Retail & Entertainment

Case Study: Ecosystem Audit for Indoor Sports and Game Retailer

Business Challenge

Top indoor sports and game retailer wanted to explore opportunities for building interest and business in social media sites, so they measured the opportunity with an ecosystem audit.

Role

As engagement partner, advised CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) on sports and games business’s optimal social media engagement approach. Designed and conducted abbreviated ecosystem audit to determine feasibility to engage stakeholders and workstreams. Made general recommendations based on ecosystem audit findings.

Rollout

In rapid iterations, developed stakeholder profiles, and worked with client engagement team to prioritize them in terms of importance to the brand. Developed each stakeholder’s key characteristics, and used them to design filters that would find them online. Programmed, tested and iterated each stakeholder filter in tight cycles. Utilized SNR Analytics tools and processes to rank highest priority digital social venues that would enable the brand to interact most efficiently.

• Worked with engagement team to conceptualize and rank importance of stakeholders’ key activities (“workstreams”) most relevant to the brand. Programmed, tested and iterated filters for each workstream. Workstreams involved stakeholders’ motivations for game rooms, which ranged from “keeping our kids at home” and “connecting with family” to “practicing more for tournaments.”
• Synthesized findings of workstream and stakeholder filters to make general recommendations based on online activity.
• Created Ecosystem Audit Report with stakeholder profiles, links and general recommendations for how to engage.

Results

• Some stakeholders had little activity in digital social media venues, and knowing that enabled the brand to conserve resources by focusing on those who were.
• The engagement team saw what optimal gming conversations looked like, based on real interactions. Most of these took place in forums, not popular social media platforms where all brands to investing.
• The engagement team significantly improved its understanding of how to engage by focusing on stakeholders’ motivations and highest value workstreams. By seeing and understanding stakeholders’ activities in terms of their desired outcomes, the team saw how the brand could be relevant at a new level.
• The ecosystem audit discovered emerging social trends of which the team was aware but did not fully appreciate, which gave them significant new opportunities to engage and in areas with little competition.
• Competitors’ investments focused on the big three, so the brand was able to engage its highest value stakeholders at a lower cost than competitors.