Game On! Winning at the Business of Sports

Winning at the Business of Sports

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

Game On!

GAME ON: Winning at the Business of Sports2

Winning teams don’t appear by happy accident.

TRANSFORMING THE SPORTS ENTERPRISE

Under the influence of the right coach and strategy, the team coalesces into one harmonious organization, putting aside individual goals to march in step and win. After all, winning is what sports is all about. By default, the sports enterprise and the team must be equally committed to the same outcome if they are to survive and evolve in today’s fierce and ever-changing business environment.

Today’s sports enterprise is a hybrid of people, real estate, and operations—“A Business of Many Businesses” (refer to Figure 1). If it is to survive and grow it must follow the athletic model of cohesive integration and consolidation towards strategic success. It must develop a technologically connected and fully integrated digital and physical infrastructure that extracts insight from data and nurtures every aspect of the organization towards success.

The challenge is to extract a single view from an unintentionally fractured system. By its very nature, the enterprise is the sum of its multiple parts, a collection of many businesses within one, all producing rich and meaningful data independent of each other. It’s a chaotic assembly of cost, infrastructure, and management, working at odds and squandering invaluable resources. Bringing it all together through a single IT platform creates harmony that drives efficiency, measurable results, and long-term growth.

The challenge is to extract a single view from an unintentionally fractured system.


Venue Tickets Concessions/Hopitality

Merchandise Sponsorship IntegratedMedia

Live, Work, Play Real-Estate

Complex

Talent Management

AnchorTenant(s)

Multi-Day/Week Run Events

Single RunEvents

Off-SiteEvents

General and PremiumSession Membership

Game DayGeneral

Game DayPremium

Game DayHospitality Event

Game Day3rd Party

Non-Game DayHospitality Event

Owned & OperatedVenue

Owned & OperatedCommerce

3rd Party Retail Venue

3rd Party Retail eCommerce

LicensedVenue

LicensedeCommerce

LicensedBrick & Mortar

Exclusive &Non-Exclusive - League

PrintLocal, National,

International

Owned & OperatedOn-Premise

Players – Amateur, Developmental,

Professional

Coaches – Amateur, Developmental,

Professional

Front Office

Team Operations

Training/Medical

ScoutingDevelopment/Advance

Owned & OperatedOff-Premise

LicensedOn-Premise

LicensedOff-Premise

3rd Party ManagementOn-Premise

3rd Party ManagementOff-Premise

RadioLocal, National,

International

TelevisionLocal, National,

International

DigitalLocal, National,

International

SocialLocal, National,

International

MobileLocal, National,

International

OutdoorLocal, National,

International

Exclusive &Non-Exclusive - Team

Exclusive &Non-Exclusive - Venue

ActivationGame Day, Non-Game

Day, Off-Season

ActivationAt Venue

ActivationIn-IP MarketTrading Area

Activationthru Integrated Media

Primary and SecondaryMarkets

Mini-Plans

Group

Single Game

A BUSINESS OF MANY BUSINESSES

Figure 1


7

Millions of Fans, Relatively Few Customers

RENT OWN EARN

?

Inspire Acquire Engage

Passive Fan

Uninterested Consumer

Unconnected or Unidentified Consumer

Connected Consumer

Nurture & Convert

Active Fan Buyer

LoyalCustomer

ExtremelyLoyal Customer

Connected Customer

Connected Customer

Connected Customer

Cross-Sell / Up-Sell

1-3 years 3+ years

Connected Consumer

Retain

High Value

Rented: Fans are passive, disengaged spectators, following the team on TV or online.

Earned: Fans are somewhat engaged. They’ve joined a team loyalty club or signed up for the team’s ‘waiting list.’

Owned: Fans have become customers and loyal brand ambassadors. They invest time, money and emotional energy in the team through the purchase of single game tickets and merchandise; multi-game and season ticket packages, and multi-year commitments for season tickets. Now your goal switches, from acquisition to retention.

MILLIONS OF FANS, VERY FEW CUSTOMERS

Fan numbers alone don’t drive ROI. Consider that most fans of leagues or teams have never actually attended a live game. Most are following the action on TV or online so a sports enterprise may only be doing business with a tiny fraction of its potential customer base.

