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Matt Sammon Takes the Lightning Digital

Tyler McComas

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The thrill of victory and the agony of a defeat are two feelings that we, as sports fans, encounter on a regular basis. They’re two totally different emotions, but each one often leads us to the same destination: the radio dial. 

Whether it’s immediately after the game on a post-game show or the next day on a station’s local programming, listeners crave the content from hosts, guests and callers that can match the emotion they felt from the game. But what if there was no destination for your favorite team? What if stations in the area paid way more attention to other area teams, putting the team you follow on the back burner? 

On Tuesday night, the Tampa Bay Lightning scored an impressive eight goals, en route to an 8-2 win over the New Jersey Devils. The win put the Lightning at 8-2-1 on the season, which gives them the best record in the Atlantic division and second-best in the NHL. The team is rolling and the excitement is high amongst the fan base. But as fans filed out of the sold-out arena and into their cars for the drive home, there probably wasn’t a whole lot of Lightning’s coverage on the local sports radio stations. Why? Well, Jameis Winston and the Buccaneers, the Jaguars, Florida State, Florida and the rest of the SEC are the main topics in the state of Florida during this time of the year.  It’s a tough reality, but one that every non-football team in the Sunshine State routinely deals. 

Instead of living with that reality and battling for popularity in the state, the Lightning decided to take a proactive step to help build its brand. In October of 2014, Lightning Power Play was debuted. The idea that had been bouncing around the head of Matt Sammon for over a year, was now a reality. If it worked, it could be a trend setter, in terms of how fans enjoy their favorite team’s product. The concept was simple: put game broadcasts, replays, original content and anything else that was centered on the Lightning on a 24/7 hub that fans could enjoy at any time of the day. Like anything else, small problems were encountered at first. But eventually, they were solved and the product continues to see rapid growth. 

Image result for matt sammon lightning

Located on iHeartRadio, the station can easily be found by searching ‘Lightning Power Play.’ Whether it’s 6 p.m. on a game day or 2 a.m. on an off day, fans are able to stream content for free. The move proves that teams have more options than just terrestrial radio to get their product in front of the fans. With the business moving more and more digitally, Sammon and the Lightning are hoping they’re a step ahead of what’s to come. 

The interesting thing, is if more teams in the NHL and other leagues across the country elect to create their own platform. It could change the way sports fans consume their favorite team’s product. Plus, each team would be able to totally control the content that’s put out to the listener. 

Though the idea is already a successful one, there are still hurdles to overcome. How to monetize it correctly, getting the word out to more fans about the product and finding more original content ideas, are just a few that are on Sammon’s mind. However, Lightning Power Play has a plan. Sammon shared more on what could be a revolutionary change for the sports radio business. 

TM: What was the original idea of Lightning Power Play and where did it come from?

MS: There was a general shift, not only in the industry, but in consumer habits, along the digital spectrum. IPhones and other mobile devices were becoming more plentiful and content for those devices was being produced more. There’s just that general idea of moving things forward and progressing.

Ever since I’ve been in my role, it’s trying to continue to grow our brand and product throughout the digital platform. Even that’s changed over the years. It was just trying to keep up with the times and stay ahead of the curve. Now, the other big reason, was because Tampa Bay is a very big football market.

Even if we have a very good hockey team, it’s a constant battle to get the word out on how the hockey team is doing. There’s a little bit of frustration, it’s, “okay, we need to do more than just a game broadcast,” but we also need to do it in a way so that we can create a landing zone for our fans, because we know that football is always going to be the big story around here, pro, college and high school. For hockey fans, in particular, Lightning fans, we need a destination for them and that’s really kind of became the foundation of what would become Lightning Power Play. 

TM: Do listeners have to pay for the service? And where can I find it?

MS: It’s free for anybody and there’s a number of ways you can listen to it. One, is if you have the IHeart Radio app, it’s on that platform. Just search ‘Lightning Power Play’ and it’s right there. We also have a website, LightningPowerPlay.com, which, essentially, directs you to our page on the Lightning’s website. Also, we’re on the Amazon Echo and Google Home. All you do is ask your device to play Lightning Power Play and it immediately comes up. You can get it outside the market, just anywhere where you have an iHeart Radio stream. 

Image result for lightning power play

TM: Do any other NHL teams have something similar?

MS: Well, to be honest with you, we were heavily inspired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who no longer have Penguins 24/7. They used to run their station on an HD2 channel but it also streamed online. They took that off about 3 or 4 years ago, I have no idea why. But the late Ray Walker was such a great inspiration, a really good provider and guidance for us when we were just getting our feet wet. 

