Rugby, as a sport, shouldn’t be overlooked, with respects to its foray into technological advancement.
What has begun as an early adopter of GPS technology on the field, experimentation with instant replay has ensued–in spite of conflicting views. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the English Premiership’s Saracens is wearing X2 Biostems’, a Seattle-based startup, xPatch device to monitor concussions; they want to collect because they want “answers.” Meanwhile, an ongoing exhibition to highlight Oculus Rift’s tech at the O2 is taking place for fans, where nine GoPro Hero 3 cameras came together in a unique gimble insofar as to show off the former’s capabilities. All of these ventures purport rugby’s widespread tech movement.
This acceleration, likewise, has virtually been apparent for Experience, an Atlanta-based company specializing in mobile seat upgrades.
They first partnered with 11 different sports organizations. Experience then reached a seminal deal with Live Nation and Ticketmaster to delve into the music arena, too. In a little over a few years, they have been acquired by fellow Atlanta-grown Cox Communications, which happens to be of one of their early investors as well. Being under Cox’s purview means a deliberate alliance to scale further and into new territories, besides the over 170 individual team agreements thus far.
In fact, these relationships have nurtured and guided Experience to explore rugby overall, specifically Leinster.
“As we discussed possibilities for expanding our reach, we collaborated with our strategic partner Ticketmaster to discuss clubs internationally that may have an interest in fan experience technology,” Experience’s President, Ben Ackerman, tells SportTechie.
“With the overwhelming popularity and fan following, the sport of rugby was an immediate target. Leinster Rugby was identified as a club with a strategic and innovative philosophy,” continued Ackerman.
“Strategic” and “innovative philosophy” does, indeed, correspond to Leinster, when it comes to being receptive to implementing technologies.
Leinster Rugby tabbed Samsung as their official technology partner almost two years ago now. Samsung’s products are used to help the team’s training productivity–almost akin to the NFL and tablets. The data gathered from these devices serves coaches with additional details pertaining to the player’s overall physique, personalized programs to prompt better performance over time. The real-time data acquired would, in effect, create processes that are more efficient and practical decision-making.
In turn, Leinster also was at the forefront among rugby clubs to deploy the aforementioned GPS technology. For them, it’s about gleaning out the numbers apart from the noise, extracting quantitative data coupled with a holistic mindset towards athlete’s fitness and injury precaution.
Team Manager Guy Easterby has even openly questioned their own utilization of this tech during the 2014 Web Summit in Dublin, Ireland: “Technology-wise, we’re not ahead of the game, but can we be innovative within the game of rugby union to make sure that we get the most out of the technology we use?”
Followed by this response: “Yes, we can.”
The performance phase notwithstanding, Experience has been able to be opportunistic with its own property once Leinster invested in beacon technology.
Eamon & his son Upgraded to Premium Level at the @leinsterrugby match today! We’re proud to bring Upgrades to Dublin! pic.twitter.com/wper6ev4gD
— EXPERIENCE (@ExpApp) December 13, 2014
Last year, Leinster Rugby became the first sports team in all of Europe to install Apple’s iBeacon system at their venue RDS Main Arena, with help from XtremePush, an Ireland-based company that provides mobile solutions for user engagement. The team first tested these smartphone-enabled push notifications during the RaboDirect Pro 12 semi-finals, where fans had to go around the stadium to collect prizes–a more complex, yet same effect, example compared to the Ryder Cup’s RFID tech instance. More ways to showcase iBeacon’s features are expected later, including real-time gifts, discounted food and merchandise, mobile ticketing and payment solutions, and, for Experience’s purposes, seat upgrades, all from the the team’s app.
“In general, working with iBeacon technology enables fans to have a personalized event experience and, therefore, a better overall fan experience. Beacons create an opportunity to deliver the right upgrade or experience, to the right fan, at the right time,” Ackerman says.
For Experience, they are able to come in with its seat upgrading tool and seamlessly roll it out in conjunction with Leinster’s iBeacon deployment shortly thereafter. They hope to empower these fans to have a more memorable time at the game, simply by moving a few rows down. American sports fans have already taken part or at least the chance to get a better point of view–among the several competitors in this space–through their respective team mobile app.
“We have a 90 percent fan happiness rating of those using the technology; and most rate it the ‘best experience’ they have had at an event,” asserts Ackerman.
“That said, the ratio of fans domestically that leverage our technology changes from event to event based on what extraordinary experiences the team or venue has to offer,” Ackerman concludes.
Rugby fans–or those of Leinster, rather–aren’t any different than those from the states, especially when it’s about their expectations for technological improvement.
At the end of the day, as Ackerman claims, Leinster Rugby’s business for new ticketing revenue isn’t at all different, even if it means expanding with a third-party from abroad: “It’s about finding the fan at the height of their emotion.”