NanoLumens Technology: More Ways to Wow Fans

FAN EXPERIENCE 2016 For more than 16 years, a gorgeous outdoor space at the back of AmericanAirlines Arena sat mostly underutilized. The Miami Heat sa...
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FAN EXPERIENCE 2016 For more than 16 years, a gorgeous outdoor space at the back of AmericanAirlines Arena sat mostly underutilized. The Miami Heat saw an opportunity to develop the area into a revenuegenerating fan entertainment center. This past January, the team unveiled the Xfinity East Plaza, a state-of-art 34,000-square foot outdoor experience offering beautiful views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline. The plaza has a stage for live entertainment, bars, eateries and retail, as well as a solar canopy to protect fans from the Florida sun and rain. Also integral to the plaza is NanoLumens’ display technology, which gives the Heat another opportunity to boost revenue via ads on column wraps. “It’s generating revenue from additional concession sales; it’s generating revenue from a sponsorship standpoint; and it’s also creating another reason for fans to come to the games early and stay late, so it’s touching all of the points the Heat wanted to accomplish,” said Rob Jackson, vice president of sports and arenas for NanoLumens. “It’s all about creating a wow factor,” Jackson added. “It’s all about creating an experience and surpassing the fans’ expectations; it’s all about giving the sponsors a way to activate their sponsorship and be able to excite the fans and generate revenue.”

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NANOLUMENS

NanoLumens Technology: More Ways to ‘Wow’ Fans

Both AmericanAirlines Arena (home of the Miami Heat) and TD Garden (home to both the Boston Bruins and Celtics) use NanoLumens’ technology to create exciting new spaces for fans.

Founded in 2006, NanoLumens offers LED digital displays that are so lightweight and curvable they can be installed in almost any environment. The Atlanta-based company sold its first LED product about five years ago and has done more than 350 installations across five continents. Recently, it identified sports as a key area for growth. “With some of the success we’ve had in other verticals — whether it was gaming, transportation, retail or corporate lobbies — we saw the same opportunities existing in the sports market,” said Jackson. “Just as retailers are trying to figure out, ‘how do we get customers out from in front of the computer and into our stores,’ sports teams and arenas are asking, ‘how do we get fans off the couch and into the game?’” NanoLumens’ first sports projects

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were last year and included partnering with teams from the NFL, NBA and NHL — it was a “go big or go home” strategy. In fact, NanoLumens solutions have been installed everywhere in these facilities, from field-level suites to fan-engaging halls of fame. They accommodate an engagement that puts the seasonticket holder right in front of the action. A recent example includes four 22-by-4.5-feet, nine mm pixel pitch double-sided modules in a team hall of fame that invites fans to interact with the displays personally. They enter the names of players and receive player videos, photos and statistics on the larger-than-life ribbon displays. This summer, the Jacksonville Jaguars are renovating their US Assure Clubs inside EverBank Field. The clubs

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will feature several large format 2.5 mm pixel pitch solutions to be used, not only on game days to enhance the seasonticket holders’ game day experience, but also on non-game days for private events like weddings, corporate receptions and special events, creating even more revenue opportunities for the team. The challenge for teams, according to Jackson, is “how do we build these facilities so they can be compatible with other events throughout the year?” The company’s work at Legends restaurant and bar in Boston’s TD Garden highlights the technology’s versatility. The building is home to the Celtics and Bruins, so fans may see Larry Bird and Bill Russell one night and Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque the next. “The content for our displays is basically plug and play, so it’s easy to change content,” Jackson said. “They’ve been able to create a whole different look and feel in the arena.” Jackson also stresses NanoLumens’ LED display technology is in step with the worldwide emphasis on sustainability. “It’s energy efficient, low power, low heat — it’s all the benefits of LED technology wrapped up into our displays,” he said. “All these arenas around the world are trying to be as energy efficient as possible, and that’s another huge advantage for our technology.”

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IMS Aims to Create the Ultimate Weekend of Entertainment role where they can make our fan experience better,” he added. “That’s the nature of sponsorship — to have a dialogue with fans and customers.”

Glamping

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Alexander Rossi drinks the famous bottle of milk after winning the Indy 500.

pollination of the speedway’s audience, “You had college kids going with their dads to Journey on Friday and one going to the race and the other going to the Snake Pit on Sunday. The impact is pretty wide.” It’s all about turning the world’s greatest race into more than just a sporting event — in the same way the Super Bowl is more than just a football game. “If we can do that effectively, it will help us grow our fan base, our audience, the number of people that come on site,” said Davis. “You’ve got to always put more fans in the pipeline.” Efforts to fill that pipeline go well beyond those three days over Memorial Day weekend. In the month of May, leading up to the main event, there’s the Angie’s List Grand Prix; and Indy 500 practice, qualifying and Pole Day. There’s also the Red Bull Air Race, more major concert draws (the Rolling Stones played the speedway last July 3) and, of course, the Brickyard 400.

