Whether watching the game at home or in-stadium, checking scores on their mobile devices, or planning their next fantasy move, sports fans are always connected to their favorite
teams and players. Mobile technology is consistently finding ways to keep fans engaged. Marketers are trying to find innovative ways to reach out to this emerging mobile demographic.
Here's a look at the large and diverse demand for mobile sports applications and insight into the motivation behind mobile sports fans' desire to interact with their teams, their
players, their games.
Social Media -- In 2011, according to Harris Interactive (sponsored by IMRE Sports), nearly one in four online American adults (23%) said
that they would be using some form of social media to follow the men's NCAA Tournament in March. Of these adults, 27% planned to use a mobile application to do so.
Social Commerce --Visited one of the traditional online team communities recently? Hear the wind blowing? They're virtual ghost towns now; everyone has packed
up and "moved" to team pages on Facebook. Whether it's to find the most current team data and statistics, to stir up some nostalgia among fellow fans, or to post their season
predictions, fans are on Facebook. In the middle of this captive audience of devoted fans is where merchandising and sales garner the most attention. Therefore, the most effective sales tactic
is to bridge team stores to their Facebook page using social commerce tools. The result? Fans continue to interact on the team's page while browsing, purchasing and talking.
Facebook Promotions -- Facebook's promotional power is the ultimate tool when it comes to leveraging social media into revenue. For instance, an average purchase
of $50 by 1% of 200,000 fans whipped into frenzy by a viral Facebook promotion would yield $100,000 in minutes.
Team corporate sponsors should create interactive and engaging Facebook
promotions -- the types of sponsorship activities sports fans prefer -- which capture their attention while continuing to maintain the authentic, relatively "pitch-free" environment
associated with the Facebook experience.
Mobile Customization -- Location-based customization keeps mobile sports fans engaged regardless of where they're viewing the
game. Location-based content is fully customizable by the sponsors to provide special access and features to targeted fan segments. Examples: giving access to a special mobile Web site for fans
only within the stadium; giving discounts to fans inside the concourse; offering customized packages on next week's tickets for fans at home, for fans participating with certain sponsors, or for
fans currently watching the game from the fifty-the options are endless.
Ticket Sales-StubHub offers a mobile app for on-the-go fans to
purchase tickets for their favorite sports teams. The application allows the user to tag their favorite teams, showcases venues and events based on the user's location, and provides detailed
ticketing information, such as venue seating locations. According to StubHub's senior director of marketing, Ray Elias, "mobile innovation is a big growth area for StubHub because our
customers are asking for it."
StubHub is just one facet of ticket sales, as teams and leagues around the globe are capitalizing on the ability to purchase tickets via mobile
applications. According to Juniper Research, ticket purchases for sports and other events from mobile devices are expected to rise to 15 billion by 2014.
Fan Clubs--
The NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins launched a fan club based on a mobile communications model. Dubbed the
Pens Mobile Club, the team has accumulated a fan database of
over 90,000. On April 4, the team "blasted" a message to the mobile fan club database asking for a reply (the word FAN) for a chance to win two tickets to the Penguin's final
regular season game and an autographed helmet. The result: 55,196 unique entries. Such fan clubs demonstrate the CRM ability of the mobile platform in sports.
Accumulating mobile
CRM database information can also be useful for inside sales. Such a database gives teams, venues, and owners leverage for future branding and merchandising opportunities, as mobile users can be
instantly "queried" to showcase relevant demand for products and services.
Text Alerts --
99% of text messages are viewed within a day. The
fact that 97% of Americans have cell phones means that almost all text alerts will be read within 24 hours. And forget about scores and breaking news: fans want to see ticket promotions,
play-to-win offers, and discounts.
Area/Stadium Interactive Features -- Text adds an immediate interactive element to the time out video board. Texting to answer a trivia
question or vote for a favorite player promotes more participation, while giving the sponsor a chance to communicate directly with the consumers
Clearly, the demand for mobile
interaction is evident across a wide range of opportunities. But what is it that drives sports fans in droves to the mobile marketing channel? The answer lies in the experience of being there
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