Home International Olympics Glasgow 2014 Using Social Media To Help “Take People On Our Journey”, Says Chief Executive

Glasgow 2014 Using Social Media To Help “Take People On Our Journey”, Says Chief Executive

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Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg believes that the effective use of social and digital media has been one of the main drivers behind the high ticket sales reported by organizers.

He claimed here at the Sport Events Management Conference here today that connecting with fans through Twitter and Facebook encourages them to “come on our journey.”

The Glasgow 2014 Facebook page is a key way to connect with fans according to Grevemberg.

Grevemberg says that he wants next year’s Commonwealth Games to be a “connected Games,” believing that engaging with fans and the public online in the build-up to and during the event will create a much greater affiliation and appreciation in the hearts and minds of the public.

“The connectedness is very much focused on the social media,” Grevemberg told insidethegames. “That’s part of our digital strategy and that focus on connecting as many people as possible to get them talking about the Games and what the Games means to them. And that applies to our ability to get as much information to people as possible about our ticketing programs and around volunteering and touching all of those bases.

“It has been important in generating interest, generating a real sense of relevance and just asking people, ‘How are we are doing?’ and actually taking on board the feedback and standing back and saying, ‘Well how did that message go down?’ or ‘How did that decision go down?’, and from that standpoint it is almost a critical factor to success now to listen to audiences. I wouldn’t say it’s the soul factor but it is certainly one of the main contributory factors. There are a great number of people connected to us and following us.”

The official Glasgow 2014 Twitter page has just under 62,500 followers while the official Games Facebook page has almost 184,000 likes.

Yesterday, Glasgow 2014 organizers announced 92 percent of the one million tickets available to the public have been sold with the remainder going on sale today.Of the tickets sold, 57 percent were bought by people from Scotland and of these, 22 percent went to people in the Glasgow area.
Grevemberg claimed local people are excited by the prospect of hosting the Games and what it means to Glasgow, and this sense of pride and excitement is aided by using digital and social media to connect with fans and build on this feeling.”The use of YouTube videos and images is [very important] and the use of testimony is effective and engaging,” he said.”For example, [Scottish comedian and actor] Billy Connolly talking about his Glasgow and what these Games mean to him and where he has come from, that’s quite compelling so let’s get that out there for people to see and engage with. It’s using digital media to take people on our journey and it becomes more endearing.”
At London 2012, organizers provided free Wi-Fi access across a number of the venues to customers of designated mobile operators, allowing thousands of fans and spectators to share information and engage across digital and social media platforms much more easily.
Grevemberg told insidethegamesthat plans to provide similar accessibility to fans in Glasgow next year are still being discussed but will be on a much smaller scale.
“From an infrastructure standpoint, we are doing what we think is appropriate,” he said. “It is a different scale and a different scope to what was at London 2012 and we’re not even going to compare ourselves with London, and it will be proportional to our means and our needs.”

Contact the writer of this story at gary.anderson@insidethegames.biz. Inside the Games is an online blog of the London Organizing Committee that staged the 2012 London Games. The blog continues to cover issues that are important to the Olympic Movement. This article is reprinted here with permission of the blog editors.

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