Sponsors and the fan experience Sponsorship drives the sport of auto racing. It also drives the fan experience. That is true for concerts, video

boards, VIP experiences, etc. For the 100th edition of the Indy 500, Indianapolis Motor Speedway saw an unprecedented level of sponsorship activation. IMS partners entertained as many as 9,000 guests on practice days, Carb Day (the Friday before the race) and during the Grand Prix. Race day hospitality events drew thousands, and retailers had hundreds of displays set up around the city. Checkered flags were distributed throughout neighborhoods for people to decorate their yards for “porch parties,” a revived tradition where people host friends and family to watch the race on TV or listen to it on the radio. “We’re trying to be this one-two punch between being a business driver for our sponsors and creating a great experience for our fans,” said Davis. “Whether we’re impacting what sponsors are doing with their advertising or at retail, or entertaining on site or b-to-b, or whatever the case may be, a lot of times our fans are the beneficiary. As much as we’re trying to entertain our fans, our sponsors are trying to use the sport to reach those fans, so when that intersection takes place, that’s the moment we’re shooting for. “We try to have our sponsors take a

Another unique element to the fan experience around the Indy 500 is glamping, or glamorous camping. At IMS, the experience is equal parts luxurious and convenient. It’s also wildly popular. “Competition to be a part of glamping feels like trying to get to the top of the Lambeau Field ticket list,” said Alex Damron, IMS director of communications. “There’s a long wait list because people love the experience. It offers just about any amenity you would want. It’s a first-class experience.” Some families have made moving into the luxury tents at IMS their new Memorial Day tradition. And once they’ve moved in for the weekend, they can take advantage of all the entertainment opportunities without having to wait in any more lines. Added Damron, “It’s luxurious because it really is top of the line — everything that you can think of is provided for you — it’s a very comfortable set up. It’s convenient in the sense that you come in for the weekend and you’re here. There are no more lines, there’s no more parking to worry about, no more tickets to check. Your experience is set.”

What’s next After hosting the 100th version of one of the world’s biggest sports events, Indianapolis Motor Speedway is not resting on its laurels. There is another race next year, there are more fans to convert and there are more fantastic experiences to dream up. “This notion of building a special event around the world’s largest singleday sporting event is something we’ll tether back to as we develop our plans,” said Davis. “After this one, everyone is asking, ‘What are you going to do next year?’ So that’s part of the plan moving forward, to make sure the 101st Indy 500 is as successful as the 100th.”

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The party on the day of the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 got started five hours before the green flag dropped. Gates to the Snake Pit, a music venue nestled in turn 3 of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, opened at 7:00 a.m., and 30,000 millennials turned out for an EDM concert headlined by Skrillex, a DJ/singer/songwriter who packs festivals all over the world. Sunday morning’s EDM concert at the Brickyard followed Friday’s rockand-roll show featuring Journey and Saturday’s country set with Blake Shelton. The music series is central to the evolution of the Indy 500 into the ultimate entertainment weekend, one designed to offer something for everyone and grow the race’s already huge fan base. The 2016 version of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing marked the first sellout in the event’s history — 350,000 fans was the widely reported number. With an audience that big, a property has to market to a broad cross-section of people, while IMS focuses on organically developing the next generation of open-wheel racing fans. “Music is a great entry for us to do that,” said Rod Davis, chief revenue officer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “It brings young people out to experience events here and it introduces them to the facility and the track and what’s taking place. Part of the cycle of going from music fan at the speedway to race fan at the speedway is being exposed to all these offerings.” Davis recalls the story of a race fan’s son who, in May, attended his third Snake Pit concert and after this year’s show told his mother, “Hey, I’m going to check out the race next year.” “That’s a common evolution,” said Davis. “The Snake Pit is the place to be for the millennial who wants to go to a special event, but maybe doesn’t follow racing yet. There’s this natural curiosity to go from the Snake Pit to want to see what else is happening, where someone says, ‘I’m going to watch the race this year, because I heard how great it was last year when I was in the Snake Pit.’” Kyle Krisiloff, senior director of music and entertainment, added of the cross

Crowd for the Miller Lite Carb Day concert headlined by Journey. 26

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IndyCar driver Conor Daly visits the Snake Pit.



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The Indianapolis Motor Speedway would like to thank:

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND CONTRIBUTIONS TO A FANTASTIC 100TH RUNNING. IN 2017, THE 101ST INDY 500 PRESENTED BY PENN GRADE MOTOR OIL TURNS THE PAGE TO THE NEXT CENTURY OF “THE GREATEST SPECTACLE IN RACING.”

