Comments on: Geolocation is a Game-Changer for Sports Business

By: Best of Digital Sports World 2010.04.30 « Sports Geek

Best of Digital Sports World 2010.04.30 « Sports Geek — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:22:47 +0000

[...] Geolocation is a Game-Changer for Sports Business – Great piece from @GoSam on the work with Gowalla & New Jersey Nets [...]

By: Foursquare to cause sports swarm? « Sports Geek

Foursquare to cause sports swarm? « Sports Geek — Wed, 26 May 2010 03:49:28 +0000

[...] Geolocation is a Game-Changer for Sports Business – SportsNetworker.com [...]

By: ksniff

ksniff — Mon, 03 May 2010 18:01:19 +0000

Sam, thanks for the case study. My agency helped beta launch a free new iPhone app called Venuing. Its a social network activated by a phone’s GPS when the user enters a supported stadium or arena. The app allows users to chat with another and get video and other content fed to them including sponsor messages.

Right now we’re testing out functionality in four stadiums, Yankee and Citifield in New York, Fenway in Boston and Citizens Park in Philly.

As Jason mentioned above, we’ve met with a few teams that are interested in developing their own branded Venuing app in order to control who communicates with their in-stadium fans including sponsors.

By: gosam

gosam — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 06:59:53 +0000

Appreciate it! Really believe that the combo of geolocation & sports will be a great one. Lots of value for leagues, teams, AND fans! Thanks for your comment.

By: Local IT Companies

Local IT Companies — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:56:58 +0000

Great post, Sam … just like local search is the 'in-thing' right now, sports and geolocation will be coming on strong throughout all professional sports as well as amateur sports.

By: gosam

gosam — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:40:50 +0000

Jason, very valid points. I think you're right, teams could build this check-in functionality into their own iPhone/Droid/etc apps, and they very well may do so down the line. I don't think they see the value right now. I'd imagine it would take a lot of time and effort to build a platform like this (and gain access to a GPS system?), and it's something teams just aren't willing to do at this point in time. However, the benefits are clear, and it's something very much worth considering.

By: gosam

gosam — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:33:07 +0000

Todd, nice point. There is definitely an added value in having power users participate. It gets the word out more effectively. With this campaign, we wanted to show how random users in targeted locations could benefit. However, I like the possible 'VIP' angle you're going with! Thanks Todd!

By: gosam

gosam — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:31:01 +0000

Sean, you're very right. That's a great added benefit of geolocation, and something we didn't highlight too much in the case study. In the “post game reactions,” we did show a conversation on Twitter between two Gowalla users who'd connected at the game. Exciting stuff!

By: Sean Callanan

Sean Callanan — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:08:10 +0000

Great work! The thing I love about geolocation is not just the marketing opportunities people are listing but the ability to connect like-minded fans. As these fans find each other as lovers of sport & tech they will group and effectively provide crowd source promotion your efforts. From that events & online messages you pump out can be activated by these fans.

By: tejones

tejones — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 05:11:22 +0000

I like this idea. Combine this with awarding tickets to “power users,” people who a lot of followers on twitter or another social media platform, and you could benefit minor league teams. I have a “power user” friend who uses Gowalla a lot. I like where this might be going.