For the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee social media team, planning around the biggest professional football game of 2019 took months of careful collaboration. Not only were thousands of fans traveling into the city for the football spectacle, but Atlanta played host to dozens of community events in the week leading up to the big game.
In order to make the maximum impact through social, the host committee aimed to build a team of local experts well-versed in monitoring social listening that were also based in Atlanta. That team of top community managers and content creators included a variety of representatives from local organizations in Atlanta, including Jimmy Beck and Michael Nguyen, who have worked a collective nine years on the social media team at Arby’s.
“Social media has become the primary form of communication between organizers and fans traveling for any event, much less a global event like this.” Michael Nguyen, Social Media Supervisor, Arby’s
Starting in April, Jimmy worked with the host committee, helping to develop a plan on how their social channels would become the go-to source for news on community initiatives, events and travel details for out-of-town fans. He also worked on capturing the atmosphere in Atlanta in the week leading up to the championship game, taking over the Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee’s Instagram account and attending the family-friendly, interactive fan experiences.
“A big priority for us in the week leading up to the game was sharing photos and videos of fans enjoying the city, really showing how fun it was to come out to these events,” Jimmy said. “Once I heard the host committee was looking for volunteers, I knew I had to invite Michael because of his expertise and our great working relationship all thanks to Arby’s.”
Michael’s role mirrored what he does with Arby’s, where he used social listening tools to engage with fans in discussion and answer any questions on topics ranging from travel to event information.
“We kept a finger on the pulse of the week, making sure we were up to date on any trending topics, celebrity posts or helping fans from out of town navigate traveling into the city,” Michael said.
Whether they were attending events throughout Atlanta or working behind the scenes in a social media command center, Michael and Jimmy will remember their experience with the Super Bowl Host Committee forever. From growing as interns with Arby’s to becoming an integral part of the social team behind one of the biggest events in the world, it was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience for these social experts.
“The Super Bowl Host Committee was only looking for social media professionals and I know the work that we’ve done allowed us to experience opportunities like this,” Jimmy said.
“I felt like this was such a unique opportunity and something we couldn’t pass up,” Michael continued. “I’m just really proud that Arby’s was able to be part of the big event. It was a great experience to be representatives of our brand around other talented social media experts in Atlanta.”
