The Thing About Football - AFL Digital with Anne

If there is someone I have job envy for it is Anne. Those who know me know I love my AFL and Anne has a pretty good job!  She is lucky enough to be one of the faces behind all the social media content from the AFL. She explains below some of the tasks involved in being Social Media Coordinator and Video Producer.  On the side Anne has a great lifestyle and fashion blog which you can check out here: www.whatyouwantblog.com
Michelle

 by Anne Fedorowytsch

I’m happy to say I’m one of those annoying people who love their job. I began my role as Social Media Coordinator at the Australian Football League (AFL) midway through 2013. I was brought on as a casual for the second half of the season to take some of the load off the other two team-members.

Unfortunately my time at the AFL came to an end on the final siren of Grand Final day. However, I was fortunate enough to be offered my role back at the start of this season with an increase in hours, which was brilliant.

It’s been all systems go since the beginning of round one. For the first time this year I’ve taken on the task of covering games. This sees me in the office all weekend and in charge of our social accounts on a Friday night and all day Sunday. On Saturdays I have a separate role of Video Producer where I select and produce the individual and match highlights for three out of five games.

Working on game days, while full on, is a lot of fun. Since early this season we’ve been using SnappyTV, which allows us to cut highlight videos on the spot and share them on Twitter and Facebook literally within minutes, sometimes seconds, of a highlight happening. We are, however, restricted by the broadcast right agreements and only share a maximum of eight videos per game in line with what the Video Producer is cutting for AFL.com.au. Snappy has been fantastic for our engagement and the fans have really embraced it.

What I love about covering games is creating the content for the moments that matter, the blockbuster games, the nail-biters and everything in between. It’s that feeling of satisfaction knowing that people are retweeting and favouriting ‘my’ tweets, liking and sharing the Facebook posts I write, looking at the photos I’ve put on Instagram, and watching the Snappy videos I’ve cut.

It’s an exhilarating experience and certainly keeps me on my toes right through from when I start to when the day of football is over.

Besides the weekend I’m also in the office every Monday and I work from home Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Social media never switches off and there’s always plenty of content from the website to share right through until 10pm.

Right now we’re in the midst of gearing up for the #AFLFinals. From a social point of view we’re hoping to be bigger and better than ever before. I am a mad footy fan myself, so I can’t wait to be involved in all the September action.

Beyond the close of this season I’m fortunate enough to be sticking around for the trade and draft period. I missed out on this piece of the pie last year so am really looking forward to seeing how our strategies change once the season is finished.

Until then it’s all systems go for September. Bring it on!

The wonderful world of netball

by Gen Simmons@gensimmons1

Contact…stepping…three feet…here if you need… all common netball terms that I’ve become quite accustomed to in my 15 months working in netball.

Beginning the role of Digital Communications Manager with the ANZ Championship netball league in February of last year I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I had played netball back at school so I knew the rules but I can’t say I followed the sport at the elite level. Boy has that changed now!

Last year I was thrown straight into the ANZ Championship Pre-Season in my first week of work and I quickly picked up on all I needed to know about the ten teams (five from Australia, five from New Zealand). By the time the 14 week season was underway I was able to reel off all 120 players and come the three week Finals Series I could tell you what all the players social media presence was like – ie. Caitlin Bassett LOVES cupcakes and Wendy Frew has the cutest little boy called Archie. Getting through my first season juggling a website, an ANZ Championship eNewsletter, a Facebook Page, two Twitter accounts, a YouTube channel and Instagram was quite a relief.

This season I’ve felt much more comfortable with the ANZ Championship and I’ve been a lot more involved in the communications plan for the season so that I know what’s coming. In 2014 I’ve also taken on the Netball Australia and Australian Diamonds digital channels as Digital Communications Manager for Netball Australia so there has still been plenty of learning.

Currently we’re in Round 12 of the ANZ Championship and with two more rounds before Finals we still don’t know who will actually be playing finals and where they will be. It certainly keeps things interesting but is a nightmare for the operations and events team to plan.

