Sofa vs. Stadium: Smart Stadiums Redefine the Fan Experience
At Boston’s FutureM conference, Boston Celtics Digital Media Senior Director Peter Stringer and Boston Red Sox Business Development VP Tim Zue discussed the future of high-tech sports venues. Today, the cell phones that are constantly in fans’ laps during games should be recognized as an opportunity, rather than a distraction. For stadium marketers, the challenge is providing a plus-up for all types of fans, ranging from the stats guru to the sensitive, emotional fan looking for content to connect with. Stringer and Zue also reminded session attendees to leverage big data to understand why fans don’t want to attend games, and attempt to create solutions using mobile and/or social channels. A team or venue’s mobile app can help them to upgrade their tickets once they arrive at the ballpark at a lower price than before once tickets go unsold. It can also remind them to post using a hashtag to appear on the JumboTron, and drive them to the stadium's Twitter account providing updates on concession stand lines in real-time.Â
WHY THIS MATTERS: Regardless of the match outcome, teams and stadiums can control the overall fan experience, and it is crucial to provide a good one as ticket prices rise each year. Stringer and Zue also posed a question that marketers love to ponder: If you can’t solve your customer’s fundamental pain point, can you offer them something else that makes them forget about the pain or make it less painful indirectly? Once event venues invest in equipping themselves with the necessary prerequisites for iBeacon technology or even basic WiFi, the opportunities for enhancing a game experience are boundless.
