THE WORLDS OF SPORTS, GAMING AND TECHNOLOGY JOIN FORCES
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The world’s leading brands in sports, gaming and technology starting to come together to give players and fans a more connected experience. Emerging technology is changing the way we engage with sports and converts supporters into avid fans through unique digital experiences and hyper-personalized content. As more immersive experiences become available, sports are attracting more people to experience it live and in the virtual world.
Technologies such as virtual reality, artificial intelligence and augmented reality will be critical in defining the future of the sports fan experience and how the sports fan engages in real time. For example, our report found that 69% of fans think the use of these emerging technologies has enhanced their overall viewing experience, both inside and outside the stadium. Technology is now an integral part of how fans consume sports. The digitization of sport and the fan experience can strengthen engagement, building brand value, and driving revenue growth. Smartphones offer the possibility to show different camera angles or to track the heart rate, speed and impact of players wearing smart clothing on the pitch.
Record German Champions, FC Bayern Munich, have announced a partnership with international technology giant, Google. The sponsorship will kick-off in Germany with the aim of expanding territories in the future. The partnership is Google’s first such campaign with a soccer club. “As a leading technology brand, Google is constantly innovating and creating new products for an ever-changing market, similar to the deep-rooted values of FC Bayern,” said FC Bayern Munich’s President of the Americas, Rudolf Vidal. As part of the partnership, Google are launching a voting campaign around the club’s 120th anniversary where FC Bayern fans will be able to vote for their most emotional moment in the club’s history using Google Search.
Recently, the National Basketball Association (“NBA”) and Microsoft announced a new multiyear alliance, which will transform the way fans experience the NBA. Microsoft and NBA Digital will create a new, innovative, direct-to-consumer platform on Microsoft Azure that will use machine learning and artificial intelligence to deliver next-generation, personalized game broadcasts and other content offerings as well as integrate the NBA’s various products and services from across its business. The platform will reimagine how fans engage with the NBA from their devices by customizing and localizing experiences for the NBA’s global fanbase.
Ushering in a radical evolution of the user and fan experience, the NBA has already partnered with Nike a couple of years ago introducing a Connected Jersey. Using new NikeConnect technology, on gameday, fans can tap their phone on the NikeConnect jock tag to gain unprecedented access to real-time team and player content. Pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players’ favorite music playlists will all be available on the jersey owner’s mobile device. Throughout the season, a wealth of exclusive offers and experiences will bring fans closer to the game they love.
Similar to Nike in basketball, adidas created a brand-new category of football innovation that enables players to impact virtual performance with real-world play. In cooperation with Jacquard by Google and gamified through EA Sports FIFA Mobile, adidas developed a smart insole that can be placed within any adidas footwear and uses advanced machine-learning algorithms to recognize the actual physical movements footballers make on-pitch including measuring kicks, shot power, distance and speed. The connection to FIFA Mobile allows players to complete unique challenges and hit milestones each week, including improving their Ultimate Team Overall (OVR), unlocking in-game rewards and ranking in global leaderboards. The more they play in the real world, the better their virtual football team becomes.
In line with the campaigns of Nike and adidas, the Extreme Sailing Series have worked together with SAP to re-create sailing regattas and turn such into exhilarating sport events, where fan experience comes first. Besides, the Formula 1 and Snap had joined forces in the past to cover Grand Prix races on Snapchat’s curated Discover platform, allowing users and fans to contribute their unique perspectives through videos and photos to one collective Story.
After all, beyond delivering live and on-demand content, the vast array of data points will be leveraged through machine learning, cognitive search and advanced data analytics, creating a more personalized fan experience that tailors the content to the preferences of the individual fan as well as provides more insights to the company.