The goal is to turn social content into TV content.
New York—In March Sony soft-launched a new online platform, called "One Stadium Live," that aggregates social media content and groups it into related subjects and trending topics appearing on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The "channel" will be promoted throughout the World Cup. As of next week, it will be truly live for all the world to access.
Sony's new Stadium One Live aggregates social media content and groups it into related subjects and trending topics appearing on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. The new online initiative is part of Sony's "One Sony" strategy to unify the company's many divisions under a single brand identity. It is also being used to increase Sony's online presence, in tandem with its major sponsorship of the FIFA soccer tournament in Brazil. The website, which is designed first and foremost for portable devices, gives fans a resource for player and game stats as well as an online community of like-minded individuals.
Nick Bailey, CEO and executive creative director of Isobar U.K., which created One Stadium Live, told Ad Age that Twitter expects 60 percent of all tweets during matches will be World Cup-related during the month-long soccer tournament (June 12-July 13).
Bailey said the goal with One Stadium Live is to "[turn] social content into TV content. You'll be able to tune in and see what people are saying, but in an engaging and entertaining way. It won't feel like just a load of Twitter hashtags – it will be a snapshot of what the world is feeling."
Isobar has set up a newsroom in its London office to bring an editorial layer to One Stadium Live, according to Ad Age. A team of moderators will be working round the clock, across six time zones, to push out the best conversations. The site will also carry profiles and statistics on all 32 teams and their players, and news feeds to keep fans up to date in six languages.
The last World Cup tournament in South Africa in 2010 attracted two billion TV viewers, and since then Internet use has increased by 53 percent, Ad Age said, Twitter use by 13,500 percent, and Facebook has gone from 300 million to one billion users, Isobar told Ad Age.
Once the World Cup is over, Ad Age said, Isobar will adapt the One Stadium Live technology for other second-screen experiences for other big sports events, and for global shows such as the Academy Awards.
The platform has already been tested during several friendly international matches, according to Bailey.
