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How AR is Used in Fan Engagement and Sports Media

Software companies have noticed this shift in sports content consumption and changing behaviors, and are now delivering all sorts of high-end and easy to use solutions to fill in those needs. Either working in collaboration with sports leagues or catering to the fans directly, these companies are changing the way we interact with the sporting world.

The overall sports experience is not as it used to be. If in the past, most of what implied fan engagement revolved around Sunday Football or Baseball October, today’s sports fans want to be connected and interact with theirteams and favorite players, 24/7.

If high-depth TV and nationwide fantasy leagues made fans feel more close to their teams and even engage in a more active role than before, present-day audiences are looking to immerse themselves into a participatory-style viewing experience further.

The Rise of Augmented and Virtual Realities (AR/VR)

Even though the MLB is notorious for its willingness to stick to tradition through thick and thin, not even it can deny the need for some technological innovation to keep up with the changing times and consumer expectations. Back in September 2017, major league baseball announced the launch of its new app, aptly called At Bat.

This AR app allows fans to use their phones or tablets by pointing them at the field, look at each at-bat and instantly obtain a comprehensive view of each player’s stats. That’s not all that At Bat can deliver. It can also analyze every play happening on the field, displaying useful data such as speed and trajectory for every single hit.

Let’s also not forget about Hawk-Eye, the VR technology that’s been part of tennis, cricket, badminton, curling, rugby, or volleyball as early as 2002. Its technique makes use of several high-performance cameras positioned at different angles that, combined, generate a 3D image and depict the ball’s trajectory.

As of late, the NBA has also joined the AR/VR club. The league announced, not that long ago, that it partnered up with Next VR and that it has plans to broadcast all of its future games in virtual reality. Even the major league soccer (MLS) is delving into this realm. DC United has been experimenting with various ways of incorporating augmented application technologies to drive more fan engagement.

Sports leagues aren’t the only ones taking such a proactive approach to these relatively new technologies. Individual developers are coming up with their solutions regarding VR/AR to satisfy the fans’ needs. One such example being Fanisko Engage. Not only does it provide its users with these technologies, enhancing their overall enjoyment, but it manages to funnel all other content about their favorite teams under the same roof.

Conclusion

In short, augmented and virtual reality technologies are here to stay. Regardless of whether sports leagues are willing to implement them or not, consumers want to feel more engaged with the teams they love, and AR/VR is quickly becoming the norm in this regard.

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Turning Sports Enthusiasts into Hardcore Fans

Hardcore fans, unlike simple sports enthusiasts, see themselves as part of the team and not just simple spectators in the arena. With this in mind, teams, leagues, and clubs should cater to these needs as much as possible. Luckily, however, this has become increasingly more feasible, thanks in large part to all the technological achievements in recent years.

Hardcore fans are the lifeblood of any sports team, league, or club. These fans are the ones that live and breathe for their favorite teams and are the ones more than willing to go to every game, purchase merchandise, and follow their teams wherever they go. Not all sports teams enjoy this high level of fidelity and idolization, meaning that their bottom line has to suffer, stifling, in turn, their possibility for expansion, sponsorship acquisition, and better results, in a sort of positive feedback cycle that is incredibly hard to break.

Nevertheless, some sports teams such as FC Barcelona, Real Madrid CF, FC Bayern Munich, among many others, seem to be blessed with fans spanning the entire globe. So, what are these teams doing right that others aren’t? And more importantly, what do fans want and expect from their favorite teams?

What Do the Hardcore Fans Really Want?

These fans want to be in touch with their teams 24/7, if possible. And while this was somewhat hard to do, say, back in the ’90, with today’s many social media platforms, like Snapchat, Instagram, or Facebook, this is no longer a problem. Teams and individual players alike can live stream from the locker room or their own homes, all to their fan base delight and satisfaction.

What Key Elements Facilitate Hardcore Sports Fans?

No person is born a hardcore fan, so, certain things must be turning them. Knowing what these are, can help teams to turn them into their loyal fans better.

For starters, and this is somewhat obvious, hardcore fans are usually from the same city. In fact, roughly 60% of all hardcore fans of any given team, especially those that hold international recognition, are from the same town or area as their team. An equally important aspect is the family tradition of rooting for a specific team. It is unlikely, though not unheard of, for children to endorse a different team than that their parents, siblings, and relatives do.

Then, there’s the matter of a team’s performance. Scientific studies have shown that fans whose team won a game see an increase in their testosterone levels. Likewise, some sports fans tend to follow individual players and not the teams themselves. It means that they are willing to change teams as long as their favorite player is part of it.

Lastly, there a matter of convenience. Today’s sports fans are all about convenience and versatility when it comes to their engagement with their teams. And as we’ve mentioned before, this trend has been facilitated, in large part by the rise of social media and other such digital technologies. The downside to this development, however, is the fact that there are too many platforms from which fans engage with their teams, which is somewhat the opposite of what convenience is about.

Conclusion

Fortunately, specific platforms such as Fanisko Engage are fixing that by funneling all this fragmented content, and more, within a single source. This is a win-win situation for everybody involved.

What Can Sports Brands Do to Get Closer to Their Fans

Present-day sports fans are all about versatility and convenience, both of which being possible and facilitated by technology. This innovation is also something that all sports brands need to embrace, sooner rather than later in order to get closer to their fans.

The entire economy is trying to find ways to better adapt to the speed things are changing everywhere in the world. Sports are not the exception. In the recent past, watching broadcast TV and going to the stadium were the two main ways through which sports brands used to interact with their fanbase the most. Today’s innovative technologies, however, are turning that notion on its head.

On-Demand Media

Social media has completely changed the way businesses are marketing their products nowadays. When it comes to sports, however, more and more people are turning to Facebook Live, Instagram Stories, Twitter, or Snapchat and live streaming games instead of watching them on TV. Nevertheless, these social platforms aren’t necessarily replacing TV, per se, but reinventing it.

Though it might seem challenging for some, branching out to various social media outlets presents ample opportunities waiting to be exploited. Not only will this trend open up new opportunities, but it will also allow for a more level playing field where even the smaller sports brands have a chance to be heard.

Live Social Displays and other Ballgame Experiences

Not even stadiums are exempt from this change. If in the past, kiss cams were all the hype, today, these are a thing of the past. Various, state of the art technologies have made it here as well. Snapchat has partnered up with software provider Tagboard, as well as with several teams from the NBA, NFL, MLB, and MLS in order to display live content on the jumbotron. Fans can now post and see live content for the entire stadium and TV watchers to see.

The San Francisco Giants, the Golden State Warriors, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Seattle Sounders FC, and the Arizona Coyotes, among others, are all using Instagram Stories in a similar manner. High-speed Wi-Fi on the stadium has also brought with it other conveniences so as to cater to their fans. The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams are providing in-seat food delivery.

VR/AR and other Reality-Enhancing Experiences

Virtual and Augmented Reality is the next big thing in sports entertainment. Not that long ago, in September 2017, the MLB announced the introduction of a new app called At Bat. With it, fans on the stadium can point their mobile phones at individual players, giving them instant statistics such as arm strength, catch probability, as well as base percentage and batting averages. MLS team DC United is also pioneering this technology in somewhat of a similar manner as the MLB, as a means to get better in touch with their fans.

Conclusion

In short, technology is the way through which sports brands can better connect and interact with their fans. Nevertheless, the sheer amount of content and diversity can become overwhelming pretty fast. Certain fan-engagement platforms such as Fanisko Engage can, however, bring much of this new tech under the same roof, thus giving fans the experience they want, as well as the teams the ability to properly engage with them.

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