Converting interested but passive fans into engaged and loyal customers powers a successful ecosystem, and vice versa. It’s a symbiotic relationship that requires a three-step cycle of fan transformation:

Figure 2


CREATING MULTIPLE POINTS OF ENGAGEMENTThere is no off-season in the business of sports. Fans have 24/7 access to content through multiple channels and devices with little distinction between game day, non-game day, off-season, in-venue, out-of-venue, and individual customer profiles. Delivering an exceptional fan experience is reliant on getting the right content to fans at the right time. Teams must create multiple, consistent points of engagement with a single IT platform that give their fans a relevant, consistent and personalized experience with the sports enterprise, wherever and whenever and however they want it.


The sport, the game, the league, the owners, the coaches, the players, and the fans, are the content at the center of the enterprise. Where, when and how that content is consumed – live in person, or live or time shifted thru media channels (traditional, social, digital, mobile) - creates a series of communities of passive or active fans.

Sports enterprises that have a great sense as to the manner in which various communities are engaged with their content ecosystem, have the opportunity to generate commerce thru a variety of revenue channels.

With an integrated IT ecosystem, sports enterprises can individualize the fan experience based on the most relevant way that a fan consumes their content.

CROWD-SOURCED CONTENT THAT DRIVES COMMERCE

CONTENT

COMMUNITY

COMMERCE

LOYA

L CU

STOM

ERS CUSTOMERS IDENTIFIE

D FA

N

EN

GA

GED

FAN

FAN

LIVE, WORK, PLAY REAL-ESTATE

CO

MP

LEX

INTEG

RATED MEDIA SPONSORSHIP MERCHANDISE C

ONCESSI

ON

S

T

ICK

ETS

VEN

UE

Figure 3


3

Taking Care of Business

TeamFans Venue

Pillars

The Business

SportsContent Producers League Teams Venue Media Companies

The Sports Enterprise

Desired ResultHigh Level

Desired ResultDrive Revenue & Profitablity

Business NeedsTo achieve desired result

Game Day, Non-Game Day.Off Season

Off the Playing Surface

On the Playing Surface

Infrastructure Operations

Engagement Performance Optimization

Engage Sports Consumers to convert them from fans to Extremely Loyal customers

Single View of the Fan

Single View of KPI’s

Player/TeamSelection

MasterPlan

Single View of KPI’s

Turns Fans into Customers

OptimizedPricing & Demand

Player/TeamHealth

UnitedNetwork(s)

StaffingEfficiency

Contextual and PersonalizedFan Engagement or Experience

Real TimeDecisioning

Player/TeamAchievement

Demand Based Connectivity

Real TimeDecisioning

Accelerate Team Performance Onand Off the Playing Surface to increase success

Optimize Venue Infrastructure and Operations to create connectivity and efficiency

CREATING A SPORTS ECOSYSTEM

Creating an exceptional and meaningful fan experience begins and ends with the artful design and choreography of a fully integrated IT and connectivity environment. It’s enhanced with a deep design understanding of human wants, needs, and meaning states. If a sports

event is the supreme expression of human performance, an immersive experience centered around a venue unbound is its logical and emotional realization. Technology, data, design, and strategy can deliver on this promise.

Through a single IT platform the sports enterprise is transformed into a robust and dynamic ecosystem. A single view of the sports enterprise helps sports owners drive engagement, performance and optimization at every level.

Figure 4


Times, and fans, have changed. Sports enterprises need to catch up.

BRINGING THE SPORTS ENTERPRISE BACK INTO THE GAME

As owners of sports enterprises field exciting visions of the future there is a great opportunity to capture the natural passion and ecosystem of sport to create meaningful and personalized relationship with fans.

There’s a whole world of statistics, sharing, fan base and sports endeavors leading the new frontier of live engagement viewing. Delivering an optimal, immersive experience is reliant on the design of a fully integrated IT system for the entire enterprise. It is critical to establishing a deeper connection with passive fans and converting them into avid, loyal customers.

In the digital era, the walls of the venue (stadiums, ballparks, arenas) are coming down. Physically being inside the venue, used to be essential to the fan experience. Now fans can engage with content created inside the venue, outside of it in many ways. Sports enterprises need to recognize the expansion of the venue beyond its physical boundaries into the digital world. Venues now must also deliver the seamless connectivity and extraordinary experience that today’s fans can expect at home, and much more – give them a reason to invest time and money. Incentivizing that switch, from the connected but passive experience of the screen, to the unparalleled drama of live action, is the core challenge to sports owners and their teams.