My big thing that I’ve been working on recently is the ANZ Championship All-Star voting platform (http://www.anz-championship.com/all-star) which launched last Friday and is a major fan engagement tool. The All-Star Team is 100% fan voted and adds another element to our weekly digital plan.

The ANZ Championship channels run pretty similarly week to week during the season with reviews on Tuesdays, previews on Thursdays and game posts Sunday and Monday. I’ve found the things I need to plan for are the Netball Australia and Diamonds channels so that they are keeping populated with interesting content.

With the Netball Australia channels we try to keep a more organisational view and showcase out pathway and junior programs plus the different ways we engage with the community. The Facebook Page for Netball Australia was only created last year so it’s still building slowly with our larger fan base on our Diamonds Facebook Page.

The Diamonds Facebook and social media channels focus just on the Diamonds and can be a little bit more fun than the more neutral Netball Australia and ANZ Championship pages. With the Diamonds Squad and the Australian Commonwealth Games Team announced recently we’ve been able to generate a lot of interest and discussion which has been great. A highlight was running a few Twitter Q&A sessions with National Coach Lisa Alexander which we hope to do some more of in future.

As you can see the world of netball is pretty busy but it’s a lot of fun to work in especially in the digital space where you’re right there communicating with the passionate netball fans. Make sure you’re keeping an eye on all our channels during the ANZ Championship Finals, Commonwealth Games and the Test Series later this year as we’ve got some pretty exciting things planned!

"What do you do in the 'off-season'?"

by Michelle Cooling

With another season finishing at the end of March, I finally have an off-season after 3 seasons in a row, two in Australia and one in England. Safe to say I was absolutely exhausted after a non-stop 18 months but over the three seasons some amazing moments both in Australia and in England.

A few snaps from the Ricky Ponting Medal

My numbers after back-to-back-to-back seasons! 101 matches,  Ashes, T20 Internationals, ODI, Shield Final, County Championships Final and Big Bash Final. Numerous tweets, match reports, Facebook and Insta posts!

Now comes the age old question, a question that gets asked of those who work in sport and a question I find quite amusing especially with the digital media world the way it is.

If I had a $1 for everytime I was asked "What do you do in the off-season?", I would be quite well off! It's also probably because I was in England last season and didn't have an off-season so people wonder what I will get up to, however I have actually been asked whether I keep my job in the winter...yes I do!

So for those wondering what us digital media, marketing and PR workers do in the off-season, the answer is simple: we basically do what we do in season it just isn't as full on!

We have websites and social media sites that need to keep running, we are essentially a news room so can't just go into hiding for 5 months.  Our players may not be in front of us playing but they are abroad or about to start pre-season again and there are always stories to share, it is just a matter of having to dig a bit deeper to find them which is ok because in the winter you actually have time to, well, breathe!

It is amazing how quickly the 'off-season' is actually going, we are already into May, it will be September again soon and we will be worrying about the Hurricanes in the Champions League, the Tigers starting their Sheffield Shield and Ryobi Cup campaigns and the nation hosting a World Cup.... all in a newly redeveloped Blundstone Arena.

There is also a lot of planning that goes on in the off-season, just like on the field, the off the field work can't just happen if you don't have plans in place.  Our off-season this year is particularly big as the Hurricanes qualified for the Champions League after making the Big Bash Final this year so our Operations guys have a fair bit on their plate.  The tournament dates and location are still yet to be confirmed but it looking likely it is September and likely it will be held in India.  As we get closer to this, those of us in the marketing and media department will also have a higher demand to make sure we get maximum reach out of this exposure opportunity.

The busiest time of the off-season is the KFC T20 Big Bash League player signings windows as each team looks to find ways to announce their new signings or those players who have re-signed. As I was away for this last season, I am looking forward to this time of the year again as it gets fans in the cricket mindset in the middle of winter and is always exciting to see the team come together alongside all the other Big Bash sides.

