The Kentucky Derby is nothing like anything else you see in sports. In Louisville, we pretty much have events surrounding the event a month out in advance. From festivals to the mini (which I ran this year!) to galas (Unbridled Eve is truly spectacular!) to other events around town, there is no better time to be in Louisville.
I was able to capture the excitement virtually on my way back to Louisville from California, and this was all due to social media, particularly Snapchat. From what I was able to witness and see, this was probably one of the best sporting events captured through Snapchat I have seen – from execution to implementation to branding.
Here are some of the themes I saw from the Kentucky Derby on Snapchat from their main accounts and what NBC Sports did as well:
There were several Kentucky Derby filters that were utilized during the event (as well as for Oaks and before as well!). They were aligned with the color schemes and overall perception of the event, which is important to note here as well. Plus, you also got to see how these filters were also not completely taking over the screen, but were following the guidelines of what people focus on when they look at Snapchat.
Capturing the overall co-stars of the event
This is where I think both Kentucky Derby and NBC Sports did a really good job at both with their coverage and content, but also with their filters as well. The Kentucky Derby race is all but two minutes – so there is a lot of time to cover other aspects that make the event unique and different from other sporting events. Both accounts of course covered the back side of the track with the trainers and horses, but also captured the “co-stars” of the event: The Hats, Fans, and of course the Mint Julep (the iconic drink of the Kentucky Derby). These Snapchat stories were able to showcase each of these c0-stars in a unique and human way, which allowed them to educate others what it means to be part of this event and allow people to virtually experience the event through this one platform.
Real-time branding and planning
When it comes to events, you have to do a LOT of planning! We had a chance to have Maggie Ray (consultant and social media expert for the Kentucky Derby) speak to our class earlier this semester, and she mentioned how planning and coordination is all key when covering live events. You got to see this for the Snapchat implementation on both sides here when it comes to the Kentucky Derby. Filters, planning for content, coordinating teams and social media interns, etc. Everything needed to be in place and work together. There are certain things that can be planned and updated (see above with the odds for the horses in the race) as well as creating filters for the winners (see below) as well.
I was thrilled to hear two of my former students, Danielle Henson and Nick Marshall, had the opportunity to be part of this experience and help out.
Both were thrilled to be part of this experience and they mentioned doing live events was quite different from planning content (which they both got to do for my social media class at UofL). What a great learning experience.
Inviting people to virtually be part of the event
Along with these branded filters for the Kentucky Derby, you also had a chance to wear a “virtual” Kentucky Derby hat! This was a bit different from the one I wore last year when I went, but it was fun to see how Snapchat was able to integrate this as part of their overall strategy for the event. What was great to see if once people were sharing this on Snapchat, they screen shot their pictures and shared it on other platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Definitely created a lot of reach and got a lot of good press for it. It is all about the hats!
Summary
I have to give props to Maggie Ray (Kentucky Derby) and Matt Ziance (NBC Sports) for leading their teams to an outstanding job covering this iconic event on social media! I think this was well executed and implemented some key integrated social media strategies that can be applied to other sporting events for the future.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Best Wishes,
Karen