Today’s digital disruption and a complex media environment present myriad variables, from integrating technology to determining price point. It’s where fan engagement, business performance, and infrastructure management, must seamlessly coalesce to create a powerful energy force that directly impacts the bottom line. Seasons must last 365 days a year. It’s where vision, anticipation and execution meet, on and off the playing surface (field, court, ice, pitch, track etc.), in and out of seasons. As architects of a supreme fan experience sports owners need ultimate transparency with precise guidance and management through IT and design, to outperform their stellar performers.


Despite all this promise, the reality often outweighs the vision. From the logistics of physically reaching the venue: traffic, public transportation, parking, the vagaries of the weather, and the long, frustrating lines once fans reach the venue; to the emotional and financial investment in the game: high ticket and concession costs in a struggling economy and access to play and teams from anywhere in the venue and even 365 days a year, the fan experience too often falls short of the investment of time and money. While there are many stakeholders, internal and third party, who are responsible for the disparate pieces of the experience, the fan only praises or blames one group for their experience – The Team. All the pieces are there. They just need to be aligned and consistent.

The Three Pillars of a Winning Game Plan

Whether inspiring growth in an existing business, updating an old venue infrastructure, or designing a new stadium such

as Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there are three pillars that are the foundation of a winning sports ecosystem.


The Fans1THE THREE PILLARS OF A WINNING GAME PLAN Unlock the Value of Your Ecosystem: Converting Fans Into Customers

The fan’s ability to build a relationship with a sports enterprise, and their connection to friends and fellow fans, regardless of time (game day, non-game day, off-season), proximity (in-venue, out-of-venue, at home), or relationship (unidentified fan, engaged fan, customer) is the baseline for unlocking the value created by the ecosystem.

Today, a sports enterprise most likely has millions of fans through traditional, social, digital or mobile media, yet relatively few customers. It also might have hundreds of thousands of annual guests in the venue but have no idea who they are.

No matter the action on the playing surface, it is a fact that for today’s tech-savvy fans getting online and seamlessly connecting with other fans and apps is a base level requirement. And yet, technology—the very problem—can also be the solution, heightening fan engagement, retention, and loyalty towards the bottom line.

Today, the fan rules in every sense. A recent Cisco study showed that 57% of fans prefer to watch

the game from home. It meets their expectation for the ultimate experience, which provides the unhindered connection to social media, the venue, and their team. They control the narrative, from sharing their take on the game in real-time with key moments, to capturing those moments without missing a minute of the action.

Fan engagement is the lifeblood of the enterprise. When fans are transformed from passive spectators into active participants, they invest time, emotion, and money in the pursuit. In this context, the enterprise must assume a single view of the fan, designing and providing an individualized experience tailored to their personal and emotional needs. Today’s fans expect to have continuous smartphone access to social media and mobile apps. But that’s just a start. Increasingly venues will be expected to deliver a more personalized experience, accomplishing that by notifying fans automatically about seat upgrades and best parking opportunities, sharing exclusive video feeds and instant replays from multiple camera angles, and enabling fans to place and

receive concession orders without ever leaving their seats. All of these activities, in addition to anticipating the fan’s intent based on their location patterns within the venue, will become a standard part of the in-stadium experience. As a reflection of revenue potential, connected fans become the organization’s most loyal customer.

Consider also that only a relatively small percentage of fans have ever, or will ever, visit your venue for a live game. Most are following on a variety of different media channels, leaving you to do business with only a fraction of your actual fan base “on-premise,” so to speak.

In today’s competitive marketing arena, there is no off-season. Engagement happens 365 days of the year on a continuum that converts would-be fans into loyal, invested customers through integrated IT solutions that pave the path for a singular experience. It is that experience that drives the action that drives results.

EXAMPLES INCLUDE WIMBLEDON US OPEN


The Team

The modern sports enterprise is a complex and multi-layered business of third parties and internal departments overseeing operations, from sales and marketing, to managing the performance and health of team players. It’s typically a fragmented system of silos – on and off the playing surface -- with multiple moving parts that impact the entire enterprise. When sports owners have a clear line of sight into the interdependencies of their operation they get a real-time sense of the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities and transform them to efficiencies when each element operates as one.

