Just when you thought scoring a ticket to the MLB World Series was a dream come true, a strategic partnership allowed game attendees to take their in-game social media sharing experience to a whole new level at this year’s Fall Classic,
Just prior to the first Mets vs. Royals World Series matchup, Snapchat and STATS LLC, a sport technology, content and data company, partnered to leverage a location-based filter that can over lay a snap photo or video.
An extension to Snapchat’s current geo-fencing filter technology, this geofilter driven by STATS, provided live scores, exclusive content, and premium engagement displaying a mutual love for the game of baseball, no matter what fan you are.
“Dynamic Geofilters are a visual and timely way for sports fans to express the here and now of the game in their Snaps,” says Ben Schwerin, Director of Partnerships, Snapchat.
That being said, while the NBA decided to launch this in-stadium application at the start of their season and continue to use STATS as partner for advanced metrics in conjunction with the MLB, leagues like the NHL, NFL and NASCAR have decided to ditch their STATS partnership.
Striving to become more game and player analytics oriented, STATS is utilizing one of the world’s most widely used social platforms to amplify its user engagement through real-time data expression.
STATS’ new initiative is perfectly aligned with the ideology and core principles Snapchat has to offer its users: Real-time content, for a selected period, only to be viewed during a time sensitive window, which constantly attracts users (especially millennials) because of the fear of missing out.
Nevertheless, Snapchat and STATS ended up generating an additional in-stadium experience for the MLB World Series. Coincidently this partnership also grows into a means of supplementary content consumption for second and third-screen users.
Providing exclusive access to real-time data and hundreds of in-game perspectives to catch in 10 seconds or less, the partnership between Snapchat and STATS took the game from Citi Field and Kauffmam Stadium to the hands of Snapchat users anywhere in the world.
Proven by it’s lengthy, filter over-laid “Story” and accumulated screenshots, it is safe to say that fans obsessed over the ability to consume and share the live information they received.
As mentioned, the NHL, NFL, and NASCAR have all cut ties with STATS. As fans become increasingly engaged with consuming live team statistics and sharing their moments live we will continue to see a demand for these excusive applications. Having addressed that, it will be interesting to see if leagues that have cut ties with STATS revisit their decision, especially when it comes the NFL’s partnership with Snapchat.