Paul Childerhouse, Pioneer Group

PAUL CHILDERHOUSE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIONEER GROUP

How to Increase Fan Experience During Sporting Events

Images: Pioneer Group

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tadiums have evolved, but one thing has been a stable factor: the fan! It doesn’t mean the fan hasn’t changed. Fans of the past were only really interested in a good match; the fan of today and future fans want much more. Besides a high-quality game, they also want to have a great experience, from onsite entertainment, a comfortable environment, good quality food that is varied and obviously an exciting atmosphere. In today’s world, the game alone is not enough. It’s the total experience that fans are looking for. It means that stadiums, event organisers’ and clubs have to change their offerings. Fans drive revenues. Sports clubs’ revenue is mainly generated from ticket sales, media income, sponsoring and merchandising. These are all fan-related. Without fans, sports clubs cannot exist. Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and millennials are the future of sports clubs, and their wants vary significantly from the fans of the generations that preceded them. These cohorts of people are used to things matching their own personal interests. They have grown up with personal devices that cater for them, market to them and provide much of their social interactions. When it comes to attending sports matches, they expect a similar tailored experience. Over the coming years, more technology will enter the arena, service levels will improve, and infrastructure will need to be examined and improved to provide tailor-made entertainment. Some of this will be implemented relatively easily in today’s stadiums, but it will require some significant investment and change for many others. For some, this will result in a reduction in seating capacity - however, COVID-19 has acted as a catalyst to accelerate some stadiums to act now and start to look at how vulnerable they are to the Fans that drive revenues. Many have seen how essential it is to connect with the fans in and outside the stadium and find different revenue streams to support stadiums. Stadiums have realised that a high volume/low margin model is not sustainable for the future. Instead, having fewer fans, staying longer onsite and spending more is the way forward, and reducing seating can help with this model as it provides more space for entertainment. Four ways to deliver a better stadium experience: 1. Ticketless Entrance Buying tickets is the first step in the fan journey, and this needs to be as simple as possible. Ticketing for most clubs is already paperless. The technology is available to support facial recognition and other biometrics, meaning visitors can be identified within a second, reducing queuing time and removing fraudulent activity. Paperless is also fair more eco-friendly, offering an added bonus to clubs looking to reduce their carbon footprint and the chance to gain information from fans on demographics and preferences. 2. Food and Beverage Food and beverage consumption offers’ clubs another revenue stream. However, many fans do not like to wait in line because they might miss out on some of the game. To improve the fan’s F&B experience, several elements need to be looked at: Food and drink quality, speed of service, and costs. Technology will play a significant role in supporting stadiums. Moving forward, more stadiums will implement food ordering apps. Reducing the amount of queuing time for the fan. Digital signage will also play a role in notifying fans that their order is ready and to approach the counter, reducing the number of people waiting in crowded spaces. 3. Crowd Management Most fans want to feel safe and do not want to

worry about threats or hooligan type behaviour. When people feel safe, they will stay longer and spend more. Clubs that implement facial recognition, blockchain ticketing and crowd control systems ensure the safety of their fans and improve the atmosphere within their clubs, which will lead to longer dwell time and increased revenue from food and beverage sales and other entertainment. Digital signage screens and IPTV play a crucial role in crowd management, offering wayfinding and alerts to fans as they move around the stadiums. 4. Fan Entertainment Today’s fans want to enjoy the experience of being at a match: before, during and after the game. So they expect to be entertained the moment they reach the gates. GenZ and GenAlpha are ultra-connected. They expect to have free and fast access to the internet, like the high-speed wireless internet available at Manchester City. Fans expect to have access to commentary, social media, statistics on the game and the club; They also expect to have an interactive personalised experience. So, stadiums need to give fans a reason to leave the comforts of their home with their large TV and instant access to food and beverages. Solutions like Bundeling already offer VIPs and players a level of connection and interaction with clubs through their App that allows them to feel part of the club in a way previously not

achievable; the App can send geographical information to VIPs so they can locate their car parking space, their VIP box, allow them to order their match day foot and allow them to see information on players and statics as well as enabling them to communicate with other VIP’s Many clubs like Tottenham Hotspur have already launched apps for fans that help them plan their visit, confirming the location of their seat, the entertainment available, what food and drink are on offer. Real Madrid’s fan app also targets the fan on non-match days, you can purchase merchandise or delve into stats, and there is a personalised element offering deals tailored to the user. Shareable and memorable in-stadium experiences will gain popularity as many younger generations enjoy sharing their experiences through social media. Solutions like HYPERVSN’s holographic walls could easily allow fans to interact with holograms of their favourite players before the game! Creating fun, sharable content. We are also likely to see AR goggles enter stadia offering unique pre-match experiences to fans, allowing them to control the camera angles they are viewing and showing them match information and statistics to engage the audience further. Fans today want to be part of the decision making of their club. Today’s fans have grown up with fantasy football leagues, and they are used to making decisions. Many clubs have already tapped into this fan decision-making, with fans being involved in decisions around changes to logos, kits, and even new managers’ appointments. But imagine being able to tap into that during the match. In the future, we could see fans being able to influence the team’s lineup or who gets substituted. This could be via an app or by-polls on social media. This isn’t a crazy idea when you think about it! This type of activity would be a massive benefit for fans and allow them to feel responsible for the outcome! Fans can provide a wealth of knowledge that clubs can tap into, and it would benefit both the fan and the clubs. If fans help make decisions, they can’t then moan that the manager messed up! The atmosphere at sporting events and feeling connected with your favourite players and the team is essential for a great experience. Imagine if fans were able to participate in the game actively! If by clapping, fans could trigger a message on the jumbo LED screens or the pitch-side LED that would signal if they were louder than the opposition or the crowd at other matches being played simultaneously. Additionally, there are loads of opportunities where the fan can interact with his favourite player. How about tiny sensor cameras that give you a view from the player’s perspective, allowing fans to experience the game from the player’s perspective, or wearing a smart bracelet that pulses in sync with the heartbeat of your favourite player? With fans spending the majority of their time in their seats during games, it is essential to make this experience as pleasurable as possible. The deployment of jumbo displays like those seen at Manchester City help fans feel more integrated with the game; they allow fans to see in detail what is happening. In the same way, they would at home but with the added benefit of the crowd experience. The better the experience, the greater the chances of retaining and growing a club’s fan base. Technology is developing fast to help clubs support fans and find new ways to monetise these activities.

