Newspapers Take Advantage of The Catch… Or Do They?
Newsday and theDaily News are drawing viewers to their respective Web sites by catching rabid New York Giants fans on an emotional high. But are the New York daily newspapers doing it right?
Both are running contests to give a name to the biggest highlight of Super Bowl XLII, which gave the Giants a chance to beat the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
Fans can go to the site and choose a name for Eli Manning escape from a sack, and then throw downfield to a leaping David Tyree, who caught the ball over his head and trapped it against his helmet for a first down. Then, the newspaper staffs will chose their favorites and allow readers to vote for a name.
The viral buzz has been great for both newspapers. The contest details are being posted on blogs and fan sites, and talked about on sports radio talk shows. Sports nuts are even posting suggestions on WFAN-AM’s message board.
But other than tracking IP addresses (and they’d have me down as an Overland Park, KS user though I’m using a company-owed laptop in my Stamford, CT cubicle), what are they doing to collect user data?
From what I can tell, Newsday isn’t getting it done right at the voting stage. It’s a simple poll, with no questions asked of the user. On the other hand, the Daily News asks readers to register before they come up with a proposed name. And they are asking for a name, year of birth and zip code, as well as offering them a chance to receive e-mails. Additional optional information like household income, industry, career and newspaper usage is also requested.
The Daily News is turning fandemonium into a gold mine of usable data. But, now that they are receiving new consumer data, will they know how to use it? That’s a question for another day.
Didn’t see the nameless Manning-to-Tyree catch? Click below, then e-mail this page to your buddies and co-workers.
