Charles Kellogg, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Biathlon Association, pointed me to the discovery of the promotional power of YouTube by Jerry Kokesh, Manager of Media/Marketing for this emerging Olympic sport. From the story on the home page of biathlonworld.org "Kevin Neuendorf, Media Services Manager of the US Olympic Committee noticed the changes first day. He commented to Kokesh: "I just wanted to say I loved the creative use of the YouTube video to bring me closer to the action. I know of no other National Governing Body that is using YouTube in this manner, so I applaud your effort here. "
Previously, Kokesh only relied on written reports of each competition, which he distributes to the US media and publishes on the US Biathlon website www.usbiathlon.org. Now, he embeds the videos in his articles. As the reader scrolls through the story, they can click on the video window and the interview begins.
Kokesh uses a simple video camera, which has internal software so you can post directly to the Internet. “It’s nowhere close to TV quality”, Kokesh knows, “but it allows me to grab a quick interview, download it and post in a very short time.”
“The videos add immediacy to our news,” Kokesh explains. “It also gives biathlon fans in the US, as well as members of our organization, some brief glimpses of the US Team that they cannot get elsewhere.”
"The US athletes love the videos, too. Now they can send the link to family and friends as a way of keeping in touch." In addition, it raises the profile of Biathlon as a challenging and exciting event that some say is the most Zen of all sports, as the athlete is required to transform themselves back and forth between skiing like a rabbit and then shooting with the stillness of a rock.
The US is poised to break into the upper levels of the World Cup now dominated by such countries as France, Germany and Norway where the tradition of cross country skiing and rifle marksmanship runs deep. It is creative ideas, such as using YouTube, that will attract more potential athletes and grow the sport in the United States.
"The US athletes love the videos, too. Now they can send the link to family and friends as a way of keeping in touch."
Biathlon is the most watched winter sport on European television, with some 27 million viewers. Here in the US, the sport is not as well known so the YouTube approach Jerry is using makes a huge difference in our development effort, while highlighting some excellent performances by our team on the World Cup circuit.
Posted by: Charlie Kellogg | December 24, 2007 at 11:45 AM