As I mentioned earlier, next summer is going to be even crazier with Australia and NZ hosting the Cricket World Cup. We are hosting 3 matches in Hobart including an Australian pool match alongside hosting nations Sri Lanka, Scotland, Ireland and Zimbabwe.  Our ground at the moment is currently a construction site with the new western stand facility set to be complete around October/November. It is going to be amazing once it is complete with the new stand, corporate and media facilities, underground indoor training centre and changerooms all part of the redevelopment at Blundstone Arena. In the next week or so I am going to take a go-pro and some cameras into the site- so keep an eye out on social media for that video! So with the World Cup around the corner, getting public awareness around this event is another task for the off-season.

The Cricket World Cup comes to Australia and NZ next season which will mean an even busier 2014-15 summer!

Blundstone Arena- a construction site at the moment but it is exciting what this will look like in coming months!

So as you can see there is still plenty to be done in the "off-season" however being a bit quieter and not having work every week-end is also quite a nice thing and leaves time for other parts of my life, (mainly hockey!) to take place. As well as hockey I am also studying fitness, my Certificate 3 and 4, so putting aside a day a week (and my lunch times because getting a proper lunch break in the off season is also very handy!) to go back into study mode, which is quite strange after 4 years in the working world. I can't see myself changing careers anytime soon, but love my fitness and want to assist others with my passion for this so can pursue this outside of my normal work hours.

On a final note, I hope everyone is enjoying football season (#gocats) and I hope to have some of the girls who work in AFL feature on the blog in coming weeks!

#AusOpen2014 by Jess Ivers

The Australian Open is a little bit like a roller-coaster ride. You buckle up and climb steadily as the anticipation grows. Then you reach the top, there’s a moment where you hold your breath before dropping down with no control over what is about to happen next. Then before you know it, it’s all over. And you let out one big sigh, look at the person beside you and smile. Working at the Australian Open is an experience like no other. I thought I’d seen it all working in NRL but this is a whole new ball game (literally). There’s months of planning that goes into a two week event. For those of you who might be wondering, there’s plenty that goes on during the year in preparation for the next tournament. The 2014 tournament was my second Australian Open working in our social media team. It is super hard work but so rewarding and bucket loads of fun. In the lead up to the AO, I ran the social media accounts for the Brisbane International, a week long event held at Pat Rafter Arena. To say this was good preparation for the summer of tennis is an understatement! And what an exciting week it was. Roger Federer played for the very first time in Brisbane, bringing a whole new experience to the event. His popularity showed with record crowds attending the tournament. In the lead up to the tournament, Roger’s Twitter account had reached over one million fans and his engagement with the Brisbane International account was well received by yours truly.

Thanks for an amazing week @BrisbaneTennis I had the best time and can't wait to come back to #queensland pic.twitter.com/9HIpk9RA5G

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) January 5, 2014

Running on little sleep & full of adrenaline, it was back to Melbourne to prepare for that other little tennis tournament… It all honestly seems like such a blur now. Remembering day one takes more effort than I’d like to admit. But even before day one hits, there’s practice sessions, pre-tournament interviews, Kids Tennis Day…and this year a special Roger Federer charity night held for the first time at Rod Laver Arena. My role during the tournament is to assist with looking after the Australian Open social media accounts and to gather exclusive content for our fans. This is probably the best part of all which includes heading to press conferences, photo shoots and other opportunities all on a quest to let each and every one of our fans know what their favourite player is up to. A new addition this year was the Social Shack – an initiative by my colleague Daniel Lattimer which provided a physical space for fans to interact with us on social media. There were player appearances, giveaways, social leaderboards for fans to let us know who they were cheering for, and the best part of all – the giant #ausopen hashtag which sat out the front of the shack.

Just warming up at the social shack! Not long now!! #ausopen #GenieArmy pic.twitter.com/IpJi654yG7

— Genie Army (@geniearmy_real) January 23, 2014

Thanks @vika7 for coming to the #socialshack & answering questions for the peoples press! #ausopen pic.twitter.com/iIYfQdMCDN

— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2014

Thanks for coming down to the #socialshack @keinishikori & answering our twitter and fan q&a's #ausopen pic.twitter.com/5P8BscGYVT

— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2014

Hundreds of photos were shared with it and it was great to see something that is only used online, come to life in a physical space. Some of my personal highlights from the tournament include the R4 match between Ana Ivanovic & Serena Williams. Our social media channels exploded. The match winning tweet drew 3246 retweets from the official @AustralianOpen account. This might just sound like a boring number but to us it’s a great sign of how our audience has grown and how they interact with us. (Can read more on the tweets that day HERE

Game, set, match to @AnaIvanovic. She's knocked out No. 1 seed #Serena Williams 4-6 6-3 6-3 #ausopen pic.twitter.com/dhwFDruBWI

— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 19, 2014

Another highlight is shadowing the players post-title win. Being allowed access to their media interviews and seeing the players’ faces when they get to greet the fans out in Garden Square just moments after they’ve walked off court is a huge privilege and something that is so unique and special to be able to share with our online community. But again, it all seems like just a blur. The crazy days, long nights & constant worry my iPhone is going to run out of battery is all behind me for another year. In the meantime, here some of my favourite moments from 2014 that we shared on our platforms.

#Li's shirt says: "Your heart has no limit". #ausopen pic.twitter.com/gfrSmmQ78u

— Australian Open (@AustralianOpen) January 25, 2014

Post by Australian Open.

Post by Australian Open.

Where did December and January go?!

Well. where to start?!  I have been incredibly slack with this blog the last few months but I guess it sums up just how busy cricket season is for those who work in it! I have also been slack in getting the others girls to contribute but many have also been just as busy with Big Bash League, tennis and hockey etc. Arghh the summer of sport!

An amazing summer of cricket so far…..being part of working in cricket in the country so good when the Aussies are on top an also when the team you work with are having some success! And it hasn't finished yet either with the Sheffield Shield still to come, it seems so long ago the last time we saw 4 day cricket.

I'm currently just returning from Perth after being on the road the last 8 days with the Hurricanes, and what a week it has been!  Hobart-Melbourne and then Perth for the BBL|03 Final.

Team huddle at the MCG | Players taking over the pre-match videos | #canetrain | Me nervous before the final!

After the Hurricanes final home game (which now seems an eternity ago), where the boys defeated the Brisbane Heat they made their way into the Top 4, finding form at the right end of the season to make the finals.

It was a great atmosphere at the Heat game, Hobart came out in support knowing a win would mean a semi-finals appearance. Everyone in the Hurricanes team alongside CT staff, especially our venue and events team put in a lot of work for home matches, it is all about the fan experience and with only 4 matches (we had one wash out), we have limited chances to really grab our fans.  It was also our only night match and member appreciation round with every seated Hurricanes member getting a purple shirt which was placed on their seat in the southern stand at Blundstone Arena.  Our membership officer Kelsie recruited the help of members of Cricket Tas staff to assist with this which involved quite a few stair runs to get the ground looking very purple and it looked fantastic.

Anyway the boys got the win which meant a semi final the following week against the undefeated Melbourne Stars at the MCG. I got the gig to Melbourne which was great, always lots of content available on the road and any trip for a final in Australia's sporting capital appreciated!  The build up was relatively busy, we had a lot of support on social media, everyone loving the 'underdogs' and the support of fans sending their pictures in on how they were supporting was also pretty great.  It was also great to walk around the ground and find some Hobart Hurricanes fans, some not even from Tasmania, they just went for us because they liked us! 

What a game. The guys delivered, upsetting the (mind the pun) star-studded Melbourne Stars who went in 8 wins and no losses.  After a few tense moments in the run chase, they did it! What a win giving us our first appearance from the Hurricanes in a BBL Big Final and a spot in the Champions League.

The win was definitely up there in the wins I have been lucky to be part of. When you are putting in so many hours for the campaign and tweeting a game to thousands upon thousands of people you really get emotionally attached to it!  Last year's Bupa Sheffield Shield win and also being part of the ECB County Championship which Durham won were amazing but I have been with the Hurricanes admin team since the start, building the brand and the fan base from scratch so for the guys to get in that final and taste deserved success along with the growth of our brand and digital channels has been amazing for everyone that contributes towards the team.

