Fans & Supporters Online Community for Stadiums and Arenas

High Level Concept Fans & supporters community for stadiums & arenas

Introduction

We offer using social media for supplementing current communication channels of the stadiums with hockey/soccer/basketball fans and supporters and are introducing the high level concept of the solution in the PowerPoint;

Given presentation is based on the hockey case

We are suggesting that the social media solution should be implemented not in one stage, but as an iterative project. This will allow more efficient management, quicker time to market and earlier feedback from the users.

Soft Format sees its mission in helping our customers to harness the full potential of new opportunities, which are becoming available on the cutting edge of business and technological innovations. We are introducing our business offer, which will enable Your Company enhance your online presence and better leverage the business opportunities that current Web and mobile technology gives.

Our Services

Assistance in development of your program-specific strategy of online community and integration of such a community into your online activities/business;

Implementation of an online community infrastructure for your business utilizing solutions from our CommLine Solutions Suite (CommSquare)

System integration to ensure the interoperability between your existing and future web solutions

Custom development and/or aggregation of the online value-added services, web site designs, tools and products for your online activities;

Maintenance and on-going support of your online community-based solution.

Business Idea Platform Customizatio n What You Need is What You Get

Preconditions

Global competition, globalization, rampant change and extremely fast flow of information and communication

Internet and technologies are integral part of the everyday life of average user;

Requirements for building and managing a successful business are altered by technological innovations;

Consumer has adjusted to this quicker pace and his fickle preferences are revised with the speed of a television commercial.

Changes That Call For a New e-Business Model

The Walkman TM case is already the sample of leadership tactics on the market, which is now achievable for not only the global corporation, but also for SMEs.

“ It’s not the big – that eats the small; it’s the fast that eats the slow”. Information Networking Globalization Convergence Change Dynamics

Why do you need community?

At the end of last year, Time named "You" its Person of the Year "for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game.“

Earlier in the year, Newsweek described such sites as Flickr , MySpace , Craigslist , Digg , and YouTube as "putting the 'We' in the Web.“

The business "thought leader" Tim O'Reilly has termed these new social-network sites "Web 2.0," suggesting that they represent the next phase in the digital revolution -- no longer about the technologies per se but about the communities that have grown up around them. Some are even describing immersive online game worlds such as Second Life as the beginnings of Web 3.0.

The ‘always on’ culture of internet access resulting from broadband adoption, combined with the fact that more and more people are now sharing ideas through blogs, wikis, messaging and other online tools, is creating a critical mass of connectivity that is driving innovation.

All of this talk reflects changes that cut across culture and commerce, technology and social organization.

Over the past three years, we have seen an exciting convergence of tools, ideas and networks under the labels Web 2.0 and ‘social software’ or social media. Now, we are starting to see this innovation on the consumer internet translated into a new approach to the use of online technology in supporting work and education, which has huge potential for positive change.

General Community Statistics Social Networking Gold Rush: November 2005 - News Corp. drew a lot of attention for paying $580 million to acquire Internet sensation MySpace . April 2006 There's the $800 million acquisition offer from Yahoo that Facebook reportedly rejected, the $2 billion Facebook wants and the $25 million in venture capital Facebook got from Greylock Partners in April October 9, 2006 - Google Inc. announced today that it has agreed to acquire YouTube for $1.65 billion in a stock-for-stock transaction. Buy a Network: MySpace : $15 billion latest Wall Street valuation, courtesy of RBC Capital YouTube : $1.5 billion latest valuation, courtesy of New York Post Facebook : $1 billion latest valuation, courtesy of Wall Street Journal Digg : $200 million valuation, courtesy of Business Week How consumers responded to the survey question: "If the following were available on a social-networking website, which would you likely do this holiday season?" Find out about store sales/product discounts: 51% Download coupons: 51% Search for gift ideas: 47% Buy products: 29% Post or view videos: 20% Read or write product review on blog: 18% None of the above: 12% **Does not total 100% due to multiple responses Source: American Marketing Association online Nov. 9-12 survey of 1,098 consumers. Margin of error is ±2.5 percentage points. 11/23/2006

Some facts

For companies looking to better connect with consumers and build brand loyalty, social networks are increasingly looking like the ideal tool. Users get a forum in which to share information, pictures and videos about themselves and their likes and dislikes -- and, companies hope, talk up a product. Companies, in turn, get real-time feedback on trends and products. And they can even bounce off ideas still in the works

Social networking is "even more targeted than online advertising," says Rachel Honig, co-founder of New York marketing firm Digital Power & Light. Banner ads gave companies the chance to change ads quickly and direct them a bit better, "but banner ads are still one-way communication," she says. By contrast, social networking is more of a dialogue between the user and the company, she adds.

