ABOUT US
Blog

Online Sports Management Education for the Barclays Center

In sponsorship, an activation is what really brings that sponsorship to life. The sponsoring company and sports organization have come to an agreement. They’ve signed a contract, but then beyond that contract, there are these activities that we call activations. And that’s where the sports property and the sponsor will work together. They say, ‘OK, what can we do creatively to make our consumers aware that this sponsorship exists but also potentially to give our fans and our consumers a sample of the sponsor’s product or the sponsor’s service?

Some examples of that would be signage featuring a Coca-Cola logo that goes all around the entire stadium. Other examples might include names that come up on a board or ‘this is the Halftime show brought to you by AT&T.’ Some of the more intricate activations include Taco Bell’s “Steal a Base, Steal a Taco” promotion or when Lucas Oil Stadium had an in-arena store. Those are all examples of activations, and now that you understand that, take a look around the Barclays center and ask, ‘where are there opportunities to activate sponsorships?’ So if you had a sponsor, what would you do in this particular arena to activate it?

New Sports Management Promotional Opportunities

What makes Barclays Center a little bit more unique than any other arena here in the tri-state area is being in literally the center of Brooklyn. Brooklyn did not have a world-class global sports venue of that spectrum or of that size until five years ago when Barclays Center moved. We pick up markets similar to Madison Square Garden as well as a very new kind of Brooklyn market. So besides the shape, which is obviously a unique factor of Barclays Center, I think the location is important from a marketing perspective. From my understanding, the Oculus is supposed to be immediately eye-captivating. So you walk in, and you kind of feel like you’re in a big space even though you’re outdoors. And the Oculus within the circle is just a large LCD television displaying different videos and marketing pieces 24 hours a day, whether it’s the Nets or upcoming concerts. So, even if people are in the nearby mall, they still can glance over and see what’s coming up at Barclays Center.

Sports Management Education and Next Generation Mobile Marketing

An activation is basically interactive marketing. A customer feels like they’re putting their hands on the brand a little bit. And so we have a number of partners, especially here in spirit partners, where a brand will put their name on the label of a bar. Most of our partnerships are on contract years, and as a contract year ends, we might rotate a new partner in. Most of our in-arena activation is constantly full because of a very high demand for the Brooklyn market. A lot of brands love associating themselves with Barclays Center so they can get their name out there. The LED lighting that we have at the arena-not just the Jumbotron, but all the LED lighting around the arena-is just additional marketing collateral. And for our brands, it’s another way for them to associate themselves with Barclays Center. I know a lot of our health partners put their ads on those LCD screens. It’s just a way to highlight a deal they have going on or get their name out there.

Measuring impressions is probably one of the most exciting new data studies I think arenas are doing. There’s so much constantly growing and changing with that. The most obvious is scan, so we know exactly how many people come into the arena. So if it’s something big like the center Jumbotron, we’ll do count scans. Chances are everyone that entered the arena saw the Jumbotron, but if we’re looking at an LED light on the suite level, then we’re only looking at specific suite buyers or specific suite scans. We also have different activations that are just temporary. American Express has their own little box on our concourse, and we’ll have video games and interactive material in that box, and we can actually measure how many people walk in and out. I know a number of arenas are doing other very interesting things with impressions. A lot of people have sensors on the ground so they can feel how hard people step if they’re getting really excited and measure impressions that way. It’s getting very interesting.

Everyone’s phone has a Mac address that’s unique to that cell phone. So, when someone uses their app, it allows us to provide them with a better experience. We can see the concession stands they visit more frequently. We can gauge sentiment off social media pages, and we can also remarket to them very specifically based on what they like. Because BSE is a brick franchise, we have a number of arenas and venues. If they’re simply just a Nets fan, we’ll only market Nets. If they’re just an Islanders fan that only goes to games in Nassau Coliseum, we’ll only market that material. Having Mac IDs and cell phone data makes that a lot easier than just through email. So what we’re doing with the Mac ID is really an immediate remarketing campaign. If you like something on Facebook that’s Nets Team specific, we will then promote a Nets package to you. So it’s a very, very targeted program that uses that cell phone data.

Enter your email to learn more and get a full course catalog!

Share:

More from Yellowbrick

Test Unlocked Resource Page

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

©2024 Yellowbrick · All Rights Reserved · All Logos & Trademarks Belong to Their Respective Owners