Commentary

How Brands Are Using Mobile To Change The Game

If you live in the Bay Area (and I do), the recent resurgence of the San Francisco 49ers was a hard story to miss. Even harder to avoid is news about the construction of the team’s brand new, state-of-the-art, greener-than-a-greenhouse stadium just down the road in Santa Clara. Once finished, the arena will be fully outfitted with solar panel arrays, a “green roof,” recycled building materials, water and energy saving plumbing and electrical systems, and a dedicated public transportation extension just for good measure. It will be a modern sustainable architecture and engineering marvel, but from the fan’s perspective the most impressive technology will actually be in the palms of their hands. 

As teams update their stadium infrastructure, they aren’t just thinking green, they’re implementing creative and fully integrated digital and mobile strategies to improve the entire event experience. These tactics provide an organization with even more ways to interact with the audience on a more personal level, and ultimately enhance the overall relationship between the team and its fans over time. 

With wi-fi in every seat and mobile devices in every hand, many teams have created apps that offer stadium-goers a chance to enhance their viewing experience with the ability to order food and drinks, check bathroom lines throughout the arena and easily access exclusive event-specific content on their phones like instant replay, live stat updates and analyst commentary. All without leaving their chairs. But the options don’t stop with apps. Teams are holding exclusive in-venue, mobile-activated sweepstakes, leveraging geo-location targeting to deliver immediate discounts and rewards, providing exclusive mobile-only content and even utilizing interactive digital scoreboards with movement recognition interfaces and social media integrations to activate fans in exciting new ways. And all of these tactics are working towards one goal: Allowing teams to connect with their fans on a deeper level and keep them coming back for more.

So what are organizations doing to further drive engagement, cement loyalty and enhance the experience for fans inside the stadium?

1. NASCAR

NASCAR is a sports league always on the cutting edge of how to use new technology and tactics to retain and reward fans. They recently created a comprehensive race day app that greatly enhances the experience for fans at the track. Complete with real-time track position and leaderboard, on-board car telemetry, driver audio and in-car camera angles the fans know as much about the action as the actual race teams do. 

Race fans were extremely receptive to the campaign, and NASCAR continues to update and improve the app for each new season. Clearly, giving fans access to this high-level and in-depth information and insight made their overall experience at the track better and is keeping them coming back for more.

2. AT&T

Another way for sports and other consumer brands to engage with larger audiences is to work together to provide unique experiences that couldn’t be offered otherwise. This is precisely what happened when AT&T used a sponsorship with the NCAA to provide a real-time voting experience to help fans in the stadium and at home vote for the Naismith Award winner throughout the March Madness competition. 

The campaign drove engagement and increased audience participation throughout the duration of the tournament. With over 20,000 people calling in over the first week alone the campaign was a huge success and a prime example of how brands with complimentary audiences and functions can team up to extend their reach.

3. Travelocity 

Another non-sports brand taking notice of this tactic is the flight and hotel deal finder Travelocity. Recently, Travelocity used a sponsorship with the Dallas Mavericks to offer their fans the chance to win free tickets to a future Mavs game by simply using their phones to respond to a mobile-activated sweepstakes promotion throughout the game. The campaign also offered respondents a free download of Travelocity’s app that offers deals and discounts on flights and hotels around the globe. The campaign had a significant activation rate with almost 20k callers during each game and an app download click-through rate of almost 70%.

Not only did this promotion offer real value to fans on two fronts from two different brands, it shows how mobile can be used to enhance fan experience while also creating opportunities to leverage brand partnerships effectively within the stadium atmosphere.

There is no doubt digital technology is elbowing its way into every facet of our analog lives, and live sporting events are certainly no different. Ultimately, by enhancing the fan experience with this technology teams and leagues are turning regular fans into fanatics, fair-weather fans into full-time converts and ensuring that live events remain an unforgettable fan experience.

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