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Sunday, November 24, 2024
Oracle

Live Sports Are Now High-Tech Experiences. Here’s How Everything Changed.

Sponsored by
By — Front Office Sports
Posted — February 15, 2024

Oracle is leading the technology revolution happening in stadiums across the world.

The electrifying atmosphere of a live sporting event has long been a magnet for fans worldwide, creating an undeniable allure that transcends borders and cultures. The pulsating energy within stadiums, the camaraderie among supporters, and the thrilling moments on the field all contribute to an experience that's cherished by sports enthusiasts.

As the digital age speeds ahead, technology increasingly becomes an indispensable tool in transforming and enhancing the fan experience. Across live sports, we’re witnessing an unprecedented evolution in the fan experience. At the forefront of this movement stands Oracle, and they have a head start on monetizing fandom by creating opportunities for fans to enthusiastically increase their per cap spending at live sporting events like never seen before.

Oracle has long been an industry leader in one of the most important in-venue verticals for fans: point of sale—a major factor in optimizing operations and efficiency in venues. The next area of focus is their Oracle Payments platform, a natural extension of the transaction platform solution set to deliver a unified view of sales and revenue, and an overall simplification of operations.

All of this points to a key emerging category: year-round fan loyalty and engagement. This is where Oracle plans to leverage actionable data as the cornerstone of its strategy. In many ways, and especially because of their vast reserves of data, Oracle is the company best equipped to bridge the gap between the in-venue and out-of-venue behavior of fans.

As we’ve seen in recent years, the digital shift has reshaped the entire fan journey within sports arenas. Gone are the days of enduring long queues for concessions or merchandise; instead, fans now enjoy the convenience of seat ordering and grab-and-go services.

Personalized advertising has replaced generic mass marketing, allowing for tailored experiences that resonate with individual preferences. What was once a series of routine transactions has evolved into dynamic, personalized engagements, while the introduction of detailed fan profiles has enhanced the understanding of fan behaviors and preferences.

Oracle’s suite of technological solutions, notably Simphony and CrowdTwist, serves as the linchpin in enabling these revolutionary changes. Simphony optimizes stadium operations, streamlining processes to heighten efficiency and elevate the overall fan experience. Meanwhile, CrowdTwist’s fan engagement capabilities gather insights, fostering a stronger connection between sports entities and their dedicated fanbase.

Unraveling the concept of Fan Lifetime Value represents the next frontier in fan engagement. Oracle acknowledges that the most devoted fans yield substantial revenue, both during the sports season and beyond.

Through the detailed analysis of fan data, Oracle unveils insights into purchasing behaviors, content consumption patterns, seating preferences, and favored players. This wealth of information fuels personalized offerings, such as exclusive discounts on merchandise or concessions, tailored precisely to individual fan preferences.

In the future, we can expect some incredible innovations across the industry. For example:

  • Increase In-Venue Revenue
    1. If we know a season ticket holder traditionally checks into the venue five minutes before kickoff, Oracle can send them a 10% discount code for their first beer if used an hour before gametime, knowing this will increase per cap spend.
  • Enhance Out-of-Venue Monetization
    1. Deliver personalized, gamified experiences year-round—exclusively served to fans in selected demographics—where the more the fan engages and/or spends with the team, the more points the fan earns towards future redemption opportunities.
      1. Participating in the team’s Free to Play game—served to sports bettors
      2. Buying limited edition merchandise—served to fans with an interest in fashion.
      3. Buying sponsored products and engaging with sponsored content—served to fans in each company’s core demo.
      4. Engaging with Oracle’s in-game insights feature while watching at home—and sharing their predictions on social media with a sponsored hashtag—served to hardcore fans who consume team and player data.
    1. If a fan completes 3-plus team experiences, they receive a personalized shoutout from a star player on social media—a moment they will never forget.
  • Blending the Two While Deepening Fan Engagement
    1. If a superfan has engaged with social media content about a particular football player, read editorial content about them, or bought their jersey, their loyalty score will level up a tier. Then, if that player crosses 100 yards rushing in the game or scores multiple touchdowns, we can serve their superfan a promo code to redeem in or out of venue:
      1. In Venue: Sponsored experience upgrade (field level access or invite to post-game presser), brought to you by official team partner.
      2. Out of Venue: Discount code to leverage at one of the team’s brand partners retail stores.
    1. Incentivizing out-of-venue engagement, tying that to on-field performance, and ultimately increasing fan loyalty and engagement and commercial inventory and monetization.

As technology continues to advance, the future promises an even more thrilling and interactive experience for sports enthusiasts worldwide, both on and off the field.

By bridging the divide between in-venue and out-of-venue experiences and harnessing the power of data-driven insights, Oracle is set to redefine the very essence of how fans engage and interact with their favorite sports.

The ongoing evolution of modern sports venues brings about a wave of excitement and anticipation. However, the prevailing segmentation of fan audiences remains a persistent challenge—but as we can see, all of that is beginning to change.

When a business learns about fans and their behavior on the detailed level that Oracle’s technology allows them to, there’s incredible potential to sharpen every aspect of a venue’s operational process and ultimately increase the per cap spend of each fan. And the beauty of monetizing fan behavior based on authentic insights is that at the core of these transactions is a meaningful understanding of your fans’ love for their team and the game.

Learn more about Oracle today.