Owners and senior managers need real-time insight and a single view of key performance indicators (KPIs) that impact the bottom line off the playing surface and optimize revenue performance. Sports enterprises will benefit

if they understand the attitude, behavior, and needs that drive fan behavior if they are to deliver customized and personalized solutions. IT solutions that secure and connect disjointed information from multiple apps contribute to this seamless business ecosystem.

Consolidating data streams from the entire enterprise through a single IT platform harnesses it into one holistic view, through an integrated system, that aligns legacy, new systems, and third party business lines with a single focus. By optimizing pricing and demand it shapes real-time decisions for business-to-business and business-to-consumer. A fully optimized sports enterprise can scale, grow, and innovate with ease.

An area of the enterprise that creates more data than anywhere else is what happens on

the playing surface on game day or during training periods. At one time, gut and instinct ruled selection, development, health and safety, and strategy for individual players or the team as a whole. Informing multi-million dollar transactions with predictive and cognitive capabilities allows sports owners to make more informed investments around players and team selections, player team health, and ultimately, player and team achievement.

2THE THREE PILLARS OF A WINNING GAME PLAN

EXAMPLES INCLUDE OTTAWA SENATORS WARATAHS

Coordinating the Entire Data Stream: Improving Performance On and Off the Playing Surface.


The Venue

Connectivity is often associated with the fan and the organization. However, a fully functioning ecosystem depends on a connected venue delivering security and efficiency. Seamless connections demand a high bandwidth network that can connect the venue infrastructure (including displays, screens, monitors), fans (Wi-Fi, cellular) and IT infrastructure. Protection against unplanned outages through reliable, predictable recovery and restoration is also critical.

Fans only see the action that relates to them at the venue: getting to the right rest room at the right time; grabbing food between play without missing a beat; getting in and out of the venue without the maddening congestion. However, operational efficiencies behind the scene make it all possible -- monitoring water, lighting, fire, elevators, HVAC, crowd management and theft.

plan that oversees demand-based connectivity. It covers everything, from streamlining security activity and announcements, to monitoring and managing the movement of fan traffic, to clearing up congestion before it occurs, ensuring energy efficiencies, and even tracking the weather in advance to be able to predict attendance and ticket sales. Ultimately, a single vision of the enterprise enables all stakeholders to invest their time and energy in an efficient and profitable process.

3THE THREE PILLARS OF A WINNING GAME PLAN

They are equally important to an exceptional fan experience, and the cost infrastructure that impacts the bottom line. When venues are saddled with an old and outdated infrastructure with no central point of IT command to manage and oversee the various operations, there is no quick way to connect the disparate efforts and measure how they track or better deliver a single experience.

As the sum of its myriad parts, a sports enterprise involves businesses within a business: multiple vendors working in one space. There may be as many as eight different groups working in silos to accomplish their individual goals. Optimizing the venue by bringing all the separate components of the enterprise together in an IT ecosystem touches concerns that are big and small. An integrated approach, for example, can create a unified infrastructure with a master

EXAMPLES INCLUDE AUSTRALIAN OPEN MERCEDE Z-BENZ

Connect and Control: Optimizing the Venue


10 to 33%

30 to 50%30%

32%583%

80%Energy savings for green IT

Less network infrastucture material used

CAPEX and OPEX savings

Lift in engagement

Lift in revenue from the email channel

ROI in the first 4 months of launch

Developing the right ecosystem goes beyond the integration of fans, team, and venue. At its core, the ability to think differently about how the environment and content fit together to create a symbiotic whole has massive revenue implications. Integration cements the brand and drives sales and profitability with a level of impact that has yet to be calculated. The benefit of developing the sports enterprise as a singular ecosystem with an integrated IT platform at its core is significant.

THE FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF THE HOLISTIC WHOLE

Figure 5

Our Strategy & ApproachIBM’s vision and strategy for a dynamic sports enterprise is focused

on your revenue and profitability growth.