KICK OFF | EPOS, TICKETING & ACCESS

KAPPTURE KIOSK, MOBILE APP & K-SCAN

The Kappture Kiosk, Mobile App & QR Code Ordering or, as we call it, K-Scan has made it easier than ever before for our customers to place orders, pre-orders and make payment as fast as possible. Every transaction is tracked in real time from around the venue’s sales areas, providing the operations and finance teams with key data to help manage the business, including dashboard KPIs and heatmaps. What benefits does Kiosk bring? That’s the question you always ponder - will people actually use them? Will they know how to use them? Then, the big questions - are kiosks reliable? Can they withstand the wear and tear? Are they a good investment? The simple answer is yes to all the above. Kappture Kiosks are at the forefront of customer self-ordering. The interactive nature of kiosks allows customers to scroll, select and edit exactly what they want in their order. This level of interaction enhances the whole experience for customers just by making the ordering process more convenient. Kiosks are all about speed of service - they are there to reduce customer queuing times, which enables customers to do what they came to do: enjoy the match, concert or entertainment. Smaller queues that increase customer throughput drive up spend per head and maximise total revenue. Reduced queues improve the customer journey by offering a frictionless process from order to collection. Kappture Kiosks have been designed using the same secure software that powers both mobile and traditional EPOS terminals. It’s perfect for any sales location, too, with the clean, sleek, modern design, as well as with bespoke elements for each customer - delivering a branded solution to fit the environment. The Kiosks come with customisable digital menus and home screens which can display a combination of rotating and static high definition images, enhancing promotional material to upsell products and experiences, or configured to generate additional advertising revenues. The software can be upgraded remotely and regularly as part of the hosted platform solution. Digital sales item and menu images, including all the latest nutritional and allergen information, are delivered as standard to provide customers with dietary requirements. The menus can be updated live during events, adapting to changing stock levels or to push promotions via the digital menus to deliver operational flexibility.

Kappture use the best hardware designed specifically for the hospitality sector, and our latest Kiosks are no exception. Available with either 21-inch or 27-inch touch screens, these terminals can be securely floor mounted, wall mounted or fixed to the counter and tabletops to provide easy customer access. If space is at a premium, Kappture also offers K-Scan. K-Scan is designed for speed and convenience for the customer, as well as operational convenience for the on-site team. Kappture can offer a high-quality design for client specific brands. It’s adaptable and can be used in whichever hospitality environment your venue has to offer. The ordering page is built with a digital menu featuring product images, pricing, nutritional and allergen information for the customer to browse through. These menus are fully customisable in your Kappture web-based back office, so you can control all the information as you would do on a traditional EPOS terminal - to make price changes, add or remove sales items and run real time promotions. K-Scan makes ordering super easy, too. Simply scan the QR Code using any smartphone to bring up the web app. The solution allows ordering at the table immediately, speeding up the whole process, including payment, and enables customers to order in their own time. Alternatively, K-Scan can be set up for a Click & Collect-style operation, which is ideal for busy environments where there is little to any seating. Click & Collect allows customers to order for collection straight away or pre-order for a selected time slot that is convenient for them, perfect for half time, performance intervals, or between races. This flexibility to order freely drives up revenue, as customers no longer have to wait in line, while also reducing room for order error, with people often being misheard in noisy surroundings. Collection is simplified from the customer orders placed via the Kiosk and/or K-Scan to the same production location, consolidating orders from tables, kiosks and web orders to one single order display board for the kitchen and bar staff, but also for the customers, so they know the order status and can see quickly when their order is available for collection. All this powerful technology enables venues to operate smoothly and efficiently. But wouldn’t it be great to see that as an overview of your venue? For example, which areas are the busiest, which areas need more stock, where should we install the Kiosks or K-Scan? The Kappture analytics module and real-time heatmaps are a manager’s dream; they deliver quality data quickly to improve your venue business intelligence during the event. The heatmap technology shows you a bird’s eye view of your whole venue, clearly profiling the venue’s sales data at five, 10 or 15 minute intervals. System administrators are able to decide the interval range you want to track. Drilling down through the sales outlet locations, creating a visual metric for operators, highlighting which areas are serving the highest number of customers and those that are perhaps not attracting as much footfall. This overview means the venue operating teams can make well-informed decisions on stock movement and staff placement to make each event day as efficient as possible.