Talking Sports And Social Media With LockerDome's Gabe Lozano

For many years, the global sports landscape — amateur, collegiate, Olympic or professional — has represented fertile ground for brands. After all, why would brands pay millions of dollars for a :30 Super Bowl ad?  And as sports marketing has grown in its importance, especially in their pursuit of the all-important 21-35-year-old male demographic, social media has become the centerpiece of marketing efforts for many brands.

Sports and social media, of course, have a natural confluence. It’s where sports fans now rant about everything from their favorite teams to blown calls in last night’s games.

But whereas platforms like Facebook are built for the “social graph,” or connecting with friends, the culture of social is moving towards the “interest graph,” or where consumers are more interested in congregating online with not necessarily “friends,” but those who have shared interests and are connecting, debating, and discussing. 

That’s why we’re seeing faster growth on platforms like Twitter or Pinterest, and most recently, St. Louis-based LockerDome – the sports-focused platform that’s experienced relatively explosive growth over the past 15 months or so.

I recently sat down with LockerDome founder and St. Louis native Gabe Lozano, who has the backing of elites in professional sports and Silicon Valley alike, to discuss his platform, where he believes the social media space is headed, and how brands can make sure their companies benefit.

AP: Why did you start LockerDome?

GL: To connect people around their favorite sports interests, an area of our lives that Facebook does not serve well. As we’ve grown, we’ve noticed that our platform naturally applies far beyond sports. Our mission is quickly evolving into connecting people around their favorite interests, both sports and otherwise.

AP: How do you differentiate from, say, a Facebook or like social-media platform?

GL: Nine years ago when we first got on Facebook, it was exhilarating to connect with people we already knew – friends, family, classmates, etc. Today we’re defriending those same people, not adding new connections of that nature. Whereas platforms like Facebook were built for the “social graph,” or connecting with friends, the culture of social media – as Twitter has demonstrated – is moving towards the “interest graph,” people who simply have shared interests who are connecting, debating, and discussing. More simply put – if Facebook is for who you know, LockerDome is for what you like.

AP: You’ve grown to 14 million monthly uniques in just 17 months. Are you surprised by the growth and speed of the growth?

GL: Not at all. We’ve spent years tweaking our model and once it clicked, we knew we were going to experience hockey-stick growth. Twelve months ago we hit one million monthly uniques, which we achieved in just six months after a major relaunch of the platform; at that point a growing list of people started to become excited about what was possible. Instead of being content with one million, we boldly stated that our growth over the following 12 months would make one million feel nominal. It has done actually that – we are now 14 times the size that we were 12 months back. We are confident in making that same statement again: in 12 months from now today’s numbers will once again feel nominal.

AP: What's the value to a brand on LockerDome?

GL: Instantaneous access to millions of 18-34 males, a highly coveted demographic amongst advertisers. Further, LockerDome's publisher tools, such as contests, quizzes, and polls, help publishers to achieve a greater social media ROI, increasing the size of their social media audience, amplifying engagement, and better activating that audience.

AP: Can LockerDome improve the connectivity between brands or sports organizations and their fans? If so, how?

GL: Without a doubt. LockerDome is built for the interest graph, which is a more natural communication style to engage one's fans than the social graph is (i.e. Facebook).