In terms of 24/7 programming, the only team that’s doing it right now is the Washington Capitals. But there’s more and more teams that are opening the digital door by streaming the games online, with the intent to build content around it. The LA Kings, they’re doing that, as well as the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. The Philadelphia Flyers also do some limited ancillary programming, digitally.

Now, you’re seeing more teams get into the digital realm, starting with the games, so I think more and more teams are going to start looking it at that way. There could be more streaming of games online, maybe altering how the flagship relationship is with a team. Then, there’s building content around that to create a station or network online, as supposed to over the air. 

TM: What were the biggest challenges in the early stages of Lightning Power Play?

MS: I think the biggest issue was just awareness. We’re still learning how to combat that. We’re doing some social media advertising, mostly with Facebook. We’ve found interesting interactions with our ads that have went out. We’re up for doing more things such as interviews like this, doing more in-game promotion on our terrestrial radio broadcasts, by letting people know there’s stuff out there, besides the regular game broadcast. We’ll see if that chips away a little at the lack of information or knowledge about what we do. We’ve seen our numbers go up significantly in the last several months.  

The other big challenge, and thankfully we’re not dealing with this anymore, is you have to program 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On a game day, that’s easy. There’s all sorts of stuff you can do before, during and after. It’s the time in-between that becomes challenging. The good thing, is when we launched this, we knew we were going to be about 80 percent replay and 20 percent of new, live and local content. The issue has turned around the other way. In fact, I’d say were around the 90-10 ratio of original, live, local, exclusive programming and just a little more of the replay content. That’s ultimately what we wanted to do and we have people knocking on our door wanting to get into the programing, anyway possible. If they have a unique idea that can fit into the programming and stand out from everything else we’re airing, we’ll certainly talk and try to make it happen.

TM: On that, how many different talents do you use?

MS: We actually have 12-14 different shows. Outside of the Lightning play-by-play, we air, when we don’t have a conflict of programming, our minor league affiliate hockey teams. When we’ve got room, we’ll incorporate them in.

Image result for lightning ahl echl affiliates

Then, we have daily programming. We have a new live and local lunchtime show that airs 1-2 p.m. every weekday. We have a show in the early evening that runs from 6-7 p.m. That’s been running for three years now and it’s called Lightning Power Play Live. That runs not only Monday thru Friday, but if we have a game on Saturday or Sunday, it’s preceding our network broadcast. It’s kind of an extended pregame show. We also have, what I call, some primary programming, with a show on Monday called Game Misconduct. That runs 5 or 6 times throughout the day. We have a different show on Tuesday, a new one on Wednesday, we’ve got a whole collection of weekend shows that offer a nice, different view of the sport and just sports in general. It’s a unique juggling act to make everything work but so far we’ve found a way to manage it. Every show we have is different from the other. That’s what makes it so special. 

TM: Is there a way to monetize all this? Can you incorporate ads into your content?

MS: Yeah, that’s the 64 thousand dollar question, quite literally, is how do you monetize this? That’s been a slow and steady progress. The best thing about Lightning Power Play and our organization is we knew going in that for the first 1-2 years that our goal was to not make money. We needed establish programming and establish an audience, then we’ll try to bring in some revenue.

So we attack it from a few different ways. One, is when we sell these bigger packages to companies that advertise in other platforms, within the Tampa Bay Lightning, is Lightning Power Play a part of a bigger package. That’s one way to monetize. We also boil it up to a show host hitting the pavement and trying to sell the show, or the station in general, to help bring in revenue. We found some success with that, small success, but it’s still money coming in the door.

Now, we’re looking at an OTT platform called The Identity in our organization. Do we couple The Identity along with some digital operations we’re doing with the University of South Florida? Now, if you have one big digital sales team that goes out to solve this. We’re still working on that but I’ve really been convinced over the past year or so that the tables are going to turn in the next 4-5 years. Instead of digital being a bonus buy for a terrestrial buy, I think you’re going to see more and more agencies and business buying digital first and then getting the AM and FM thrown in for no additional cost. We’re hopefully ahead of the curve on that. 

Image result for tampa bay the identity

TM: Do you expect to see more NHL teams come around to this idea? Especially ones in similar market situations as you, such as the Stars and Hurricanes?

MS: It’s interesting you bring up the Stars and the Hurricanes, because those teams simulcast their TV broadcast. It’s certainly up to each club what they want to do, but I think with the Kings, Devils and Islanders coming aboard, you’re dealing with new additions from major markets, good ownership groups with deep pockets and strength in numbers. As long as this continues to grow, I think you’re going to get more teams talking to one another and asking how they did it. Some of the hurdles, when we started and other teams started asking, the hurdles for them were money and man power.

