Sports events drive consumers to mobile devices
April 24, 2008
Bob Walczak is founder and CEO of Ringleader Digital
Sports events create a sizeable, highly specified demographic that gives mobile advertisers the opportunity to connect with an audience interested in something other than news and weather.
In fact, there were three occasions last year where ESPN’s mobile site received more hits than its online site. This flood of consumers creates an audience for brands looking to target sports fans with their marketing messages.
Events such as the NBA Playoffs, MLB opening day, March Madness and the Super Bowl drive consumers to their mobile devices to check scores, player statistics and breaking news. Mobile Marketer associate editor Giselle Abramovich chatted with Bob Walczak, founder/CEO of mobile ad network Ringleader Digital, to discuss how major events such as the NBA Playoffs are influencing mobile advertising and attracting big name brands to the concept of connecting with consumers who are on-the-go.
What opportunities do mobile advertisers have with sports fans?
They can deliver ads around events. Companies that target this demographic tend to be brands that associate themselves with sports and sports fans. Mobile allows these marketers to get consumers to interact with these brands through a number of different mobile call-to-actions.
For example, through click-to-call campaigns, SMS campaigns, click-through banners, sweepstakes, games, GPS and Bluetooth.
Can you describe what kind of consumers sports fans are?
NBA fans are mostly male and are all ages. When talking about mobile sports fans specifically, these individuals are between the ages of 18-30 and tend to be tech-savvy. Additionally the majority of this demographic has data plans and therefore is armed to receive marketing messages. Additionally, these consumers have high spend rates.
How are major events such as the NBA Playoffs, MLB opening day, March Madness and the Super Bowl influencing big name brands?
These type of events influence marketers who are trying to target the male who is a sports fan and not just interested in weather and news. Brands want to associate themselves with a specific type of audience, one that is interested in what the brand has to offer. A sporting goods company can assume that sports fans would be a good target audience.
Can you think of any interesting campaigns that were centered around a sports event?
I know there have been brands that build sweepstakes around campaigns. But I read an article about Adidas, where it had consumers text to a short code. Shortly after, the consumer would receive a voicemail from a basketball player promoting an Adidas product.
The consumer had the option of calling a number where an answering machine would pick up and then it was the consumer’s turn to leave a message. This campaign was great way to get people to interact with the Adidas brand.
Why is mobile a good channel for event marketing?
Mobile is a great way to spark interaction. Mobile works best with other mediums and is very affective for sports enthusiasts because they are often away watching the event. Some companies even do marketing right in the sports arena, since those at the game are obviously interested in it.