The WCT is into it’s 6th stop and it’s the Hurley Pro at Trestles, in California. Like all the other major surf brands that sponsor WCT events they have a live feed so that millions of surf fans around the world can follow the action in real time. They’re also providing live links and info updates via Twitter. This is all fairly standard. But they’ve also got something new and cool.
Hurley will be running an Expression Session at some point between the contest rounds where viewers will be able to become a fan of their Facebook page and vote in real time for who they think should win the comp. Because of the dynamic nature of the surf industry and the people who are involved with it and support it, they’re inclined to constantly push boundaries. It’s an almost instinctive state of mind.
It’s going to be interesting to see how web 2.0 and beyond changes the way these guys do business. It’s certainly changed the impact and exposure garnered from sponsoring a competition. If you’re skeptical about that check out Hurley’s Alexa rank from the last month and you’ll see what the Hurley Pro is doing for their online exposure.
Here are a couple of things some other brands are doing:
Surfer Magazine’s My Surfer Cover : crowd sourced design with prizes for the best entries.
Quiksilver’s Todcast : Travis Rice goes product testing and films the whole thing.
RVCA’s ANPQ : A quarterly magazine given away and produced by some very credible contributors.
Oakley Surf Report : a free iPhone app.
Fox’s Brigade : A dedicated social community made of the brand’s fans.