major carriers.
And to keep the juice flowing, the team has also put charging stations throughout the ballpark, he said.
The team, Buznego said, is constantly orienting more content and services toward mobile digital platforms. The On Cloud Conine blog feature content that is easy to share with friends. And the At The Ballpark app, among other things, allows you to see the walk up songs for individual players.
The app also shows what seats are available for upgrade during the game.
The team’s Social Media Night event allows fans to take over the official @Marlins Twitter account and do the play-by-play of the game.
Buznego said the Marlins are also striving to develop a more personalized marketing approach and are spending a lot of time looking into data about fan buying habits and other behavior.
“We want to be able to market to you like an individual,” he said.
Click here to listen to the full interview with Alex Buznego, Director of Business and Digital Innovation for the Miami Marlins, on the Marlins social media efforts.
