The new ESPN ScoreCenter for iPad

Today, we released the new ScoreCenter for iPad. I encourage you to download it, customize it and give feedback. Starting this weekend (college football!) and next (NFL!), you'll surely put it to good use! TechCrunch covered the app this evening ("After 28.5M iOS Downloads, ESPN Launches A Faster, All-New ScoreCenter For iPad"): "ESPN’s ScoreCenter — which delivers live scores, news and standings just about every sports league to your mobile devices — has been downloaded 28.5 million times on iOS devices. While popular, the user experience has been far from perfect. So, it started from scratch and is today launching a complete overhaul of ScoreCenter for the iPad, meant to improve the app’s speed, utility and personalization as the first of its apps to fully utilize its new API program."

Congrats to Joe Alicata, Andy Peterson, and team.

ScoreCenter features:

- Personalized scoreboards, news, and video highlights from your favorite teams and leagues, highlighting the games you care about. - Expanded game views, providing in-depth game coverage. - Breaking news, scores, and videos from the top live events of the day. - Live scoring alerts for your favorite teams and personalized match-ups sent directly to your phone. - Live integrated Gamecasts, plus links to WatchESPN. - Calendar navigation, allowing access to previous scores and upcoming games. - Ability to share your favorite games, videos and news with friends.

Nike's Game On Facebook Campaign: Data, Nike+ and Great Photos.

Nike is so good: - terrific Facebook campaign during the NBA Playoffs

- smart experimentation on Twitter with Promoted Tweets

- innovative personalized shopping engine (which now includes licensed products)

- and that doesn't include Nike+ and their terrific / innovative integrations with Path, Facebook and Twitter

Here is yet another great campaign by Nike. In an effort to promote Nike+ ("the future of sport"), Nike took to Facebook and highlighted a barrage of athletes training and collecting data via Nike+ and/or Nike Fuel. Like most of Nike's social work, it's very visual, fun and unique. It is also on brand and tapping into the personal data / gamification theme. Notably, this was also released the day of the NBA Draft - which is driven by similar data analysis.... and many of those athletes will soon be sponsored by Nike.

On Facebook, Nike does a great job of clustering photos into albums - whereas many brands / pages, highlight individual photos.

Google's Evolving Search Results Pages: PGA, Tiger Woods & US Open as Example

In honor of this week's US Open - and in connection with last week's post on Google's evolving search pages - here are some interesting screen shots related to both.

The first is a results page for the query "PGA". As yo will see, there are only two search results on my visible screen: PGA.com and PGAtour.com (brand URLs). The bulk are algorithmic results (which are very useful): 2012 FedExCup standings and the three most relevant (ie popular) stars (Tiger Woods, Rory McIllroy, Phil Mickelson). Two things worth noting: 1. there are no ad units 2. there is no Google+ integration here. And this is one area that Google+ makes a lot of sense. I should be able to follow each player, learn more, etc. Today, it is entirely informational.

Change the query to one of the player names (in this case "Tiger Woods") and it looks similar: standings, information, news, and the brand link. In fact, only one natural result is above the fold: TigerWoods.com.

Again, two notes: 1. still no Google+ integration. 2. still no ads (high volume query too!) 3. related people include non-golfers: Elin Nordegren and Rachel Uchitel (both interesting and ironic)

Dig in on the right column's bio page and there is a "please report a problem" unit. This is Google's Wikipedia-like effort to control content. For several reasons, it is a very interesting approach: 1. this is such a dramatic change to search results and this unit comes at the expense of ad real estate 2. to fill it with content Google does not entirely trust is bold / scary 3. this information is far more compelling if tied to Google+ - in this setting it looks like no different than a mini-Wikipedia (or Knoll!)