JULY 11-17, 2016

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DC Events Surrounds Visitors for a Total Event Experience

EVENTS DC

For Events DC, the official convention and sports authority for the District of Columbia, the fan experience begins well before you enter the venue — it starts as soon as you arrive in the nation’s capital. Events DC works closely with hotels, restaurants and transportation authorities to make sure you are welcomed and a part of something bigger than the production. “We recognize the importance of the entire event experience, not just what happens inside our venues,” said Erik Moses, senior vice president and managing director for sports, entertainment and special events at Events DC. “As a result, we engage our partners across the District in an effort to optimize the overall event experience for residents and visitors, including the booking of your travel and accommodations, the ease of maneuvering throughout the city and the customer service you receive at the event.” Events DC brands itself as an event management organization, with hospitality industry values, that works with the city’s professional and collegiate sports teams, concert/festival promoters, conference organizers, rights holders, media and business and community partners to add value to events — large, small and everything in between. Those values extend to fans, patrons and attendees. It’s about ensuring a positive experience from beginning to end. For example, 2013 marked the 100th anniversary of U.S. Soccer. As the U.S. Soccer Federation shopped for a location and venue to host its centennial, Events DC promised to deliver the VIP treatment for fans, sponsors and other partners. DC was decked out for soccer, as city assets were made available to showcase the event, including having bus shelters and Metro stops adorned with U.S. Soccer logos and colors. The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) coordinated with members operating local restaurants and bars to curate menus to offer German food and beer, as well as discounts for soccer fans. A very special event — a match between the U.S. men’s national team and world soccer power Germany — served as the celebration’s centerpiece. “It felt like a city takeover,” said Moses. “Other cities could offer a very big venue, but nothing as comprehen-

Recently named the “fittest” city in America, D.C. is a perfect location for endurance events like the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon, Army Ten-Miler, DC Bike Ride and many others.

EVENTS DC

Affordable and accessible DC

D.C.’s extensive Metro system connects venues, hotels and the city’s many tourist attractions. 28

The celebration of the U.S. Soccer Federation Centennial included a match between the U.S. and Germany.

There is nothing more important to the fan — or any consumer — than affordability. And, in 2015, Washington, D.C., was named “best in sports travel” by Hotels.com and SeatGeek for its affordable ticket prices and popularity in both sports and travel. With an average ticket price of $51 across its pro and college teams, as well as an average hotel room price of $160 per night, a trip for an event in DC will not break the bank for most fans. In addition to staying within their budget to attend an event in DC, fans also find themselves in a remarkably accessible town. The 68-square-mile city consists of sports venues that are accessible by bicycle, public transit and car. Bikesharing program Capital Bikeshare has more than 3,000 shareable bicycles at hand for fun and easy transit, while teams such as the Washington Nationals offer free bicycle valet for riders. Each sport venue is also located less than a mile from the nearest Metro train station and, with parking lots and garages available throughout the city, commute options are endless. Accessibility is especially crucial for fans who want to arrive early. And they have plenty of reasons to arrive early to a game in DC. The Redskins’ tailgating experience, one of the best in the NFL, features a DJ, live music, food trucks and craft beers. For the MLS fan, D.C. United hosts a pregame tailgate just outside the historic RFK Stadium that features live music, food trucks and drink specials. At Nationals Park, guests SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

EVENTS DC

sive and citywide as we brought to the table. The demonstration of our collaboration for this event was helpful to our city’s successful bid to host the 2014 NHL Winter Classic, 2016 ACC Basketball Tournament, 2017 Big Ten Basketball Championship and 2018 MLB AllStar Game.”



have diverse and delicious food options, as they can enjoy classic ballpark fare, local flavors and gourmet concessions created by celebrity chefs. Additionally, Monumental Sports Network provides WNBA fans the opportunity to stream Washington Mystics games for free anytime and anywhere. No matter where they decide to stay, visitors have hundreds of attractions to choose from — the Washington Monument, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Newseum and the National Zoo — and they are all easy to find. “One of the many wonderful things about Washington, D.C., is that it is built on a human scale,” added Moses. “We don’t have towering skyscrapers. It’s a very walkable city and it’s an easy place to navigate. It’s not like other cities that are so spread out. If you stay downtown, you can walk to just about everywhere or you can jump on the Metro — whether that’s the subway or the bus.”