Design

VenueTickets

MerchandiseConcession/Hospitality

SponsorshipIntegrated MediaLive, Work, Play-

Real-Estate ComplexTalent Management

Design Build Manage

ENGAGEMENT PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATION

Fans Team Venue

Technology

Data Strategy

IBM’s vision and strategy for a dynamic sports enterprise is focused on your revenue and profitability growth. Our approach fuses strategy, design, data and technology to drive superior fan engagement, improve team performance and optimize the venue. This is the foundation of our unique approach that creates an agile whole. When it is put into play the entire enterprise performs as one streamlined organization, measuring, tracking, and responding to real-time data that drives every opportunity to increase revenue and profitability growth. We transform the entire franchise from a fragmented business into a living, breathing ecosystem.

Figure 6


So, how do we bring it all together? We’ve talked about fan engagement, team performance, and venue optimization – now let’s see how the fan experience transforms when it is all integrated to deliver a seamless personalized engagement for an individual fan. Remembering the three contextual dimensions of Fan Experience – Time, Proximity, and Relationship—let’s consider the journey of Adrian and his son Quinton as they enjoy a game at the venue as loyal customers (season ticket members). Their individual experiences are crafted from an experience of many, to a personalized fan engagement, drawing upon the sports enterprises’ infrastructure, data management platform, and the delivered experience.

THE TRANSFORMATIVE SPORTS ENTERPRISE JOURNEY MAP

Adrian 43Adrian, 43

Quinton 13Quinton, 13

Season Ticket Holder - 8 years

Meets his regular friends before every game

Wants his son to have a good time

Son’s safety is paramount

Is on a budget

ADRIAN’s Son

Player is his favorite player

Enjoys hanging with his dad and continuing to learn about the game

Always communicating with his friends via his mobile

Doesn’t have a wallet

46%ALWAYS

CONNECTED

82%ALWAYS

CONNECTED

Digital Somewhat Native

Somewhat Social Online

Old School - Box Scores, News sites, Game Recaps

Digital Native

Heavy Social Online

New School - Real-time video, highlights and stats


THE TRANSFORMATIVE SPORTS ENTERPRISE JOURNEY MAP (CONTINUED)

1 Anticipates the game day ritualAdrian is sent suggested travel times to get to the venue 2 hours before kickoff, his preferred time.

2 Predicts routes from captured traffic data As the venue comes into view, Adrian is rerouted around traffic congestion and directed to his parking lot.

3 Improves parking in real-time Adrian has already prepaid for parking and is guided through the Fast Lane and is guided to a spot closest to the stadium.

4 Helps fans find friends & family Adrian pulls up his app and sees that Aaron and his long-time die-hard friends have made their way to the usual pregame spot for a pint and a bite.

5 Knows ticket buyer & ticket holder Adrian’s son Quinton follows his favorite player for his entire pregame warm-up through a special season-ticket only camera feed.

6 Guides fans w/ Virtual Queue Management It’s 30 minutes to kickoff and Adrian gets pro-actively rerouted to avoid heavy crowds at his normal entrance.

7 Virtually suggests the fan’s next move A bit dismayed he accepts the reroute and immediately gets an offer to upgrade his seats closer to the field for the inconvenience.

8 Right-sizes commerce packages As halftime approaches, Adri-an is able to confirm his usual concessions order and have it delivered to his upgraded seats. He doesn’t want to miss any action with his team driving in the closing minutes of the first half.

9 Avoid the rush to key amenities The restroom facilities are busy at half, so he and Quinton keep track of wait times while watching the halftime festivities and eating.

10 Syncs with real-time fan preferences Adrian is offered a 20%-off for 2 of Quinton’s favorite player following a touchdown. He can have them ready for pickup after the game or delivered to his seat.

11 Distributes user generated content in real-time It’s 30 minutes to kickoff and Adrian gets pro-actively rerouted to avoid heavy crowds at his normal entrance.

12 Decreases egress friction with relevant diversion Adrian gets an estimate for the drive home. It’s going to be a long ride. Good thing he pre-sented with some options to kill time around the venue. He decides a former player guided tour of the Hall of Fame.

13 Automates content distribution with data

On the ride home Quinton starts to share with his dad some stats about his favorite player. His favorite player ran almost 6 miles during the game, translating to a full minute more of running than any other.

14 Builds and reinforces loyalty

A few days later Adrian receives dynamic personalized content marketing that antici-pates his enjoyment level at the match and features offers or specials to reward/reinforce his season ticket status.

