Have you ever imagined watching a sports game through the eyes of the player, or better yet, a team’s mascot?
That futuristic idea is becoming a reality in sporting events as the Sacramento Kings lead the way in integrating technology into sports. Piggy backing on last week’s eSports post, the Kings are also personifying the seismic shift in the way that sports and live events will be seen and promoted for the future. The NFL, MLB, and NBA are all looking towards the future both with consumer wearables and tech innovations. Improving the fan experience and consumer insights is at the forefront of this growing trend of tech-driven sports. It also means a new medium through which teams, players and sports can increase brand awareness and create value.
So how is the Kings’ owner Vivek Ranadive changing the King’s global brand and influence through wearables and his NBA 3.0 philosophy? What does this initiative mean for professional sports and brands?
Over a decade ago, the Kings franchise was the hot ticket in the western conference, but soon fans lost interest. Despite a period of dwindling fans, the franchise has been at the forefront of sports technology beginning in 2007 as the first NBA team on Twitter and having a YouTube channel with more than 18 million views since 2006. This was just the start to their tech boom when Ranadive acquired the Kings Franchise in 2013 and made groundbreaking changes to the future of the Franchise’s culture and direction. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Ranadive is the founder of the real-time data processing software maker TIBCO! Since his leadership, the Kings have partnered with Bitcoin, Uber, Google Glass and TIBCO’s data analysis software, among others. With each of these adoptions, the Kings move closer to putting their fan’s interests first and increasing their reach.
This forward thinking approach is increasing the Kings’ audience and fan experience, but also changing the way we will view sports in the future and how data can improve athlete’s performance. The King’s innovative use of Google Glass for example could change the way sponsors approach athletes with advanced analysis and through a real-life view. This different perspective offers immense opportunity to be added for sponsorships globally, especially with the growing player-spectator relationship. The fan experience is also expanding globally with the King’s app that includes mobile ticketing functions, high speed messaging, and location based offers. With further data analysis, the Kings will be able to quantify their understanding and insight of fans in order to make better decisions for the future of the team, the game, and their brand in the NBA.
With a projected market of 285 million wearables by 2017, sports and technology are moving to the future together. Teams like the Sacramento Kings have left the “old school” of sports and are leading the way in how we view professional sports both on and off the screen. By maximizing social networking, implementing virtual currency, adopting tech innovations, and increasing the fan experience and medium of interaction, sports can create a global brand and reach through technology like never before.