Without the proper cash investment and without the proper man power investment, you can’t really pull this off. Now that you’re getting more and more teams finding ways to do it, now I think some of those hurdles get leapt over. I would guess, more and more teams are going to go this way. It’s not a big money maker for the NHL, but for individual teams it’s a new revenue stream for them. I think you’re going to see more and more teams and leagues that are fighting the NFL for popularity, to just fight through it and create a platform for their own and invite their fans to come there. Especially hockey fans, they’re passionate. If you tell them where to come, they’ll go. 

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How to Help Your Clients with Low Website Conversions

Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

Jeff Caves

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Graphic for how to increase website conversions
Credit: WPDesigner.Biz

Are your clients dealing with low website conversions? Whenever a marketing campaign is run, and the goal is to convert website visitors into leads, the temptation is to blame low traffic, amongst other issues, for low form fills or appointments being generated.  Just spend more money, you may think! Sometimes, you must look at at least four other potential issues to tackle poor conversion rates. Here are some actionable steps using the IT services industry to increase website conversions.

IT Solutions specializes in providing products, services, or solutions related to technology, particularly in areas such as software development, hardware sales, IT consulting, cybersecurity, cloud computing, networking, and digital transformations. They faced challenges with their website conversions. Despite driving substantial traffic through Google Ads and other SEO tactics, they struggled to convert website visitors into form fills for appointment requests. A 2% to 5% conversion rate could be considered reasonable. Of course, conversion rates can vary based on various factors, such as the competitiveness of the local market, the quality of the website (and radio stations help most to fix that) and its user experience, the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, and the reputation and offerings of the IT solutions business. Focusing on improving the quality of leads and providing exceptional customer service can be just as crucial as achieving high conversion rates. Don’t blame EVERYTHING on the marketing tactics! 

The Diagnosis

Upon thorough analysis, several critical issues were identified with IT Solutions’ website:

1. High Bounce Rate: Nobody was checking out the business. If 70% or more of website visitors only visit the landing page, that is an issue.  It could be slow loading times, irrelevant content, poor user experience, or unclear calls-to-action that prevent them from wanting to know more about IT Solutions. You can check the bounce rate on the Google Analytics page for the website in the left-hand sidebar, click on “Behavior” to expand the menu, then click on “Site Content,” and finally, click on “Landing Pages.” You’ll see a list of landing pages and their respective bounce rates.

2. Complex Navigation: It was hard to move around the website to find relevant information about IT services, and it was unclear who they were initiating contact with and for what purpose.

3. Unclear Calls-to-Action (CTAs): The website lacked clear and compelling CTAs guiding visitors toward requesting an appointment. Simply stating “click here for an appointment” is like asking for a meeting whenever or without establishing value. Here are 28 CTAs for free.

4. Lengthy Forms: The appointment forms were long, without qualifying information, and requested excessive information upfront, deterring potential leads from completing them.

Action Plan

1. Optimize Landing Pages:

   – Redo high-traffic landing pages with clear messaging and compelling CTAs.

   – Showcase IT Solutions’ services as benefits, making it easier for users to request appointments, thereby increasing user engagement and conversions.

2. Simplify Navigation:

   – Reorganize the menu and add more action-oriented links.

   – Provide additional options for users to access relevant information, such as “Get a free IT Solutions 15-point checkup NOW” and “Take this 5-question survey to diagnose your IT issues,” motivating them to book appointments.

3. Enhance CTAs:

   – Utilize concise and persuasive messaging throughout the website.

   – Encourage visitors to take action, whether requesting a free download about “5 things you can do to solve your IT issues on your own” or “get a free pizza for booking an appointment.”

4. Improve the Form Fill:

   – Add a further line about the number of employees who qualify for incoming leads.

   – Highlight the value of leads based on company size, prioritizing forms with higher potential impact.

Review landing pages, navigation, CTAs, and form experience to address website conversion issues. Don’t assume there isn’t enough traffic; focus on optimizing user engagement once visitors arrive on the site.

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‘NHL on TNT’ Gives Hockey Fans the ‘NBA on TNT’ Treatment

Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

John Molori

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NHL on TNT studio

Let’s play a little word association, sports media style. If I say TNT, what is your response? Chances are it will be a three-letter abbreviation of your own, namely, NBA. Over the years, TNT has built a reputation as arguably the premiere network to telecast the National Basketball Association.