Custom push delivery automation

Profile Triggers

IOC/Smarter City

DELIVERING EXPERIENCES

DATA MANAGEMENT PLATFORM

INFRASTRUCTURE

Map integration to native device

Third-Party Data Aggregation & Integration

IOC/Smarter City

Ticketing & parking user flows & integration to device payment

Geo-Location, Profile Triggers

IVA Platform

Dynamic around-venue map with contextual views

Social Connection, Geo-Location

Wireless Connectivity

Video streaming & video player console customization

Relationship/Profile Mapping

Wireless Connectivity, IPTV Content Integration



INFRASTRUCTURE

Dynamic around-venue map with contextual views

Geo-Location, Real-time Queue Feed Integration

IVA Platform

Fan & Operations dashboard views for stadium seating indicators

Next Best Action & Offers

Wireless Infrastructure, IVA Platform

Dynamic in-venue map with contextual way-finding

Geo-Location, Real-Time Queue Feed Integration

IVA Platform

Marketing & commerce integration & supporting communication templates

Purchase Behavior, Profile Preferences, Next Best Action, Geo-Location POS, Wireless Connectivity

Concessions ordering user flow, Operations dashboard view

Geo-Location, Profile Triggers

IVA, POS Infrastructure, Wireless Connectivity

FanHub/Social interaction Second-Screen Experience

Social Feed, Real-time Content Analytics

Wireless Connectivity, IPTV Integration



INFRASTRUCTURE

HOF second-screen experience

Next Best Action, Third-Party Traffic Data

IOC Software Platform

Player data visualization & delivery (coaching/scouting & fan dashboards)

Player Data Tracking Integration

RFID

Traditional digital & in app dynamic personalized marketing

Profile Triggers, Loyalty Platform

Cloud Data Services


TEAM IBM

14

A Unified Team is a Win for Everyone

IBM Design Thinking Parallel with your visioning

Fusion of design, strategy, technology and data

Driven by future state

Action oriented

One IBM Caters to all business needs

Comprehensive and integrated solution suite

Single point of contact

Local and global execution

Skills and expertise

The Cognitive Business Journey Understand and analyze quantum of

unstructured data

Sports consumer's personality characteristics & attitudes

Relevant content and news

Improved player health

In a market undergoing radical changes the customer is all. There’s no longer a distinction between business strategy and how the fan experience is designed. Investment in IT is no longer just an IT investment; it is a strategic engine to drive revenue and profitability growth. The business must impact their customers at a personal level so that their highest level of expectation becomes the minimal experience for all future interactions. When a fan has a poor experience at a venue the opportunity to convert

them into a loyal customer who generates word of mouth recommendations is lost.

Fans interact with their favorite team, player, or sport with the access that sports enterprises give them through multiple devices and channels. IBM’s end-to-end technology capabilities and design thinking help sports enterprises gain a single view of their enterprise to help them transform into an ecosystem that allows scalability and growth.

Figure 7

Parallel with your visioning

Fusion of design, strategy, technology and data

Driven by future state

Action oriente

Caters to all business needs

Comprehensive and integrated solution suite

Single point of contact

Local and global execution

Skills and expertise

Understand and analyze quantum of unstructured data

Sports consumer’s personality characteristics & attitudes

Relevant content and news

Improved player health


40

The Transformative Sports Enterprise Architecture Here’s how it all plays out…

Interactive Experiences

Personalized Content

Real-time Actionable

Insights Data

ManagementAs-a-Service

Delivery Integration Security• Marketing • Commerce

• Predictive Analytics • Cognitive Analytics

• Master Data • Data Lake

• Cloud • Mobility Services • Location Services

• Data Exchange• APIs

• Identity Management

• Access Control

Infrastructure• Network • Systems & Support • Cabling • Building Management Services • Physical Space40

The Transformative Sports Enterprise Architecture Here’s how it all plays out…

Interactive Experiences

Personalized Content

Real-time Actionable

Insights Data

ManagementAs-a-Service

Delivery Integration Security• Marketing • Commerce

• Predictive Analytics • Cognitive Analytics

• Master Data • Data Lake

• Cloud • Mobility Services • Location Services

• Data Exchange• APIs

• Identity Management

• Access Control

Infrastructure• Network • Systems & Support • Cabling • Building Management Services • Physical Space

IBM Sports Enterprise Solutions can bring unique experience and capabilities to design the experience and help sports enterprises differentiate through cognitive capabilities. Co-creation is our point of difference. We work iteratively, drawing on strategy, solutions, and our client’s knowledge as the expert of their own business to positively impact their bottom line. At IBM, our endeavor is to cater to all the IT needs of a sports enterprise and help them benefit with a single point of contact to drive efficiencies.