Nike Basketball's Beautiful Facebook Timeline In Time for NBA Playoffs

Just a terrific, creative and well-timed use of the Facebook Timeline by Nike Basketball. Coinciding with the NBA Playoffs - and a handful of new sneakers for top stars like Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant - Nike Basketball is releasing a series of basketball rules: "Every EPIC moment has a story. And every story has a lesson. Lesson No. 1: The deeper the bench. The stronger the squad." Each rule is placed atop a basketball poster that ties into the playoffs and relevant players. Two or three rules are posted a day (so far, 38 rules and posters have been loaded). Nike also mixes in other timely promos like a congratulations to Lebron James for his MVP award and this graphic for the evening's Lakers / Thunder game:

It's clever, fun, on brand and highly visual - which means it is highly engaging on Facebook. It is also something that only Nike can do (the talent, the imagery and the production) and something that really can only be done on Facebook and with Facebook Timeline (no offense to Twitter, but this would be neither as effective nor engaging).

Titleist, Nike Golf Compete for Facebook Relevance with the Masters

Fun and interesting screenshot below from my Facebook newsfeed just a few minutes ago. These two posts appeared beside one another and were not clustered under a topic (ie 'Masters' or 'Golf') by Facebook. Titleist posted 19 minutes ago that champion Bubba Watson used their ProvV1x ball. That came 10 minutes ahead of Nike Golf, whose icon is Tiger Woods (had a very poor outing). They posted a generic comment about the tournament.

Also worth noting - Titelist's Facebook Timeline is great!

Both brands are posting about the same topic - trying to take advantage of the current interest - and both brands are doing so at the exact same time. Titelist is doing it far more effectively from an engagement number (250k fans vs. 1.1m) and are leveraging the person (Bubba) to do so.

Google Takes to ESPN to Promote Google Plus, Group / Event Followings

If you've been watching any television recently, you've surely seen the barrage of ad spots for Google Chrome, Google Plus, and Internet Explorer 9. I understand Google's effort but am generally confused by advertising specifically for IE9... which can't be as effective / meaningful as focusing on Windows Mobile. Anyhow... the point is that Google took to ESPN.com yesterday to cleverly promote Google Plus alongside the NCAA Tournament. It's well done because it's relevant, good looking and ties into the product very well (circles!). Most interesting is how it ties directly into the product - each NCAA team is "followable" on Google+ and there are scheduled Hangouts with analysts, teams, etc.

Really well done and an interesting twist as they try to differentiate from Facebook and Twitter... and the two areas where they can stand out:

Hangouts (the star of the product) and Media / Lists (something Twitter hasn't nailed yet)

"The article, first published on the SI.com iPad application late Tuesday night..."

This cracks me up: ESPN (who has been criticized for not generously citing sources in the past) ran a front page article on UCLA's troubled basketball team. In citing the source as Sports Illustrated, ESPN strangely noted: "The article, first published on the SI.com iPad application late Tuesday night..."

I find it fascinating:

1. this was called out by ESPN ... why?

2. Sports Illustrated published the article to the iPad before the website... and both before the magazine. It clearly was an attempt to push the iPad app / subscription... which seems to be working (#1 in Sports over last week) but doesn't seem nearly as strategic as launching the article on SI.com.

Make Your Content Accessible on Mobile - All Devices, All Formats. ESPN's Gamecast as Example.

I write a lot about tailoring your web experience for the environments where it is (and can) be used. That is particularly important for mobile which has its own UI needs, requirements, opportunities and challenges. Here is the latest example.

ESPN has done a good job creating product & content for specific environments and devices. Example here. While that is an effective treatment - this is not. When 'watching' an ESPN Gamecast on the iPad (which is an excellent product) - it requires you to watch it in landscape mode. There is literally no content and no experience otherwise. Even if ESPN believes that landscape is the best way to view Gamecast, you would think that they would either create a light version or showcase some other content? Very strange.

Differentiation exists as long as you can run faster, further.

You're probably familiar with Vibram 5 Finger Shoes that have become somewhat popular. They became popular in part because they were so different, unique and noticeable. When someone wears a pair - you visually take note.... and if you've not seen them before, you ask what they are. And now they are quite recognizable and popular.

Flipping through a magazine, I came across the below ad for Adidas' new, equivalent shoe. It's a great reminder that:

- differentiation doesn't last forever... particularly when you succeed.

- big brands with big budgets exist... and they take notice.

- consequently, differentiation exists as long as you can run faster, further.

- think forward and about your brand more than about protection & competition

- ... and when a start-up, make sure you've thought enough about whether you have a sustained chance to take a large enough lead (time, product, brand) before others arrive.