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Random Acts of Shaqness

Shaquille O’Neal Retires… Social Style

June 3, 2011

Digital Royalty has worked closely with Shaquille O’Neal for more than two years to develop his online brand and media network comprised of 6 million friends. Over the course of Shaquille’s historic career in the NBA spanning nearly two decades, he’s had plenty of BIG nicknames:  Big Diesel, The Big Shaqtus and The Big Shamrock. But like many of his fans, Digital Royalty has always seen him as The Big Social Media Center.

As the most-followed American athlete and first verified celebrity on Twitter, Shaquille has used social media to deliver value directly to his fans when, where and how they wanted to receive the value. He did this before it was the popular thing to do. Few celebrities “got it” early on. From performing Random Acts of Shaqness and bantering with fans to posting hilarious videos and inspirational quotes, he has an innate ability to make his millions of Facebook fans and Twitter followers feel like close friends. He has allowed his friends to see the person behind the personality.

Shaquille naturally wanted to deliver the biggest announcement of his career  – his retirement – directly to his fans, the people who have made the past 19 years possible. Digital Royalty Founder and CEO, Amy Jo Martin, was with Shaquille to help him activate the announcement and engage with fans afterward. In case you missed it, view Shaquille’s retirement announcement is here.

A letter written in 1993 from Shaquille’s long time mentor, Coach Dale Brown, was posted to Shaquille’s Facebook fan page for his fans to read along with his retirement announcement. Digital Royalty is launching Shaquille’s Social Media Museum and allowing fans to take a trip down memory lane in the coming days. He will be touring his fans around his home via www.Tout.com/shaq videos and sharing memories, memorabilia and Shaqisms.

Within five minutes of the announcement, #ShaqRetires was the number one worldwide trending topic on Twitter. With more than 175 million users on Twitter who send 150 million+ tweets per day, that speaks for itself. The world was watching and helping him celebrate virtually. Digital Royalty’s Founder and CEO, Amy Jo Martin, was quoted on SportsCenter, ”Shaquille is the media. He didn’t need a press release so the media could tell the world he’s retiring in their words. He told his millions of friends directly, in his own words. The social influence he has built has given him the freedom to leapfrog the middleman.”

So what’s next for Shaquille? A hunt for a new nickname and maybe Kazaam 2? A rejuvenated rap career? Backup dancing for his buddy Justin Bieber or another stint with the Jabbawockeez? Only time will tell, but one thing is certain: Shaquille’s fans will be the first to know.

It’s been an honor to work with someone who truly understands the power of being human and rising above a brand to deliver value how, when and where fans want it. Digital Royalty is excited to play a part in the next chapter of Shaquille’s career. “I’ve had the honor to join Shaquille in his journey over the past few years. His number one goal is to make people smile and laugh. Lucky for us, he will now have even more time to entertain all of his friends.” says AmyJo Martin.

You can follow all of the retirement announcement Shaqtion here: #ShaqRetires

Post image for Fan Finds Magazine Signed by Shaquille O’Neal in Five Minutes

Fan Finds Magazine Signed by Shaquille O’Neal in Five Minutes

December 4, 2009

Shaquille O’Neal completed another of his Random Acts of Shaqness this morning when he hid an autographed Sports Illustrated magazine at the West Side Market in Cleveland, and tweeted it’s location to more than 2.5 million followers. It took a fan five minutes to find the signed copy of SI, and 30 minutes for local media such as Clevelander.com to cover the story. For the complete story, visit http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2009/12/shaquille_oneal_autographed_sp.html.

Case Study: Shaquille O’Neal, Random Acts of Shaqness

November 23, 2009

Background: A fan had been tweeting under Shaquille O’Neal’s name on Twitter, yet because this was occurring prior to Twitter’s rollout of a verification process for celebrities, Shaquille O’Neal couldn’t publicly disprove the credibility of his impostor. Not only that, but if Shaquille O’Neal did create an account on Twitter, how would he humanize his mega-celebrity status in order to thrive in a social networking environment like Twitter?

Approach: Digital Royalty trained the basketball superstar, @The_Real_Shaq, how to tweet both strategically and tactically on his “ShaqBerry” (as he likes to call it) so that he could tweet himself; authentically. Most importantly, to turn followers of Shaquille into friends and brand loyalists, Digital Royalty developed the concept of Random Acts of Shaqness. The idea behind Random Acts of Shaqness was that not only would followers get to interact with a virtual friend in a tangible, real-world way, but followers of Shaquille would be rewarded for following Shaquille and for how closely they followed his tweets.

Results: Shaquille O’Neal is currently ranked among Twitter’s top 10 celebrity users according to WeFollow.com. In addition to having a well-established presence, 2.5 million followers strong, the threat of imposters have been abolished. Not only is Shaquille regarded as an early adopter, but his tweets often become news – a testament to his credibility in the space. Additionally, Shaquille is a groundbreaker for furthering the idea that celebrities on social networking sites can be active participants of a community—engaging, responding and meeting followers. And since pioneering Random Acts of Shaqness, the concept has been adopted by celebrities of all types on Twitter who include Ellen DeGeneres, UFC’s Dana White, Lenny Kravitz and Chad Ocho Cinco.

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