Figure 8


IT’S A WHOLE NEW GAMEThe sports enterprise of the future goes beyond the venue, beyond the broadcast, into the fabric of fans’ lives through their devices and their passions, creating a new definition of fan experience and engagement. Consolidating the three pillars of fans, team, and venue paves the way for a single view of the entire ecosystem that is critical to staying ahead of the game.

Figure 9

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Winning ExperiencesFan Engagement


A Digital Experience Capturing The Moments That MatteredIBM creates a new adaptive, responsive web and mobile platform that puts content in context – giving fans unique access to real-time data and shot-by-shot analysis.

To supply its digital platforms with the most compelling possible content, the team took advantage of a unique advantage: its access to real-time, shot-by-shot data on every match played during The Championships. Over the course of the Wimbledon fortnight, 48 courtside experts captured approximately 3.4 million data-points, tracking the type of shot, the strategies and the outcome of each and every point. This data was collected and analyzed in real time to produce statistics for TV commentators and journalists – and also for the digital platform’s own editorial team.

The ability to capture the moments that matter and uncover the compelling narratives within the data, faster than anyone else, was key. If you wanted to experience the emotions of The Championships live, the next best thing to being there in person was to follow the action on wimbledon.com.

WIMBLEDON 2015

Harnessing the power of natural languageIn addition, IBM’s natural language processing technologies were used to help mine the huge library of tennis history for interesting contextual information. The team trained IBM Watson™ Engagement Advisor to digest this rich unstructured data set and use it to answer queries from the press desk. The same natural language processing front-end was also connected to a comprehensive structured database of match statistics, dating back to the first Championships in 1877 – providing a one-stop shop for both basic questions and more complex inquiries.

The strategy and execution led to:• 71 million visits to the digital platform, a 13 percent year-on-year increase• 21.1 million unique devices connected to the platform, a 23 percent increase• 125% increase in the number of unique mobile visitors• Engaged fans with real-time, shot-by-shot analysis, a first in tennis• Coverage on digital sites with social media analytics to focus on hot topics


Data, applications and predictive analytics deliver remarkable digital experiences.

IBM’s solutions provided the USTA with the capabilities necessary to host a connected and accessible world-class tournament. Support and management of the US Open website by IBM helped deliver data to fan experiences, which supports USTA engage fans, drives revenue through ads and sponsorships. The Official US Open Digital properties continued with steady growth in 2015. Throughout the 14 days of the 2015 Tournament usopen.org digital properties surpassed the 15 day totals from the 2014 US Open with 16.2 million unique visitors, a 3% increase over 2014; 64.5 million visits, a 10.5% increase over 2014, in which over 82% of all visitors returned multiple times a day; and 439.8 million page views, the second highest in tournament history.

US OPEN

IBM created a scoring system network and database to house over 41 million data points compiled from various feeds, such as historical statistics. IBM Slamtracker, a feature on US Open’s website and digital applications, visualizes data and predictive analytics to give fans insight into featured matches. IBM partnered with the USTA and delivered remarkable digital experiences that American Express sponsored.

25

Winning ExperiencesTeam Performance


Identifying Fan Engagement Opportunities

• Fan Insights and Clustering: Identify and make sense of fan attitudes, behavior trends, and psychographic characteristics to identify individual fan preferences and offer more personalized interactions. • Fan Experience Effectiveness: Provide visual analysis of fan interactions and uncover opportunities for greater brand and fan interactions.• Lead Scoring: Drive more effective target offers for renewals, upsells and incentives for new customers to maximize revenue.• KPI Dashboard: Track the success and ROI on key initiatives and campaigns, review and audit all fan metrics, and enable business user discovery and analysis. • Data Warehouse Strategies: Aggregate all data source opportunities including governance, data capture opportunities and existing sources into a cloud-based warehouse.

