We all know the 80/20 rule. That 80% of sales or views or whatever come from 20% of your audience, but marketers are often guilty of being denial about who that loyal audience is.
Anorak, trainspotter and otaku – all words used to describe, with some derision, fans who spend a bit too much time than might be considered normal engaged in their passion for their sport. However, these fans are often the ones that not only generate more revenue than others, but also evangelise and bring others to the sport.
So why do some sports marketing and PR folk ignore the geeks, or worse – annoy them, by producing content for the ‘lowest common denominator’ or taking license with facts about the sport in order to appeal to a ‘wider audience’?
Luckily for the sports-stat nerd, there are still forums where they can discuss the minutia of rules and strategy and the other parts of the sport that the PR interns don’t get and the mass-market media aren’t interested in, but there is also an emerging category of sports tech which is referred to as ‘second screen’.
‘Second Screen’ is one of those ‘does what it says on the tin’ descriptions that refers to apps which are companions to the ‘main screen’. Unlike ‘red button’ technology which requires the TV viewer to interupt their viewing experience in some way, a mobile phone or tablet allows the viewer additional information.
The information provided by second screen apps might be social media feeds or background information, or in the case of sports – live timing and scoring data, different camera angles or commentary or stats – the stuff that your geeks will love.
Some second-screen apps add no more value that following a hashtag on Twitter, however others are taking API data provided free in many cases from rights holders and creating a better sports fan experience. Of course with the advent of truly mobile computing, some of these apps also provide fans at the game with a better experience too.
So while you might be focussed on attracting your ‘wine and cheese’ demographic so that you can sign up more luxury goods sponsors, keep your geeks in mind. In some cases you might even be able to get them to create the apps for you with Sports Hackathons becoming increasingly popular.
Second screen technology won’t make up for putting old photos up and trying to pass them off as new ones. It won’t make up for changing the facts in press releases and thinking no-one will notice. But it will give your real fans something that makes them feel special.
Find out more about Second Screen Apps for Sport. Talk to one of our Sports Tech folk…
