Kings win on Twitter before taking home Stanley Cup
Generally, hockey teams try to avoid upsetting the biggest fan base in the sport. But that’s just not the Los Angeles Kings’ style.
Crowned the 2012 Stanley Cup champions Monday night, the Kings -- and the team’s Twitter account -- have grabbed the attention of many. When the Kings eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in the first round of this year’s playoffs, the marketing department sent out this tweet: “To everyone in Canada outside of BC, you're welcome.”
Most sports teams’ Twitter accounts relay the play-by-play action of the games with occasional photos and public relations pieces sprinkled in. The Kings employ a non-traditional approach. They respond to as many people as possible, both fans and opponents, with personal responses and, if the original Tweet calls for it, insults back.
“It definitely works for us,” said Dewayne Hankins, digital media director for the Kings.
He said the Kings’ management group “understands and values fan engagement. If you ask other teams, they would love to do something like this. It’s all about driving engagement, adding a human element and having fun with it.”
The Kings’ marketing department decided early on that they wanted to give the team a voice with an attitude that’s witty and smart.
“Hockey allows for that,” Hankins said. “Because we’re not being robotic, fans feel free to talk and ask questions. It’s our job to respond.”
The Kings have more than doubled their Twitter followers during the playoffs, from 70,000 at the beginning to more than 156,000 as of 9:30 AM on Tuesday. Hankins said it has been “pretty tremendous,” though the “team’s success drives everything.”
Hankins plans on keeping up with the quick-witted style through the Kings’ post-season celebrations and future seasons.
“The style works,” Hankins said. “It’s not a matter of numbers. It’s a matter of engagement.”
Poking fun at their opponents has made the team a 'must-follow' for hockey fans, even those that root for teams that lost to the Kings.
“We get fans from opposing teams that say something mean, and we say something back,” said Hankins. “And they love it.”
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Christina Reinwald is a Summer 2012 Paste BN Collegiate Correspondent. Learn more about her here.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.