More women are becoming sports fans. And fans, in general, are demanding more engaging and immersive experiences. Sports marketing is shifting to new platforms. These are just some of the recent trends in sports event marketing. Using the right tactics, everyone can take advantage of them. So how can you keep your fans engaged and grow your audience?
Sponsor A Wi-Fi Hotspot
In the age when people are attached to 4 to 6-inch displays in their palm, traditional advertising methods are experiencing less engagement. No matter where people are, they are either using their cell data service or looking for a hotspot. The first thing seen when people arrive at a venue is that there are wireless networks available on their device, and your brand name on their screen. And when they are connecting to the WiFi, people are exposed to your brand on the splash page (or splash screen). Once signed in, they are redirected to a landing page of your choice. Convert Wi-Fi into your marketing channel by sponsoring a Wi-Fi hotspot.
No Club Gets Under Your Skin Like Hertha
Making your fans’ experiences unique and cutting-edge is the key to staying memorable in a harsh competition from a number of other sports events. One way to do this is by following the example of Hertha Berlin, the German Bundesliga soccer club the Czech national team midfielder Vladimír Darida plays for. Before the 2018 season, Hertha Berlin offered one fan the chance to get a club tattoo. To enter, you just needed to contact the club and tell them by a picture, video, or other creative means, why you deserve to win a seat for life at the Olympiastadion. That tattoo is more than just showing loyalty to the club. It also includes a QR code that can be scanned as a lifelong season pass granting the fan access to every single home game it ever plays. It is the season ticket of a lifetime in the truest sense of the word. Maybe this is a little extreme stuff. But they did a different thing that has gained a lot of attention on social media and built a lot of buzz. Creating positive and surprising fan experiences can help your sports events stand out from the crowd.
Lions Strike Back The Invisible Beast
Prague Lions are the first and original football team in the Czech Republic and the five-time Czech champions. Just recently, they announced their fight against the “invisible beast”, the monster that has affected our lives this year. One of their players, quarterback Dylan Reda already knows that it is not an easy one. Prague Lions vs. Invisible Beast was a live-streamed online event as long as a regular football match. People could choose from several types of admission tickets for this event, and support their club. Besides the “white” general admission ticket, people could choose among “orange”, “blue” and “gray” tickets with different price tags and different levels of rewards. The special tickets included a 10% discount on online purchases of the Prague Lions merchandise. You could get one, two or three tickets for the raffle increasing your chance of winning a great prize during the Lions’ live show full of interesting guests. And with the “blue” and “grey” ones, you also had a unique opportunity to get discounted 2021 season tickets. The “grey” ticket included the VIP season package and the scarce seat at this Lions’ live show.
Prague Lions are taking fandom to the next level providing their ultimate fans with digital season tickets shaped to be stored in their mobile wallet. People don’t have to worry about losing their season ticket or about realizing it left at home when arriving at the football stadium. Upon arriving at a game, the mobile wallet already offers you the right digital season ticket on the lock screen of your mobile phone. You can just tap and show – even if you don’t have internet access. And any Prague Lions fan can support the club by signing up for the LIONation card, an ultimate digital fan card packed with game-changing features. Prague Lions heighten peoples’ game experience due to the real-time team information and club news, updates, and notifications.
Ladislav Poledna inspires readers to “Become Digital” by publishing materials about digital marketing in his Prague Monitor column and aptly named blog. He has built a career around successful relationships and innovation for the past two decades. At present, Ladislav manages the Power Solutions division of a Fortune 1000 company in Central and Eastern Europe and also oversees operations of the producer’s regional office in Prague. Recently, he co-founded a B-to-B software service company making mobile marketing affordable and easy to use. Ladislav’s philanthropic contribution consists of a long-term relationship with a charity focused on funding dreams for people with muscular dystrophy.
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Mobile phones are long becoming the main “screen” in peoples’ lives. Mobile marketing is no longer an innovation but a part of important decisions. Read articles on mobile marketing to get inspired on how to connect with people where they spend a lot of their time. Become Digital.
