Indy gets social for Super Bowl XLVI

I used to think that Klout was a sham. Not anymore.

If you’re into social media at all, you’ve heard of Klout. Some people swear by it. Others think it’s all fluff.  I fell somewhere in between.

If you’re not familiar with Klout, it’s basically an online service that measures your influence from your social networks and summarizes your performance into a single numerical score. Klout analyzes your activity on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and more. The more engagement your posts receive, the more influential you are.

Anyway, one of the ways Klout gives back to its users is by offering perks. Most perks are pretty lame, although I did get a sweatshirt once.

Last week, I received a perk for an invite to a Super Bowl-themed event called Social 46. I blew it off at first, figuring that hundreds if not thousands got the same perk. But, for the heck of it, I RSVP’d yes. A couple days later, someone from Klout e-mailed me with more information about the event.

It turns out that thousands of people were not invited to the event. In fact, not even hundreds. In honor of Super Bowl 46, only 46 invites were sent.

It started to sound a little more legit. I asked a few more questions, and eventually found out that invites were sent to those with the top 46 Klout scores in the state of Indiana. I had no idea I was even close to that. I definitely wasn’t going to miss this event.

The event was as good as I was hoping it would be. Social 46 was put on by the Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee. The idea was to get 46 of Indiana’s most influential social media users into one room and talk all things Super Bowl.

The event was moderated by Mark Miles (Committee Chairman), Allison Melangton (Committee President and CEO), and Scott Dorsey (CEO at ExactTarget). Mark and Allison’s insight into the tremendous effort that has gone into planning and executing all events surrounding the Super Bowl was fantastic. Scott provided an inside look at the social media and technology efforts that have gone into the Super Bowl.

Many topics were discussed, but here were the highlights:

  • The Committee wanted to give visitors the Super Bowl experience from the moment they touch down at the airport. There will be Super Bowl signage, buzz, and excitement all the way from the terminal to the hotel lobbies.
  • The Super Bowl is much more than a football game. It’s a community coming together and pulling off the greatest event in all of sports. The game will be over within a few hours, but the financial and cultural impact surrounding the Super Bowl could last a few decades.
  • On Monday, the official NFL Mobile Super Bowl phone app will be released to the public. Scott Dorsey was really hyped about this app. Users will be able to view an interactive map of the city, displaying all of the best restaurants and bars Indianapolis has to offer. There will also be a “Know Before You Go” feature, which will show available parking spots within all of the city’s parking garages in real time. Incredible tool.
  • A big concern for people both in and outside of Indianapolis is the threat of weather. However, Committee Chairman Mark Miles was not worried about the weather one bit. Super Bowl Village, the epicenter of the events downtown, will offer heated benches for chilly patrons. There is also over 200,000 sq. ft. of indoor space dedicated to various Super Bowl events, including the NFL Experience area. No matter how cold it is during Super Bowl week, I really believe locals and visitors are going to embrace it and enjoy the atmosphere. It’ll be tough not to get caught up in it.
  • ESPN will be posted up in Super Bowl Village for the week. Over 110 broadcast hours are planned for ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage.
  • Over 60 bands are set to play during the 10 days leading up to the big game.

The rest of the evening was spent brainstorming with everyone in the room. I was blown away by how savvy all of the Social 46 invitees were. Everyone brought forward great ideas on how we can integrate social media into the Super Bowl. We even voted on a couple official Super Bowl hashtags that we will push throughout the week leading up to the game.  I promise not to overdo it, but you’ll probably see me tweeting #SB46 and #SuperBowl a fair amount leading up to kickoff.

We didn’t leave Social 46 with a shortage of free swag. Every attendee received:

  • Exclusive Social 46 Reebok Beanie Hat
  • Exclusive Social 46 Reebok Messenger Bag
  • VIP Credentials to the Super Bowl XLVI Social Media Command Center
  • Super Bowl Media Day Credential
  • NFL Experience Ticket

After Social 46, I am extremely excited for the events to come. I left with a much broader sense of what the Super Bowl is all about.  Sure, we’re all hoping for a great game and funny commercials. But the entire community has come together to ensure that Indianapolis will be one of the best Super Bowl hosts in history.