The NBA on TNT pregame and halftime shows have become the gold standard with stars like Ernie Johnson, Jr., Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal. Still, it’s not just this quartet of roundball royalty that has fortified TNT’s hoops coverage.

The rep was also built on tremendous play-by-play announcers like Bob Neal and Kevin Harlan, color analysts like Doug Collins and Reggie Miller, and courtside reporters like the late Craig Sager and current sideline star Allie LaForce.

Indeed, TNT and the NBA have become synonymous, but I have some news for you. This network is not just about professional basketball. This past week I went off the grid with TNT looking at their in-game and studio coverage of the NHL.

On March 24, the NHL on TNT provided coverage of the Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche matchup. Kenny Albert did play-by-play with Eddie Olczyk on color. Albert is not as noted as his legendary broadcasting father Marv Albert, but he has certainly staked his claim as one of the best in the business – able to cross over to multiple sports with equal aplomb.

Hockey is a strong suit for Albert. His rat-tat-tat, drama-building style draws viewers in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Similarly, Olczyk is one of the top four or five NHL game analysts in the business. His style is understated, providing calm and clear analysis of key plays. They work really well together.

Albert eschews any kind of hackneyed and trite catch phrases for his goal calls. An emphatic, “He shoots and scores!” is plenty enough.

Hockey is a different beast when it comes to play-by-play. Unlike basketball, baseball, football, or even soccer and tennis, there is a minimum of breaks in the action. With hockey, a play-by-play announcer has to know the names of the players like he or she knows her kids’ names.

To me, it is the hardest sport for play-by-play and equally difficult for a color analyst. In basketball, after a team scores, the play-by-play announcer will keep silent and give the color analyst time to talk until the play crosses center court. In baseball and football, there is ample room for commentary.

Hockey does not offer such space, but Olczyk gets the most out of the minimal amount of time. Watching Albert and Olczyk call a hockey game is like watching Picasso paint and da Vinci sculpt. They are masters of their respective crafts.

Coming back from a break in the game, Albert and Olczyk provided on air commentary and then tossed to ice level reporter Brian Boucher who has grown into a tremendous asset to the TNT broadcasts. Boucher provided real talk about Colorado’s objectives of staying on top of their division and vying for the top seed in the Western Conference.

The Penguins, squarely in a rebuilding year having dumped talent at the NHL trade deadline, surprisingly jumped out to a 2–0 lead in this game, and the TNT between periods studio crew was all over it. The excellent Liam McHugh hosted alongside Colby Armstrong, Anson Carter, and Keith Yandle.

Armstrong was especially entertaining. With Pittsburgh outshooting the Avs 16-4, Armstrong noted that it’s the best he’s seen Pittsburgh play in a long time. His reasoning was that teams get geared up for playing Colorado even if it’s out of fear. Great stuff.

Both teams tallied two goals in the second period giving Pittsburgh a 4-2 lead heading into the final frame. When Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon set up Jonathan Drouin for a goal to make it 4-3, Albert and Olczyk showed their strengths.

Albert called the pass from MacKinnon and one-timer goal from Drouin, and immediately noted that MacKinnon now had a point in all 34 of Colorado’s home games this season. On the goal replay, Olczyk showed how the play developed pointing out how McKinnon allowed Pittsburgh’s Evgenii Malkin to come in close before making the past to Drouin.

The TNT production team then showed a graphic displaying that McKinnon is now second all-time in longest home points streaks trailing only Wayne Gretzky. This was a sublime sequence of symmetry between talent and technicians like a songwriter, musician, and singer creating beautiful music.

What was supposed to be a blowout win for Colorado had now become a hockey barn burner, and the TNT crew was up to the task. Every goal and key play was followed up with replays from multiple angles showing the genesis of the action.

TNT has certainly taken to the velocity of the hockey broadcast with movement that challenges directors, graphics professionals, and videographers.

When there were breaks in this non-stop action, Olczyk was at his best. No hockey analyst draws on his experience as a player and explains that experience better to viewers. The TNT broadcast also lets Boucher freewheel and join in the flow of discussion without having to be introduced.

TNT does not merely rely on the traditional wide shot of the entire rink. We see close-up shots of each goaltender after a great save and the sweat of players on the bench or in the penalty box.

When McKinnon tied the game at 4-4 with 4:38 left in the third period, we got a series of tremendous crowd shots showing the Colorado fans going absolutely berserk. The sage Albert and Olczyk wisely remained quiet for several seconds, letting the cheers do the talking.

