Jim Yang

Articles by Jim All articles by Jim

• The Reality Behind Daily Fantasy Sports in Marketing: Sports on 12/16/2014
  

  It's an imaginary game that requires real-world skills. The game is Fantasy Sports. And with 41 million players, this game of pretend has dramatically changed the way that real-life sports are consumed. The Next Big Thing in the fantasy sports league world is powered by tech and is already on a meteoric rise, with pro leagues and players alike taking notice.

• Is Gaming A Professional Sport? The Numbers Don't Lie in Marketing: Sports on 11/18/2014
  

  DotA, League of Legends and StarCraft II are not athletic endeavors typically discussed alongside hockey, baseball and soccer in conversations about professional sports; however, growing interest in Electronic Sports (a.k.a., eSports or professional, competitive video gaming) is starting to shift popular notions of what it means to be a pro athlete playing on a multimillion-dollar team.

• Are Wearables Becoming The Not-So-Secret Weapon In Sports Performance? in Marketing: Sports on 10/21/2014
  

  There's no denying that wearable technologies and fitness go hand in glove. From Fitbit to Jawbone Up24 to Garmin Connect, the wearables marketplace is super-saturated with devices that let users track, monitor, and share every step taken, heartbeat pulsed, and calorie consumed. Even Apple is getting in the fitness/wearables game, with the recent introduction of its Health app in iOS 8 and the much-anticipated arrival of the Apple Watch in spring 2015.

• Using Big Data To Get Ahead Of The Game-And To Win in Marketing: Sports on 09/16/2014
  

  There's little doubt that we live in an era that's all about Big Data. Everything from businesses to politicians-even online dating sites-heavily rely on stats and number crunching to determine not only effectiveness and efficiency, but also to suss out whether or not something (or someone) is a winner. Perhaps no other business is as invested in winning and winners as professional sports, so it stands to reason that stats-obsessed sports franchises are increasingly using Big Data to get ahead of the game-and to win.

• NFL Gets Tech Boosts From Microsoft in Marketing: Sports on 08/19/2014
  

  During the Aug. 3 broadcast of the pre-season opener game between the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants, players and coaching staff could be seen holding and using Microsoft Surface 2 tablets on the sidelines. But these players and coaches weren't merely futzing with tablets for fun or instagramming selfies during their downtime. Instead, the debut of Microsoft tablets in a real NFL game marked the kickoff of the reported $400 million, five-year partnership between the National Football League and Microsoft to help stadiums upgrade their on-field technologies and enhance fan experiences.

• When Losing Is Winning in Marketing: Sports on 07/15/2014
  

  Now that the 2014 Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is all but a fading memory, worldwide soccer fans will have to wait another four years to get their next global ftbol fix when World Cup 2018 opens in St. Petersburg, Russia. While this year's World Cup host country may still be licking its wounds following a brutal loss in the semifinals to Germany, which ultimately beat out Argentina for this year's title, there's still much for Brazil to celebrate. In fact, many of this year's World Cup "losers" may turn out to be winners after all.

• Playing To Win: Connected Objects And Sports in Marketing: Sports on 06/17/2014
  

  As digital trends go, wearable, connected objects and the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) appear to be reaching maximum volume 11 on the hype scale these days. The promise of a world where everything is somehow tethered to the Internet-thus controllable via any and all connected devices-has a certain Utopian appeal, for sure, but the reality is somewhat more mixed. While some reports indicate a steady and rapid rise in IoT technologies over the next decade or so, that unabashed enthusiasm increasingly has been tempered by more skeptical points of view.

• The Toronto Raptors Clean Up, Thanks To Drake  in Marketing: Sports on 05/20/2014
  

  If there's one thing that Canadian basketball fans can't stand, it's the sight of lint. Just ask Grammy Award-winning rapper Drake. In April, the reigning prince of Canada's hip-hop and basketball realms was famously caught scrubbing his sweatpants with a lint roller while seated courtside during Game 2 of the NBA playoff match between the Brooklyn Nets and the Toronto Raptors. Mocking images and memes of Drake's public display of fastidious tidiness quickly went viral, with the rapper also getting in on the joke by posting an anti-lint pic on his Instagram account.

• Google Glass And The NBA: A Slam Dunk Or An Airball? in Marketing: Sports on 04/15/2014
  

  It seems as if every day there is yet another news article touting the benefits of Google Glass in the workplace. As spin-control efforts go, this is a smart, calculated move on Google's part, considering that the novelty of smart glasses might have already started to wear off. While Google's Glass at Work initiative may ultimately unlock some interesting applications in certain vertical fields, particularly medicine and IT, the workplace that seems to be getting the most buzz lately when it comes to the implementation of Glass has been the NBA.

• Connected Stadiums: Getting Fans Off Their Couches And Back Into Arenas in Marketing: Sports on 03/18/2014
  

  Like many sports fans these days, I find myself spending less time attending live sporting events and more time watching my favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of my own home (or my local watering hole). It's not for lack of interest (despite the findings of a recent report that indicated 9 out of 10 men in the United Kingdom fake their love of sports to impress friends and colleagues.) Keeping true fans in the stands for virtually all types of live sporting events has actually been getting harder to do over the last five years-and the decline in attendance is likely to continue.

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