Mobile technology provides opportunities for the sports industry to engage with fans. Cricket Victoria developed a mobile app for the Victorian Bushrangers cricket team to provide a digital program guide for fans attending matches. While initial results were promising with 35% of content views coming from iPhones, there is still room for improvement. Developing successful mobile strategies requires understanding customers and the mobile context, starting projects small, and leveraging mobile's unique strengths rather than treating it as just another platform.

1. mobilefor the sports industry
an opportunity

2. anthony harrison
digital marketing manager - cricket victoria

3. about

4. about
• Cricket Victoria
• Manages the game of Cricket in Victoria
• Victorian Bushrangers
• In the last 5 years appeared in 13 of the 15
finals - won 7
• Twitter: @bushrangers
• Anthony Harrison
• Twitter: @dontgochanging

5. what is mobile?

6. what is mobile?
• Technology in mobile environments
• Historical limitations
• Bandwidth
• Power
• Interface

7. why mobile?

8. why mobile?
• In Australia:
• Mobile market penetration -115%
• Compared to Internet penetration - 80%

9. why mobile?
• Global Smartphone market
• Sales to double in the next 4 years
• Australian Smartphone market
• 149% growth in last quarter
• sales of traditional handsets dropped 45%

10. why mobile?
• Smartphone sales to overtake PC sales in
2011
• By 2011 Australia will have 25 million mobile
subscribers

11. “
by 2011, over 85 percent of handsets shipped
globally will include some form of browser”
Gartner - March 2010

12. “
based on the current rate of change and
adoption, the mobile web will be bigger than
desktop web by 2015”
Morgan Stanley - March 2010

13. “
3% of smartphone owners in the USA use their
phone for voice communication”
Nielsen - March 2010

14. the options

15. the options
• Mobile Web vs Native App

16. the options
• Mobile Web
• HTML5 + Javascript
• Accessed via URL in browser
• Native App
• Objective C, Java etc.
• Distributed via a App Store, Marketplace

17. the options
• Reasons for Native Apps
• performance
• offline
• discoverability
• device attributes
• financial

19. the options
• Examples from Australian organisations
• ABC
• Virgin Blue
• The Age
• Firemint

20. the options
• Virgin Blue
• Launched April 2010
• Check-in (SYD, MEL, BNE)
• Guides and information

21. the options
• The Age
• 320,000 visitors a month
• 5+ minutes session duration
• Average users spends
19 minutes a month on the
site

22. the options
• ABC
• 700,000 downloads in
Australia
• 35% of Australians with an
iPhone
• Great app = success

23. the options
• Firemint
• Small Melbourne based
company
• Top 10 in iTunes App Store
globally for over a year
• Apple Design Award winner

24. the options
• What the users say
• April 2010 Smartphone users:
• 78% accessed their browser
• 80% used applications

25. casebushrangers
victorian
study

26. case study
• Audience

27. case study
• Consumer demographic
Gender Age
20%
77%
Male < 33
Female > 33
80%
23%

28. case study
• Research from social media activity at
domestic Twenty20
• High level of mobile based activity
• Survey showed 25% of Facebook fans
owned iPhones

29. case study

30. case study

31. case study

32. case study

33. case study
• Alignment with our strategic plan
• Bushranger brand and top three stars to be
widely recognised and respected
• Focus on creating outstanding customer
experiences and broadening the reach of
cricket

34. case study
• ‘Editorial’ application
• ‘Digital’ program guide for Sheffield Shield
final
• Focused to cricket enthusiasts

35. case study
• Presented as an initial step
• To understand opportunity in mobile
environment
• Had to overcome some small internal barriers

36. case study
• Limited timeframe
• Launch in time for Shield Final
• 3 week development time
• 1 week Apple approval process
• Limited resources

37. case study
• Results
• 35% + of Bushranger content requests
came from iPhone
• Media exposure
• Player/team awareness
• 4 star iTunes App Store rating
• Success - but room for improvement

38. best practice

39. best practice
• Mobile is not a small desktop
• Mobile is not a ‘light’ website
• Mobile is its own thing with its own strengths

42. best practice
• Know your customer
• Context
• Goals
• Actions

44. opportunities

45. opportunities
• At home
• At match
• At work
• Complement other mediums
• Fit into daily life

46. opportunities
• Ask you customers/fans/supporters
• Look and listen to the trends
• Don’t be afraid to start small

47. wrap-up

48. wrap-up
• Questions?
• Connect on Twitter
• @dontgochanging
• Presentation and references available on
SlideShare
• http://slideshare.net/anthonyharrison

49. thank you
• See you here at
the MCG for the
KFC Twenty20
Big Bash
January 2
January 22
January 28