COVID-19 and Opportunities in Sports
Carlo Pezzana
Customer Service | Operations | Luxury Hospitality | Data Analysis | Sales | Leadership | Event Planning
Key Takeaways:
A quick overview...
The current situation that the entire globe is living due to the global coronavirus pandemic is leading the world to a new era. Many businesses and organizations have certainly been strongly affected by the virus and the shutdown & stay at home orders. Reactions to this new living circumstance, have been working remote with a significant increase in the use of digital content and technology indeed.
It is definitely an excellent way of dealing with the situation, but how can businesses & individuals maximize it, and what opportunities does it create?
Focusing on the world of sports I am very passionate about, it is agreeable to say that it has been strongly impacted by a lot of challenges and obstacles to overcome. Games, matches, conferences, seasons, and most importantly, two large events, the 2020 UEFA European Football Championship and especially the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, have been postponed. Sports professionals are working hard to figure out challenging decisions, create plans and opportunities for a strong comeback. However, what are the aspects the sports industry has to work on to make the most of this moment?
I provided a list with the most important aspects professionals agreed to develop, and I finally summarized some personal considerations and potential ideas to possibly increment in the industry. Let’s start!
Fan Engagement
This is definitely one of the most critical areas to focus on, as there are many ways to create opportunities. Without live games, it essential to figure out how to keep the fans engaged with their teams but also make plans for when seasons start again. The keyword here is content. By relying on data and technology, providing content to fans is vital. There are different strategies to keep fans entertained. Examples are online strategy games, virtual concerts, webinars, podcasts, virtual leagues, and live conversations on social media that feature players and famous people. Another interesting way to mention is the increment of Live Chat services that efficiently and powerfully connect fans and clubs. Besides these valuable ideas, experts have to work on ways to maximize fan engagement once a season will resume without fans in stadiums in the beginning, but also for when they will come back. All the technologies and the latest tools will become extremely important to create content.
One of the primary aspects to consider is how to connect and hook fans during games, so the stadiums and arenas play a significant role in this section. When sports resume in the beginning, there will not be any fans in the stadiums; the idea to create a virtual stadium for fans would be great, and it will be essential to entertain them during games in the best way possible. Through the use of apps and digital content, fans could do quizzes, contests, check data, comment, and share opinions with other fans. In terms of arenas, they will have to be ready for supporters coming back. Increment security and build new infrastructures will be fundamental, with also a significant increment of cashless payments, and online tickets. Reinvent stores, restaurants, and game-day experiences are other things to consider. It will also all depends on how long the social distancing measures will have to last.
Moreover, new plans to engage fans during the off-season, holiday breaks, or just before games will have to be incremented. Online interviews, contests, TV series, tactics videos, and insights are great ways to give fans new content to make them connect to their favorite teams and players.
Data & Statistics
An increment in the use of technology also means providing and expanding data collection, that has recently become already a great aspect to benefit from. First of all, statistics are valuable for players and coaches to compare results and understand what and how to improve performance. Data is also essential for evaluating the success and impact of a sports club, a tournament, or a game to track attendance and revenues, for example. It is definitely an area to develop with new software systems and technological resources to keep expanding in this area. Considering there are various plans to keep fan engaged in new ways, data will be essential to understand what are the best methods that satisfy fans’ needs. Overall, data and statistics are becoming fundamental in many fields. It helps a business to improve its performance.
Networking
Being at home is just giving individuals technology to connect with others, so social media and video calls are widely used everywhere. Also, people have more time to stay with their families and chat online. Consequently, share opinions, viewpoints, and ideas between professionals thinking about new experiences and opportunities, and understand how to shift previous activities onsite to virtually are great ways to deal with the current situation. Doing it online can expose professionals to a vaster community, learn more, and expand their knowledge. Moreover, an increment of virtual meetings and calls can provide substantial advantages in the future by giving the availability to connect with more people from different places, save up money in transportation, and time management. The entire world can attend a virtual event no matter an individual’s location, for instance. The many podcasts, webinars, online insights can continue to be promoted to give content regularly.
Sport Marketing
The marketing field will experience a shift online with less onsite events and the addition of online content. If social media is one of the greatest resources to market, now social networks, along with websites, ads, and promotional emails, will become extremely profitable and beneficial. Athletes, sports teams, and organizations will have to promote on their social platforms hardly. More frequent expansions of current social media will be more likely to happen, with also new trend apps (e.g., Tik Tok) that will be created, and will launch new opportunities. Special collaborations between social networks & apps and sports could increase attendance and interest in sports, teams, and players.
Esports
The world of Esports has to be mentioned in this list since it is experiencing a fast expansion in the last few years virus or not. Of course, the current circumstances can only benefit Esports, which is the new sports competition through video games. No matter the debate about Esports sports or not, it is becoming an expanding area worth investing in. It has been generating a substantial amount of money. It is also an excellent area to boost the economy, expand the industry, and engage a new generation of customers. Virtual races with an addition of other sports such as Formula 1 and NASCAR have the potential to bring fans from different games, with traditional sports that are being proactive in the sector to balance losses caused by the cancellation of seasons. Esports is going to create incredible opportunities, and in a few years, thanks to this increasing use of technology indeed. Stay tuned!
Personal Ideas and Viewpoints
I believe that making the most from a hard time, especially one like the current pandemic that involves the entire world, is vital. The sports industry has been rapidly expanding in the last few years, and I am sure new opportunities will come out, and the world of sports will recover pretty quickly. To provide a more personal viewpoint, I listed two ideas that I think are the first to develop to connect with fans and figure out what it will be the biggest problem in the short term: fans not being able to attend live games. This will be a significant loss of income in the sports industry, and it is essential to find new ways to engage fans.
Here the two ideas I believe sports have to benefit from:
I do believe that all the new initiatives that the current situation triggers the industry to develop not only will help to deal with the initial social distancing measures, but once the world entirely goes back to normal, it will create and enhance new opportunities and greatly expand all industries. There are a lot of great elements to take out of this situation. It is important to think like that. Thinking positively, without the spread of the coronavirus, some of the new aspects created might not even have been invented yet!
Overall, it will be technology, probably the biggest resource available to the human being, that will help the world recover and create new opportunities not only in sports but in every field. Technology is currently changing the world, indeed. However, it is the human being who, thanks to his extraordinary intelligence and capacities through creativity, innovation, and revolution, will have to understand and figure out how to benefit from technology. How? By creating CONTENT.
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