The response we got on social media after the semi was overwhelming, we were trending on Twitter before the match started and afterwards the Big Bash and Hurricanes dominated trends which was extremely pleasing to see. We also broke records on Facebook in terms of a post getting the most likes we had seen. The support wasn't just coming from Tasmania but all over Australia and the world!

I went down to the rooms to get some footage of the boys, who were celebrating hard and did some interviews and then went back up to the press box, I didn't get away from there until about 2.15am (yes the life of a digi media worker!) after editing videos, writing a match report, getting photo galleries up and of course monitoring our social media and then timing tweets to go out that morning from 8am. 

The next day was a 'day off' for the players, we stayed in Melbourne and waited to see who would win between the Sixers and Scorchers to see which city we would travel to next.  It was a normal working day for me however and I spent it in my hotel room pumping out content and preparing for this final, the day flew by.  After not finding out until 11pm on the Wednesday night, it was then decided we had a 4 hour plane ride to Perth the next morning after the Scorchers won the other semi final against Sydney.

With just the one day before the final, there was no training and the guys just had a pool session at the hotel.  Lucky for me Painey and Ben Dunk took hold of the pre-match video and made it entertaining for our fans as the hype was building back home and my phone didn't stop! Player driven content is great and the boys could have their own television show post cricket careers, the video got quite a few views which was pleasing.

Again we were overwhelmed by the support, businesses, individuals sending us pics of how they were supporting the 'Canes.  What was also impressive was the amount of 'purple parties' around the place.  With Tasmania having no AFL team, no Rugby League side, no A-League etc- all their parachocial energy turned towards the 'local' cricket team and although I wasn't in Hobart, people kept telling me how much everyone was getting into it like it was AFL Grand Final Day which was amazing to hear.

Game Day was again hectic and I spent it hyping the fans up (not that they needed it much!) on social media. The semi final day and the Big Final days are so important on social, we have a 2 month period to really grab our fans and get the best out of fan driven content and really push the team so vital we do as much as a we can when everyone is 'talking about it'.

Alongside trying to do this, I also had to do some of my Cricket Tasmania based work with other things going on around the country including the Imparja Cup and Futures League- cricket season what can you say… MAD!  Days like that I feel like a journo pumping out story after story.

Then there was the Final itself. It didn't go our way after the Scorchers were too good at their home ground however our fans remained upbeat on social media (much to my delight) and proud of the way the team got to the final and made it to Champions League.  I did a couple of post match interviews with our coach Wrighty, who was great to work with all season, wrote the match report, did all my post match bits and pieces and finished up at about 11pm. The early Perth start was great as it meant I wouldn't be working past midnight!  The season ended with us becoming the Tasmanian Facebook page with the most amount of likes, (surpassing the famous MONA, so my boss has told me!) to go past 63,000- not bad for little old Hobart! 

So the end of another Big Bash season, I can't really believe it, it goes so quickly and you literally lose December and January (and now half of Feb!).  Thanks to the players and coaches for again putting up with me 'lurking' with iPhones, cameras, camcorders etc, their assistance with promoting us through twitter and Instagram and the fans who also generated some great content this season!

Focus now turns back to the Shield season, where hopefully the Tigers can do what they did last season and have a great second half of the season and be in contention for back to back titles!  Although the demand digitally isn't as large for Shield it is still there and as the demand for information becomes increasingly strong it will still be a relatively busy time up until April.

Then of course the 'off season' but with the Hurricanes in the champions league and Australia preparing to host the Cricket World Cup it will no doubt be very busy!  

I'm not going back to Durham this season after spending the Aussie winter over there last year and while disappointed as I loved it over there, I am looking forward to getting back into a routine in Hobart and a full season of hockey and training hard for that alongside a couple of half marathon and 10km events this year!

Finally I just wanted to wish fellow media gal Jess Cook all the best as she finishes her innings!  Jess has worked in cricket for 5 years with Cricket Vic and also at the Melbourne Stars as Media and Parnerships Manager and is now off to Sydney to work with the Swans and just wanted to wish her all the best with her new role in the AFL. Hopefully she can provide some insight into her work in the future on this blog! Good Luck Jess!