When Drouin scored the game winner at 4:06 of overtime, Albert exercised controlled enthusiasm, raising his voice on the call of the goal, but not becoming the show and overshadowing the play itself. He is definitely in the mold of Dan Kelly, Gary Thorne, and Sean McDonough, announcers who enhance but do not supersede the game.

Putting a cherry on top of this hockey Sunday, TNT showed a graphic that the Avalanche now led the NHL in comeback wins this season with 25 and that they were riding a 9-game winning streak. In analyzing the goal, Olczyk opined that the altitude of playing in Colorado was prevalent as the Penguins seemed to tire as the game progressed – really interesting insight.

In the postgame show, Anson Carter made a great point that the chemistry between Drouin and MacKinnon stems from the fact that they have been playing together going back to junior hockey. McKinnon joined in from the arena for a postgame interview. The analysts asked solid questions and even did a funny MVP chant together as the interview ended.

The NHL on TNT takes no back seat to its elder NBA sister. The broadcast provides viewers with flash, dash, and serious hockey talk from every angle – in studio, from the broadcast booth, and on the ice.

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Kim Mulkey Now Has Everyone Anticipating Washington Post Story

I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it.

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photo of LSU women's college basketball coach Kim Mulkey
Credit: Dailymail.co.uk

The Washington Post, you might’ve heard, has a story coming out about controversial LSU women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey. The reason you might’ve heard is because Kim Mulkey told you. The Tigers coach read a fiery prepared statement just before her team started the Women’s NCAA Tournament. In the statement, Mulkey threatened to sue The Post for defamation before the first word was even published.

Now, I’ve never run a public relations firm but that did not seem like a good idea. The Washington Post story on Mulkey is one of the bigger stories in sports right now and nobody even knows what’s in it. The reason the story, apparently unflattering to Mulkey, is even on anyone’s radar screen is Mulkey herself.

It all started with an innocuous social media post by Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde right in the middle of the most anticipated two days in sports, the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. On his X account, Forde posted: “Hearing some buzz about a big Washington Post story in the works on LSU women’s hoops coach Kim Mulkey, potentially next week. Wagons being circled, etc.”

You know what generally will go unnoticed at 4:00 on the first Friday of the NCAA Tournament? A post on X about a women’s basketball coach. But don’t tell Mulkey, she saw Forde’s post and decided to fight fire with nuclear weaponry. The result: the average person like me now is really interested in what has Mulkey so incensed. By “average person like me” I mean that I can’t imagine what headline, under normal circumstances, the Washington Post would have to put on a Kim Mulkey story to make me want to read it. Maybe:

“LSU Women’s Coach Discovers Ark of the Covenant”

Or:

“Mulkey Reveals True JFK Assassin(s)”

Perhaps:

“Famed Women’s Basketball Coach Reveals the Mystery Behind Slow Drivers in the Left Lane”

Literally any of those catch my attention more than whatever will likely be the Washington Post headline about Mulkey. But now Mulkey is “Mad as Hell and is not going to take this anymore” so I now have an interest I would never before have had in this story. It has been fascinating to watch the online speculation about the subject of the article and all we really know, as of now, is that it will be written by Kent Babb. This is a dream come true for Babb; he writes an article that is, presumably, not flattering about Kim Mulkey and, before it is even published, she gives the article the greatest commercial anyone could give it. Babb couldn’t have entered into a business agreement with Mulkey and had this turn out better for him.

For those who don’t follow Babb, he is a former NFL reporter who now is an award-winning writer for the Washington Post. In his 14 years with The Post, he has written sports features and authored a couple of books. One of those sports features stories was a deep dive into what he viewed as a large inequity in the level of pay for LSU head football coach Brian Kelly and his LSU players. It is this piece Mulkey described as a “hit piece” and, based on that piece, referred to Babb as a “sleazy reporter.” Babb, and many others, resented the fact his story was labeled as a hit piece. In fact, Babb essentially confirmed he was the author Mulkey was referencing when he shared the original article on X with the comment: “Hit piece?”

Whether a printed piece or a recorded interview, I can’t imagine a better promotion for it than the subject of the interview threatening a libel/slander lawsuit, especially before it is even released. That simply screams “This piece is salacious!!” Also, libel and slander suits get settled all the time, right? Of course they don’t, they seem to never even get filed. That little thing called discovery is a scary thing for most public figures.

The NCAA Tournament has been very entertaining, and I think the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight will be terrific. For only the fifth time ever, the top two seeds have advanced to the third round which sets up for a remarkable weekend. For me, I guess it will now include a Washington Post article, not a sentence I’d normally say.

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