Fans love being able to use their smartphones at live sporting events to access vital game day content, take and post photos and videos as well as interact with fellow fans through social media. While this rise of the mobile tech-tator super fan means a more personalized fan experience, it also represents a distinct problem for sponsors as fans on their phones are disengaged and distracted from screen advertising — meaning that these messages are failing to deliver on their full potential.
However, one technology company looking to improve this space is DROPIT, which has have developed an interactive app which connects teams and sponsors with their fans via in-game, 60-second drop auctions aiming to generate heightened excitement inside the venue. The startup announced Wednesday a partnership with the NBA’s Phoenix Suns that aims to deliver on both fan and brand engagement with immersive, digitally connected social experiences that combine the pace of a video game and the excitement of a live auction.
According to DROPIT, the three-year partnership with the Suns looks set to bring more than 500,000 basketball fans exciting in-game experiences by being made available for fans to use during select Suns games at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The first opportunity for fans to engage with the DROPIT app will be at the Oct. 23 game against the Sacramento Kings when fans will be able to use the platform to engage in a 60-second auction which sees prices go down instead of up with the first fan to swipe up taking away the prize. The offer for the first game is a VIP experience valued at $3,000 which includes two courtside tickets, a players’ locker room tour and complimentary food and beverage. DROPIT also awards all players with an exclusive post-auction offer that sees all fans leaving the venue as winners.
Dropit How to play_WIP04 from DROPIT Inc. on Vimeo.
“We’re excited about this innovative partnership with DROPIT that will help elevate the game day experience,” Suns president and CEO Jason Rowley said in a statement. “Their unique drop auction is another fun and engaging way to entertain fans in between the action on the court.”
Added DROPIT COO Brendan Howell in a statement: “DROPIT delivers on both fan and brand engagement, and reengages fans that are distracted by their phones. We create immersive, digitally connected social experiences by combining the pace of a video game with the excitement of a live event. This engagement continues post-game with exclusive, targeted brand offers delivered to mobile phones, driving fans from seats to stores, increasing revenue and return on sponsorship for major consumer brands while gathering rich data to predict future buying behavior.”
The company has previously found great success with their app by working with local sponsors in Peoria, Ariz. at the Peoria Sports Complex for Cactus League baseball games in which a $15,395 2017 Ducati motorcycle and a $22,280 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport sold to fans for $3,904 and $11,850 respectively.
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Looking to find out more about the DROPIT app and the partnership, SportTechie caught up with Howell to learn more about these developments.
How will DROPIT add to or enhance the fan experience?
DROPIT uniquely engages and captivates fans with an app-driven 60-second reverse auction, where prices go down instead of up, and the first fan to swipe up wins. This real time activation puts fans in a game of “chicken” with each other, generating heightened excitement and anticipation – the longer they wait, the lower the price, but they could miss out if they wait too long. The winner is additional rewarded when their profile picture is displayed on everyones mobile and the video boards simultaneously.
The fans are able to play for sponsor products, or team merchandise and experiences. For example, at the Phoenix Suns v Sacramento Kings game we are dropping an experience that includes a pair of courtside tickets, a VIP tour of the locker room and a hospitality package.
Everyone’s a winner! Even if the fan doesn’t get the main item they are rewarded just for participating by way of the built in prize engine. Prizes can be anything from a discount at the team store to special offers or giveaways from sponsors.
What was fan response from Cactus League?
Overwhelmingly positive. The fans, sponsors and venue loved it! We activated over two days, and we actually saw participation numbers double overnight, with twice as many fans playing DROPIT on day 2 than on day 1, which was an extraordinary leap for a completely new and somewhat foreign concept.
What was just as remarkable was the winner of the Mitsubishi Outlander drop auction on day 2 had specifically come to the game to play DROPIT. He had heard about it through a friend the night before, and he was lucky enough to walk away with a vehicle that normally sells for $22,280, for just $11,850. He was thrilled with the DROPIT experience, which is always exciting for us to witness, but for us the biggest take-home was discovering there are growing numbers of fans that will come to a live game specifically to play DROPIT.
DROPIT_CactusLeague_USA_2017 from DROPIT Inc. on Vimeo.
What is the unique technology behind this? Is this a first?
DROPIT is a world first platform. No other app is able to engage to the level DROPIT does and collect as much valuable purchase intent data. After running an activation we can tell teams and sponsors who engaged, what they engaged with, how long they engaged for and whether that engagement translated into value outside of the venue.
On the technical side the app is native to iOS and Android. The back end sits on top of Amazon AWS architecture. We chose AWS due to the high level of security and scalability it provides. The platform itself is very complex and utilizes a number of different technologies to deliver an exciting real-time experience to the fans.
We have a strong IP position including a number of patents pending, design protection and registered trademarks.
How is fan data collected and shared?
The valuable data collected through DROPIT activations enables sports teams and sponsors to accurately measure RoS (Return on Sponsorship), which can be used to determine whether in-venue promotions are effective and, if necessary, adjust future activations to achieve maximum value. Our technology also enables sponsors to reach fans outside the venue, enabling teams to provide value outside of game day promotions.
The basic information we collect includes name, age, email, gender and geo-location. This enables us to identify who is in a venue. A fan’s participation in activations gives us the extremely valuable purchase intent data that we compile and use to build a profile on that fan. Teams and sponsors are very interested in this data, as they do not currently have access to it.
What other teams or organizations are you working with?
We have a solid pipeline of over 60 qualified opportunities we are currently working on, these range from major league teams to national sponsors. New partners will be announced on our website in the coming weeks and months. Word is spreading through the major league teams already, this is evident due to the spike in inbound inquiries we are seeing.
Any enhancements to the app or fan experience you are considering in the future?
Our core focus is turning uneventful sports game breaks, with predictable ads, into hyper engaging, digitally connected, immersive social events.
We have found that the more often fans use the app, the more they want to use it. From an analytics perspective we have extremely high return user numbers and long session duration. That said, we are constantly making updates and tweaks to the app to enhance the fan experience.
The product team has a 3-year plan to implement some really interesting new innovations and technologies. Our goal is to always push the boundaries, keep ahead of new technologies and, above all, ensure the fans have a hyper engaging and immersive experience that they will talk about long after the activation is over.
This new development from DROPIT certainly sounds exciting for sports fans and will no doubt be sure to have sports business executives watching closely to see how DROPIT and the Suns enhance the game day fan experience through this new partnership.