Converting Live Audiences with Rewards and Gamification

How can sports organizations, broadcasters, and event organizers convert fans from live events or broadcasts into their own platforms? Let’s look at some strategies and case studies

Many sports rights holders, broadcasters, and event organizers face the challenge of converting fans from live events or broadcasts to their own digital environments. In today’s digital era, this challenge is increasingly important. After all, those who have their fans on their own platforms benefit from better data, higher customer lifetime value, more effective marketing opportunities, and new revenue streams.

Rewarding Attendance and Viewership

One effective way to convert fans is to use reward mechanisms. These might include digital collectibles, fan badges, or giveaways. A few examples that customers of our platform-as-a-service solution Unyfy have implemented show how this can be done successfully:

Basketball Löwen Braunschweig started last season to distribute a free digital collectible at every home game, the so-called “Matchday Sticker”. Fans can simply scan a QR code in the arena, register in the club’s app and receive their “Matchday Sticker”. Some of these stickers even include free merchandise or other giveaways. In addition, fans can display the stickers on their profile and use them in their own posts, giving them a special standing in the community. In this way, the Lions have created an incentive to sign up for their app and found a way to offer visitors exclusive added value that encourages fan loyalty.

Another example is Megamarsch. The organizer of ultra-distance hiking events has digitized its “hiking passport”. Participants can scan an NFC tag with their phone at the start and at all aid stations to receive their stamp in the Megamarsch app. This approach not only creates a digital footprint for the event but also gives participants a sense of accomplishment and status.

The American Football League A7FL uses a similar approach to convert viewers of their game broadcasts: Viewers can scan QR codes to receive a free NFT-based highlight collectible.

Last but not least here’s a video of how Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund uses digital giveaways to get a 20% conversion rate at international events :

These examples show how fans can be successfully converted from live events to digital environments. By using reward mechanisms in conjunction with a simple user experience, rights holders can bridge the gap between live and digital. Which, by the way, also offers attractive opportunities for sponsors.

Adding Gamification

Another relevant tactic is gamification: the use of game mechanics to motivate fans to interact with the organization’s digital platform. This includes tools like leaderboards or rewards for completing certain tasks. A simple example: visitors who attend 50% of home games receive a discount in the fan store, and those who visit all home games can participate in a meet & greet with a player.

Adding gamification on top of a loyalty scheme can help to further drive user adoption and your conversion rate.

Summary

Converting fans into owned digital platforms is increasingly important. Digital reward and collection mechanisms as well as gamification are strategies that help to achieve this.

To introduce these successfully, sports organizations and event organizers need good concepts and the right technology. To that end, they can collaborate with specialists for corresponding projects.

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