69% of hockey fans, named Internet their prime information source for all NHL news and activities

A staggering 79% of sports fans polled in the Aura Sports Fan Survey have stated that their team or official body website is the most important popular medium for accessing sports results, news and information,

31% of visitors to official club sites claim that they are more likely to buy a product if it is advertised on 'this' website than those advertised elsewhere

SUCCESS IS ALREADY HERE… The NHL has set up a social-networking site, NHL Connect, where hockey fans can create personal profiles, add friends, upload photos, post videos, make comments and join chat groups. The site also has NHL news, game schedules and the ability for users to look up other fans. Keith Ritter, a spokesman for the NHL. "If we didn't provide the tools that our fans want , they would migrate to a place that did ." Nike Inc. set up a social-networking site, Joga for soccer enthusiasts. The site encourages local soccer groups to sign up and create profile pages. Fans can blog, create communities around particular teams or players and organize local games. It also includes pictures and exclusive video, profiles of famous players and articles about various styles of play. Nike says that by the end of July, Joga had attracted one million users Gym equipment maker LifeFitness allows individual gyms to set up a LifeFitness site to create a sense of community around that gym - and, of course, make exercisers more aware of its wares. Users can create their own profiles, list fitness goals, workout regimes and other personal information. Like-minded users can then find each other on the site to swap workout tips and challenge one another, Raj Rao, vice president at LifeFitness, says gyms have a big problem with customer attrition -- typically losing about a third of their clientele each year -- because people feel "they don't have any relationship with other members

Draft Vision

Facilities

Fully interactive map (taggable seats, visuals, price offers, etc)

Restaurants and fast food details with menu, table booking, feedback, discussions, rating, tags, etc

Neighborhood area facilities info (featured + advertising, social, etc)

Places to stay at (featured info, social info, etc)

Events

Stadium events calendar personalized and synchronized with user’s one

Subscription for new/regular events with notification option + RSS

Featured and social description of the events (e.g. how to get, what to take, how to act, etc)+ media rich content

Events archive with discussions, feedbacks, blogs, etc

Bundling events with more options, e.g. tickets reservation/purchase, detailed info from external or internal resources,

Promotion of private, corporate events in the members only/public area

Targeted invitation for promotion and corporate events, etc

Integration of external news resources, feeds, etc

Media

Events and matches reports

Members only exclusive content

Stadium TV

Stadium promotional content (clips, wallpapers, ringtones, mobile themes, etc)

Partners promotional content (clips, wallpapers, ringtones, mobile themes, etc)

E-magazine

PDF version

Fully interactive flash version

Featured for mass distribution

Customized for targeted distribution

Advertising and branding opportunities

Stadium Community Portal

Stadium Life

stadium media diary: day by day timeline (official photos, amateur photos, video materials, etc) + RSS

stadium great moments (highlights, full coverage, exclusive materials, etc + amateur stuff)

stadium great people (interviews, media coverage, exclusive materials, etc + amateur stuff)

Voting and polls for best event, best supporter, picture of the day, etc

Contests + branding and sponsorship

Fan Zone

Glory board (best fan, best player, best skater – professional and amateur) – voting, rating, discussions, etc

Fun moments from matches and events (voting, rating, moderation)

Fan area – finds similar people, plan events/matches visits, ice renting, etc, socialize,

Games area – flash/online games (including branded games for partners – custom development or rebranding)

Contests/Polls/Lotteries, etc with prizes + possible branding and sponsorship

Access to personal information of the members (profiles, blogs, galleries, etc)

Access to membership-only content, etc

E-commerce

Advanced online catalogue with immediate payment option

Team merchandise store

Ice ware store (hockey ware, skating ware, etc) + recommendations, ratings, feedbacks and discussions + advertising

Tickets sales and reservation

Ice-Time

Skating timetable with reservation option (incl. schools, trainings, private events, etc )

Professionals for hire (profile, availability, price, discussions, etc)

Skates and equipment for rent data (feedback, rating, etc)

Online store with ice ware (figure skates, hockey stuff, accessories, etc) with recommendations, feedback, etc

General info on skating and hockey + RSS

Extra data for viewing and downloading + training materials store (DVD, CD, books, etc)

Stadium Community Portal

Mobile Services

Mobile services can be provided within the stadium on general scope as a stand alone branded mobile service, or utilize both possibilities with content delimitation.

