Denver-Based Social Hub Maker Allowing Fans, Businesses To Wayin

It's the opening night of the NFL season in Denver and Peyton Manning is putting on a show for more than 76,000 fans at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. As the quarterback wows the third-highest attendance in Broncos' history, the fans reciprocate the love to Manning and his teammates from their perches in the lower bowl, the upper deck -- and even from their living room couches.

 

In this new social media age, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have replaced a booming baritone as the only way to have your voice heard by your favorite team.

 

Thanks to Wayin, those voices are being heard (and read) louder than ever; whether it's online or on the LED ribbon boards encircling Mile High.
 

The Denver-based social hub platform is revolutionizing how fans, companies and just about anyone, really, maximizes their social media experience. Wayin specializes in creating social media "hubs" that scour the internet and social platforms based on parameters set by the user.

 

The result is a clean, light and responsive-designed, microsite webpage that collects Tweets, Instagram messages and anything else designated by its user onto a single, catchall webpage. That easily-customizable webpage is then integrated into the user's official website, as to not drive traffic away from their site. And it all occurs in real-time speed.

 

In layman's (and Broncos) terms, think of it as a one-stop meeting place for all things Broncos when it comes to social media.

 

"We're building full-web experiences for our clients and campaigns," says Jack Patterson, Head of Business Development for Wayin. "It's a total sandbox, if you would, to create content."


 

Enhancing the conversation
 

For the Broncos, that means a page tailored to the franchise's own writers and commercial sponsorships, as well as a collection of tweets and Instagram photos from fans -- all cobbled by a hash tag designated by the Broncos to fit their specific goals at the time.

 

Don't think of it as a replacement for Twitter or Facebook, rather than a way to enhance the conversation, says Patterson.

 

"There is so much conversation that's already happening about a brand or product," Patterson says of the Twitter-verse. "What we try to do is say, 'How do you visualize that and drive people to your webpage and experience those kinds of things?'"

 

For a client, self-maintenance is as flexible as it is user friendly. A hub's new theme can be literally set up in moments.

 

Wayin has also partnered with the NFL's Atlanta Falcons and St. Louis Rams, as have the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and the San Jose Sharks during this year's NHL playoffs. The Wayin hubs are so unique, that none of those organizations use their hubs in the same manner.

 

And while Wayin's 23 employees will tell you that Denver's football team was the company's greatest "get" as a client, Wayin has seen plenty of success outside of the world of sports, since debuting their new hub-driven focus in March with a presentation for Chevrolet at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas.

 

Wayin was started in 2011 by Sun Microsystems Co-Founder Scott McNealy. They originally dabbled in social media polling and employee engagement before, as they like to put it, putting all their wood behind one arrow in the social hub game.

 

Success came quickly and Twitter's coveted "certification" soon followed, thanks to Wayin's early work with brands such as Chevy, Turtle Wax and Bank of America -- along with the sports franchises.

Rooted in Denver

 

As Wayin quickly builds its reputation in the international scene, the company is very much grounded in its Denver roots.

 

They'll have hubs strategically set up throughout this week's Denver Startup Week and will play host to several events throughout the week at the company's LoDo headquarters.

 

"We want to make an impact here in Denver. Here in Colorado and throughout," Patterson says. "And tell the message: we think we have a great company culture here, good people. People are working hard to create something cool."

 

The Broncos couldn't agree more. "The ability to work with a great company in our own backyard was a no-brainer," says Sandy Young, Senior Marketing Manager with the Denver Broncos. "It's fun to watch (the hub) unfold in real time. We want to be in conversation as it takes place."

 

Working with the home town team certainly has its benefits. Wayin was able to test some endeavors during the Broncos' Sept. 5 season-opener -- including embedding a time-lapse Vine video of the stadium filling up prior to kick-off, and real-time tweets displayed on the stadium's LED ribbon boards during the game.

 

"We've had a lot of success in the sports industry, because fans constantly want to talk," says Wayin Director of Marketing Kelsey Cullen. "They can be kind of part of the team, per se, even if it's for just a split second on the hub."

 

Now if Wayin could only figure out a way for fans to catch a pass from Peyton Manning.