Our city is built to make this event a smash hit. I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people.

[Editor’s note: Tyler will post here from time-to-time. He is a must-follow on twitter, and also has a personal blog for thoughts more than 140 characters.]

14 Responses to Indy gets social for Super Bowl XLVI
  1. Jason Lucas
    January 20, 2012 | 5:04 pm

    What I seem to gather from everything prior to SB is that Indianapolis and going to surprise people. They are committed to doing it right and they have thought out every possible scenario. Social media group — that’s brilliant!

  2. Greg
    January 20, 2012 | 6:04 pm

    The engagement is smart and important. The more information and positive vibes from Indy, the better.

  3. Colts7932
    January 20, 2012 | 11:55 pm

    So how are the 46 members going to be utilized during the two weeks?

  4. Tyler Burns
    January 21, 2012 | 12:00 am

    Kind of up in the air right now. The event didn’t lay out anything specific that they wanted help with. It was a large brainstorming session and a way to get connected with other Indiana influencers. We’ve got a Facebook group together and everyone is pitching ideas. I’m pretty connected with @darrenrovell, so we may try to come up with something involving him that I can pitch to him.

  5. […] I was perusing my Twitter stream and a cool story about Klout perks and the Super Bowl caught my eye.  I thought this was a very creative use of Klout to have an event that benefits both influencers and the sponsors.  This was reported by Tyler Burns on the Vigilant Sports Blog. […]

  6. Desa Fernandez
    January 22, 2012 | 6:27 pm

    Hey Tyler,

    I am Desa at Klout and helped set up this Perk. I am so happy to hear you are enjoying being part of the #social46! I love that you all want Indy vistors to have an overall great experience this year at the Super Bowl, what a great community you guys have!

    • Tyler Burns
      January 22, 2012 | 6:49 pm

      Absolutely, Desa! Thanks for your help in getting things set up. It’s a good group and now that we’ve all met, we’re brainstorming other ideas of things we can do leading up to the big game.

  7. julie andress
    January 22, 2012 | 11:50 pm

    I hate to see all those upset they were not chosen but thats a positive. you have to set a cutoff and people are always left now. now i wonder how the nfl will treat this idea and will they embrace it at future games.

    Well done crew.

  8. […] locaux sur le Net Autre opération en lien avec le 46ème SuperBowl, c’est Social 46. A l’initiative du Comité d’Organisation, les 46 personnes d’Indianapolis ayant […]

  9. Kareem
    January 23, 2012 | 9:48 am

    Thanks for sharing Tyler. In order for visitors and locals to share the good word about the SB, I really hope they have extra cell towers, free WiFi, or tweet stations. Likewise, I think this group could be very effective by providing traffic updates, faster routes, where parking is cheapest for example. Also wouldn’t mind a steady stream of pictures, videos, interviews with people behind the rope.

  10. Mary
    January 23, 2012 | 11:33 am

    More on how Indianapolis is getting social: ‘Indianapolis Tackles Social Media for Super Bowl XLVI’
    http://blog.hudsonhorizons.com/Article/Indianapolis-Tackles-Social-Media-for-Super-Bowl-XLVI.htm

  11. […] Social 46, all these efforts are powered by a committee of Indiana’s best marketers. How cool to see so many creative minds come together for one project. Something this big could […]

  12. Observations on #Social46 | Metonymy Media
    January 26, 2012 | 12:05 pm

    […] Attendees voted on the best Twitter hashtags to promote the city, put into motion innovative ways to link traditional “Super Bowl Commercial” marketing stratagem and social media outreach, and ,of course, they all walked away with some wicked swag. (Sports blogger Tyler Burns talks #Social46 swag list.) […]

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    Indy gets social for Super Bowl XLVI | Vigilant Sports…

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