Services to be provided within the stadium area may be used for informative, entertainment and promotional purposes during the game and may include

access to the match data (video, images, text, audio), players cards, team data, other matches scores, etc.

access to downloadable/streaming content with funny videos, hockey jokes, slogans, user’s content, etc

take part in the match-day lottery, receive promotional content from sponsors, communicate with other supporters, etc

Mobile phone and bluetooth device (camera, PDA, smartphone, etc) owners who are present at the match may contribute their own video, images, text comments to the stadium server for the content to be accessible by other users both in and out the stadium area. People can vote for the content, and the contributors of the best content can be granted the match tickets or some other promotional prize by either stadium or the sponsors.

Most services listed on the next slide can be provided both within stadium area and out of it for general public on both downloadable/streaming basis and as a send-and-receive service, depending on the technical implementation. There can be a separate Matchday area on stadium site (either wap or web) with preview, live, statistics, review, etc

Listed services can be implemented via different technologies and can utilize either one or a combination of several technologies for better results. Technologies and services to be used:

Bluetooth

Wi Fi

WAP/GPRS/EDGE/3G

SMS/MMS/Push messages

Images of the players + matches moments *

- request and receive a media rich MMS.

- access the data on the WAP/Web site of the stadium

Access to players profiles with updatable statistics *

Ringtones, branded, featured, amateurs, etc *

Themes *

Wallpapers *

Betting *

Calendar + results *

- request and receive a media rich MMS

stadium matches schedule *

- request and receive either plain text SMS or a media rich MMS.

Trivia questions answers *

Onsite Lotteries *

Chat and share files with other supporters

- bluetooth

Multiplaying with other supporters

- bluetooth

* - in case of Bluetooth technology utilization, can be implemented for Bluetooth access

Mobile Services (cont.)

Match results *

- request and receive either plain text SMS or a media rich MMS

Match highlights *

Match goals *

a) Downloadable clips

b) Streaming video

Match moment reruns *

- request and receive a media rich MMS

a) Downloadable clips

b) Streaming video

Match statistics *

Match text broadcasting *

Match narration as a podcast *

access the data on the WAP/Web site of the stadium

Match streaming *

Functionality Management and Scheduling

The system will enable management of the functionality available for users, corresponding interface, as well as scheduling available functionality, depending on the events.

All functionality will be realized in modules or services which will enable coverage and promotion of the matches in three dimensions:

Championship – background information, statistics, matches schedule, highlights, interviews, discussions, fixtures and reports, venues, etc

Matches series (stadium only) – previews, statistics, matches schedule, highlights, interviews, discussions, promotion, tickets pre-sale/ordering,

Match-day (stadium only)

Pre – Preview, Head 2 head, Press, Ways to follow (sms, mms, streaming, etc), Tickets sales, Discussions, etc

Day – Live (web and mobile), Team lineups, Live stats, Listen live, Live pictures, Discussions, etc

Post – Report, LineUps, Statistics, Pictures, Videos, Discussions, etc

The system will enable flexible management of the information and services available to the users by

Defining which modules to be shown in every group and which services to be available

Scheduling modules appearance, e.g. Championship are always visible; Series modules are visible a week before and after the series, Matchday modules are visible the day before and day after the match

Arranging the interface look taking into account modules to be shown e.g. From all groups, from two groups or from Championship only

Defining accessibility level for every module and service, e.g. supporters only, any user, etc

Benefits for Fans

Advanced multimedia rich personal profile in the fans community;

Communication tools to interact with other community members and teams;

Instant notifications about promotions/offers for the fans;

Mobile tickets purchase with ability to choose your ticket from mobile phone;

Instant notifications about the updates of the info on the portal, new events, “early bird” offers for the members of fan community, etc;

Contests and marketing campaigns where fan can participate;

One place for any information and services related to stadium

Benefits for Supporters

Convenient mobile and web informational resource;

Convenient purchase of tickets and supporting products;

Interesting contests with prizes on the web and mobile;

Message boards and clusters to communicate with other community members;

Discounted offers for e-commerce;

More reason to visit stadium and easy arrangements.

Benefits for Sponsors

Dynamic profiles with effective targeting;

Upsell capability through the integrated e-commerce channel;

New communication channel through the social internet and mobile;

Research and polling options to get instant feedback;

More effective advertising;

Better results tracking.

Benefits for stadium

New sales channels;

New revenue sources;

More attractive offer for sponsors and advertisers;

Leveraging technology for business;

Instant and personalized communications with the community members;

Better service to the visitors;

Relevant feedback.

Contacts

Soft Format LLC pr. Hrushevskoho, 30 Lutsk, 43005, Ukraine Phone: 380.332.770091 Fax: 380.332.776367 Email: o.kutsevych@soft-format.com www.soft-format.com