It is a safe assumption that the average fan is attending a ticketed sports event with their smartphone or mobile device. In a previous discussion I spoke about the fact that many stadiums are being retrofitted with their own Wifi Hot-spots so that they can accommodate the bandwidth of all that activity. It makes sense because more and more teams are reaching out to fans through social media to engage them in all sorts of manners so it’s only fair that they provide the bandwidth so that they can accomplish that. For a while, a sports event was the worst place to get signal because of the competition of thousands of other fans all uploading to social media at the same time.
Another great way to engage fans who are using social media is to reward their efforts by posting their content on the mega-screens at the stadium or arena. Here is more on that from Chantal Tode who writes for Mobile Marketer. “Attendees will be able to upload content from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to the screens as well as interact with the display using NFC, QR codes, SMS and geofencing. The in-stadium mobile engagements are being enabled through a partnership between Access Sports Media, which operates more than 20,000 in-venue digital displays in sports venues for MLB, NFL, NBA and NHL teams and mobile marketing platform Blue Bite.” (Tode, 2014)
If you’re wondering how would that work and who would be filtering the inappropriate content so that the conversation stays family friendly, well here’s how. “After users submit their content, it is approved by an administrator in real-time and displayed on the overhead screens at the respective sports venue.” (Tode, 2014) It’s a pretty amazing way to keep the fans engaged on social media and it helps create a buzz and excitement in the stadium that is happening in real time. This is just one way that the live sporting event industry is embracing mobile technology.
James May
Sports teams engage mobile fans via in-stadium interactive displays
