The Poster Child For Why ESPN Won't Let Reporters Develop Personal Brands via Twitter...

A few days ago I riffed on the following question - "Should Companies Allow Employees to Develop Professional Brands From A Personal Twitter Account?".

Just so you know, I'm a huge proponent of providing BIG freedom in this area.  I think it boosts the employment brand in a way that no traditional media campaign can, and I think in most situations, the employees who are doing the tweeting are engaged in a way that exceeds that of a normal employee.

But I'm practical enough to know that it doesn't work in every situation.  The previous post focused on the new policy of ESPN to limit the amount of sports-related tweeting reporters can do.  To many, it felt restrictive.

Me?  I thought of one name when I read the initial articles on the ESPN policy.

Amy J. Martin,  I thought of that name driving home Monday night after reading through the post comments and email I received on the topic.

Amy was a digital media person for the Phoenix Suns who had some role in getting Shaquille O'Neal to use Twitter.  As a result, she got attached to the "Shaq on Twitter" extravaganza that occurred in late 2008, early 2009.  Her follower count ballooned as a result of her proximity to the artist formerly known as Shaq-Diesel.  It really had nothing to do with specific talent she brought to the table. She was the anomaly in the background of the picture, a bystander who, at most, got Shaq a blackberry, taught him to tweet and likely fed him ideals of how to blow up the Twitter world with buzz - like giving away tickets at a bus stop.

Here's the deal - Amy's making a play to capitalize on her accidental stardom - she left the Suns organization and started a play called "DigitalRoyalty", presumably to do the same kind of stuff for companies and individuals. 

A nice primer to the situation from Capitalist reader Brett:

"A great example is what happened to the Phoenix Suns and Amy J. Martin. She helped Shaq and the whole organization become the first professional sports team to tweet. Twitter recommended her as a user to follow when people signed up for a new account. Then, she decided to start her own social media consulting business and took her 700,000+ followers with her. She also changed her name from @PHXsunsgirl to @DigitalRoyalty. I'm sure ESPN might have considered this case when determining their options."

Amy had the good fortune of being around the Shaq, and just by clicking on her Twitter settings and changing her user name, she walks away with 700K in twitter users.  I make no claim to Amy's skills (she's smart enough to make the move outlined, which weighs favorably to her business sense) but if you roll over to DigitalRoyalty.com she still doesn't have much of a site put together, and you have to wonder if she's been able to monetize it.

So Amy J. Wilson, a non-celeb, can use the Phoenix Suns organization and walk away with 700,000 Twitter users.  Is there any wonder why ESPN, with celebrity anchors, game announcers and reporters, would be trying to lock down the brand as defined by Twitter?

Again - I'm a huge proponent of providing BIG freedom in this area.  BUT - if I were in the content/reporting business, I'd own the twitter handles of my talent (their name + my brand) and encourage them to build the brand - but force them to start over if they left my company.

I'm just sayin'...

Comments

[Andrew Flick]

I really liked your take on personality driving Twitter and how companies are understandably worried about having their online identities linked to talent that may leave.

My question is, how is that different from what a lot of businesses (mostly in the media and entertainment industries) already do? Talk shows are irrevocably linked to the personalities of their hosts Remember when Letterman left NBC? He took a large following with him to CBS. Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

[Bohdan Rohbock]

For those few businesses, that's how they make their money. That's the risk and payoff for them. Companies that don't specialize in personality/celebrity sales may not want to get into that business. Most wouldn't, I imagine.

And as Kris' post points out, with how prevalent media is now it is easy for an individual to gain momentary celebrity and steal the show. Hence the controls.