How I'm Turning Online Empowerment Into Offline Empowerment
Jan 21, 2015
Story
The development of my ‘Leah & The Footballers’ sports reality TV show has quickly become one of the most interesting things to watch come together. Who would have known that one woman’s voice would be heard amongst a sea of so many sports fanatic men? Women in sports is trending and it’s not just a North American trend. It’s a global trend. The truth is, women working within the NHL is improving the most, but the Football Association (FA) has been pushing female footballers in the media too. However, this remains true for the position of sports reporter only. From a scouting perspective, my observations conclude that women can’t break that barrier yet. Sports reporting is becoming popularized and we can continue to see more women enter the sports industry through this avenue.
Weekly Video Blog Launching This Week
I’m very excited to announce that this week I’m launching the first episode of my weekly video blog at:
LockerDome.com is a digital sports platform based out of St. Louis, MO and allows user’s to “hang up” their premium content in their digital locker. Locker Dome is going to promote my weekly video blog to their + 65 million unique monthly visitor sports fan base. Ahhhhhh! I'm so excited! The video blog is about the show’s development and takes a deeper look at the various rotating elements involved in making a sports reality come to production through social media. This blog will also act as a discussion forum between the audience and myself, so I can better understand the needs of my audience and deliver a product worth their love and affection. Make sure to stay tuned this week because there's contests and really cool prizes to win, such a signed Ryan Babel jersey for those who watch my videos and provide their opinions, suggestions, recommendations and feedback about what they like, don't like and want to see happen with Leah & The Footballers.
My Friendly, Canadian Supporters
I’m also going to be launching a crowdfunding campaign for the video blog’s content supply chain. What this means is, I want a bigger budget for things like my weekly video blog episodes, lifestyle photography for the show's players and other really cool prizes that you couldn't get anywhere else. This campaign will also help to validate my sports reality show in the market, attract media attention, establish a fan base and help me to better understand the needs of my audience.
The National Crowdfunding Association Of Canada
A couple weeks ago, I got connected with an Executive Director at the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada and he said this sounds very cool! If I can give any shout outs to the NCAC during the campaign, they’ll run my content through their channels too. For those who aren’t familiar with crowdfunding, it’s a relatively new digital revenue model that's gaining popularity fast. The basic concept is, that people can “donate” to a cause and are rewarded with Perks. Some common Perks come in the form of t-shirts, branded USB drives, or free mp3 music files, etc. This is the same funding model used to raise funds for the Rob Ford smoking crack video here in Toronto, Ontario:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/indiegogo-defends-rob-ford-crack-v...
It is an effective method when executed the right way.
The Winnipeg Jets NHL Team
Last week, the Assistant Coach of the Winnipeg Jet’s NHL team reached out to me on LinkedIn and eventually offered to help me make my sports reality show a success. I asked him if he would be interested in allowing me to sell his time as an Indiegogo Perk, in the form of digital coaching services. He really liked the idea and as we've been chatting about a number of ways to do this, we're starting to get pretty pumped about it. Some ideas include digital coaching services like “Coach The Coach”, where the Jets' Assistant Coach could go over training routines or practice drills, provide insight and analysis on common mistakes he sees in elite hockey players from his four years with the NHL and 12 years in the QMJHL. Another idea was “Coach The Dads”, where he could help player’s fathers get a better understanding of what they should really be focusing on when it comes to their son’s professional hockey career. Afterwards, we’re thinking about doing some social media shout-outs, such as a recorded video of the Assistant Coach reflecting on this experience, words of wisdom and encouragement for whoever the beneficiary is, regarding their professional hockey aspirations. In terms of target marketing, the Assistant Coach brought up the idea of targeting Europe. I was so happy to hear this because that’s what we were already going to do!
Additionally, the crowdfunding campaign will offer a variety of digital sports coaching services from other professionals within the industry as well, but there’s still a bit more work to do before I can say anymore on this front :).
I'm also getting some local support from Home Coffee Solutions, a Canadian company based out of Toronto, Ontario with a location in Barrie, Ontario:
They've been a massive help and have provided the campaign with a beautiful Nespresso Pixie (Titan) machine valued at $299.99 CAN, as well as some bags of whole bean dark roast coffee, to sell as Perks.
Website Launch
Finally, last week I launched my official website at:
Over the next few months, I’m going to spark up interest, create buzz and watch a sports reality TV show series come together by connecting a league of industry experts to guide me every step of the way. Under my watch, I’m going to make sure this idea becomes a reality. Under your watch, you’re going to make it become a show.
