Article
Are your fans mad about your brand?
With March Madness upon us, here's how retailers can learn from sporting fanatics.
March 12, 2015 by Pat Bakey — General Manager Consumer Industries, SAP
America’s gone mad.
Don’t worry, the same thing happens every March. And, it only lasts for a few weeks.
March Madness, as it has become known, is one of the most famous annual sporting events in the United States. It’s the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Basketball Tournament and sees almost 70 college basketball teams battle it out to become the national champions. And, with millions of fans following their every move, it’s as big an event for them as it is for the players.
And March Madness is not just confined to the US, it has attracted an equally enthusiastic global following. The games are broadcast internationally. Pre, during and post-tournament, social media is swamped with game facts and stats, #MarchMadness is a top trending hashtag, and there’s even an influx of apps to help fans predict the result. It’s fandemonium! But, it wasn’t always that way.
The tournament launched more than 70 years ago and its popularity has soared. Even looking back just a decade ago, the fan experience wasn’t as feverish as it is today. Why? Because today fans feel like they are a part of the action, they are immersed in the entire competitive and emotional experience. And this would not be possible without the remarkable advances of technology.
The tournament is “always on” and moves at a rapid pace. Keeping up with your team or “your picks” is only possible when real-time stats and facts are broadcast, leveraging Big Data technologies. And, we can only see, share, and discuss them on such a monumental scale thanks to the internet. Technology truly has taken the fan experience off the court and into fingertips of a global fan base. It enables them to ‘live the brand’ 24/7.
Sporting brands have got the always-on fan experience nailed and other industries can learn a lot from them — especially retailers.
Today’s retailers are moving further away from transaction-based consumer relationships to continuous relationships defined by experiences. In store, they’re creating truly immersive experiences that transcend tradition — experimenting with iBeacons, augmented reality, virtual mannequins and more. Stores are no longer just stores: they’re "retail destinations." But, it’s what happens outside them where retailers can really learn from the likes of the NCAA tournament.
For retailers, the goal is to create an immersive brand connection across every touch point — whether that’s their store, app, call center, or on social media — and technology can help them achieve that.
Big Data, in particular, is becoming a big deal. For example, after the NBA upgraded its site with interactive analytics, fans spent more than 50 percent longer on it — building fantasy teams, viewing the latest game stats, or just settling friendly bets. That’s because fans — whether of sport, food, fashion or whatever — have a thirst to learn more about the things they love. Big Data can satisfy this demand by delivering exciting insight in a whole new way.
Wine merchants could, for example, use real-time analytics to chart the production of their wines. They could draw on regional weather data, soil information, and so on to give connoisseurs a closer look into the brand. It’s storytelling at its best.
Or, fashion brands could give their fans an inside view of the hottest sellers and show them what’s trending in different parts of the world and when. There are so many opportunities to educate, involve, and immerse fans in your brand on a much deeper level than ever before. So, go on, take inspiration from the sporting field and get your fans feeling mad about your brand. And, if you’ve placed a bet for March Madness, good luck!