OTTAWA SENATORS

With access to more data about fans than ever before, the Ottawa Senators professional hockey club realized it was an incredible resource they could use for engaging their fans where, when and how they want to be reached while increasing their own operational efficiency. Using IBM’s Behavior Based Fan Insight predictive analytics solution the Ottawa Senators can inform every aspect of the organization, including marketing and ticketing teams, to personalize and tailor communications, as well as enhance the venue experience, and boost ticket sales. The Senators plan to use the solution in five key areas:


Using Predictive Analytics To Reduce Player InjuryAnd Optimize Team Performance

NSW WARATAHS RUGBY TEAM

To improve athletic performance and increase injury resilience to ensure that players spend the most amount of time possible on the field, the NSW Waratahs plan to use IBM predictive analytics technologies to monitor its thirty-five strong player squad.

The analysis predicts the likelihood of a particular player being injured, which then enables the NSW Waratahs coaching team to adapt and modify each player’s personalized training program to maximize their training load and minimize their risk of injury.

The NSW Waratahs will collect player data from a range of sources to build a clear picture of each individual player’s welfare and performance. This includes a GPS tracker fitted to each player to measure and monitor intensity levels, collisions, and fatigue during training and matches. The GPS data is then combined with medical data, wellness data and player data, and over a period of time, clear patterns and early warning signs start to emerge. The long-term project for predictive insights will provide the Waratahs a critical opportunity to anticipate an injury and change the variables that put players at risk.

28

Winning ExperiencesOptimizing Venue


First-of-a-Kind Fan Experience Mobile Wireless Support

MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM

With a new stadium slated to open in 2017, AMB Sports & Entertainment (AMB S&E), which includes the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC and Mercedes-Benz Stadium, recognized it had an opportunity and an obligation to reinvent the stadium experience for its increasingly connected fan base. The company was committed to delivering an unparalleled interactive game and event day fan experience and leveraging the latest mobile, analytics, cloud and security technologies to push relevant, timely and personalized content. Understanding what was at stake, AMB S&E is deploying a converged fiber network to provide fast, reliable connectivity and pervasive high-density (HD) WiFi coverage stadium-wide. The converged fiber network with PON/DAS

is designed to provide fans and guests with greater control by integrating physical security, power and point-of-sale systems onto the same fiber backbone. Unique features like a 360-degree, 63,000-square foot HD halo scoreboard above the stadium ceiling and more than 2,500 video displays will bring Falcons and Atlanta United fans closer to the action than ever before. Specialty services like in-seat ordering and better crowd management will improve the fan experience. At the same time, personalized offers, viewer polls and upcoming event notifications will provide the organization with new sources of revenue. The AMB S&E objective is to reset the bar for the game-day and event experience while creating a prototype for sports and entertainment venues everywhere.


Real-time crowd tracking and social media analytics used to enrich fan experience

With a new cloud-based crowd-tracking solution, fans attending the Australian Open got a real-time, top-down view of where they were, along with a detailed heat-map view of crowd density that steered them either to — or from — the most popular areas. Real-time snapshots of courtside social media buzz helped fans make that choice. For event organizers, seeing traffic patterns — which places fans went, which routes they took and how long they dwelt — helped guide placement strategies and other operational decisions.

Tennis Australia can now engage its onsite fans more deeply in the Australian Open, providing a richer and more memorable experience. With insights into dwell time and flow of foot traffic, the organization improved its ability to optimize its operational decision making in areas such as traffic flow design, security planning and the placement of sponsor activities, food and beverage vendors, and fan engagement activities.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN

Cloud managed by analytics

In the past, monitoring Tennis Australia’s server workloads, and the adjusting resources, has been a manual and reactive task. But once Tennis Australia started applying IBM analytics, they gained the ability to accurately predict, allocate, monitor and adjust capacity. It was done quickly, easily, and more cost effectively than ever.

IBM technology automatically assigns the computing power required by the Australian Open website based on real-time analytics of the tournament schedule, player popularity, historical data and social media conversations. IBM Watson Foundations (Big Data and analytics) technologies are used to forecast Internet traffic to the Australian Open digital platforms, with IBM Cloud Orchestrator software automatically increasing or decreasing capacity accordingly. The result is just the right amount of resources to deliver a great visitor experience, and minimal energy and money wastage.

Documents

Game On! Winning at the Business of Sports