Active DC Everybody wants to stay active and healthy these days and that is no truer than in DC. In 2016, the city was named the nation’s “fittest” city by the American Fitness Index for the third consecutive year. Whether there are runners along Embassy Row, yoga at the National Mall or rowers on the Potomac River, scattered around the city, DC is bus-

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tling with athletic activity. Organizers and sponsors do well to keep this at the heart of their events. “DC is not only a great city to be a spectator, it’s also a city whose the population wants to be in the game,” according to Moses. “The citizen-athlete here is huge and that’s why we’re such a natural for fitness and endurance events, like the DC Bike Ride, Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon, Army TenMiler, Events DC Nation’s Triathlon and countless fun runs, such as the Ridiculous Obstacle Course Race (R.O.C. Race) and Night Nation Run. “Washingtonians are looking for ways to be involved,” Moses added of the city’s sports fans, “and the challenge that we, along with the organizers and sports teams also have is, ‘how do you make those folks who are running and playing on the weekends and don’t want to just have a beer and a hot dog while they sit in the stands, feel more connected to the event?’” A prime example of sponsor activation around this dynamic is the Marines’ partnership with the AT&T Nation’s Football Classic, an annual football game celebrating the tradition, heritage and unity of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The military branch features physical contests, obstacle courses and chin-up bars in the tailgate area.

Social DC DC is not just physically active, it’s also socially active. Teams, such as the Georgetown University Hoyas, use a social media platform called Zoomph to aggregate fan posts across multiple social media platforms to use during breaks in basketball games at Verizon Center. Georgetown approves posts to feature on the videoboard, which encourages fans to interact with the team’s social media accounts and gives everyone a chance to be part of the action by seeing themselves on the big screen. Events DC also uses Zoomph (a local tech company) to engage attendees during fun runs, festivals, galas, sporting events and concerts. Through Zoomph, Events DC and Georgetown are able to engage in and generate online conversations that continue even after an event or game has concluded. “We’ve made it our mission to broaden the narrative about Washington, D.C. DC is not only a city of government, monuments and museums — and politics isn’t the only game in this town,” said Moses. “When residents and visitors have memorable experiences about what our city has to offer, they become ambassadors for the city and embrace local teams. These sentiments also shape visitors’ expectations, demonstrating that if it’s a great place to live, it’s a great place to visit. We work to provide residents and visitors alike with unforgettable experiences they can share together at all of the events we host and produce.” JULY 11-17, 2016

NAME YOUR GAME. Make your next event one to remember. We have the imagination, venues and knowhow to help you create an original experience. Visit our photo gallery to spark some ideas. RFK Stadium Festival Grounds: 80 acres of performance space. Open to possibilities from multi-stage festivals to major concerts.

EVENTSDC.COM/PLAN

Bring Your Imagination

FAN EXPERIENCE 2016

Experience Gives Fans More Flexibility When it comes to purchasing tickets to games and events, sports fans want the ability to attend certain games and skip others. They also want to see the full value from the packages they buy, even if they cannot make some games. Providing this flexibility is a challenge every team and athletic program faces. Atlanta-based Experience offers solutions to these challenges via technology integrated into teams’ mobile apps and venues. Most teams’ revenue generation goals still hinge on season ticket sales, but there is growing recognition of the need to provide fans with additional options for ticket purchasing in order to optimize revenue and create a pipeline of future season-ticket purchasers. “Giving the fan base flexibility is nontrivial,” said Greg Foster, CEO of Experience. “It involves an enormous amount of effort for us to create technology that allows fans to access different sports at various times throughout the year. The reality is, you can’t just develop that without the expertise.” Experience, a two-time Sports Business Award winner (Best in Sports Technology in 2014 and Best in Mobile Fan Experience in 2016), counts about three-quarters of U.S. professional sports teams and upwards of 60 college athletic programs as partners. Fully owned by Cox Enterprises, Experience does not lack for resources to develop new solutions. The fan experience is the company’s core focus because that is the primary

objective of the teams Experience serves. But Foster and his group are being pulled into highlevel discussions to solve newer and bigger problems for teams. “We’re answering those questions with product development, design and innovation,” Foster said. One partner, the University of South Carolina, “has seen tremendous success using Experience’s technology,” said Eric Nichols, USC associate athletic director and chief marketing officer. “For men’s basketball, we’ve attracted new fans to the arena — 28 percent more to be exact. Additionally, our fans that use Experience’s technology are attending four times more games than single-game buyers. “Not only are we happy with these results for subscription access, we’re also giving seasonticket holders more options with their tickets, allowing our loyal fan base to add tickets or return tickets for credit, all via mobile. Experience continues to be a great partner for us and we plan to expand the technology across all sports in 2017.” Another partner, a professional team with a winning on-court product, was looking to create a new rung on the season-ticket ladder and get a new type of buyer into its arena. The solution — use ticket inventory for a subscription package at a price point that makes

attending the games more attractive to once-reluctant fans. Now, not only are more fans attending games, but concession and retail areas are busier and more profitable as well. Experience has also helped Oregon State University implement a new Netflix-like ticketing model, under which fans pay a monthly subscription fee of $19.99 or an annual fee of $239 for access to all of the school’s athletic events, including football and basketball. Foster sees this model also working in pro sports, where consumers will be able to

subscribe to a buffet of events in one market. The next level of products Experience will introduce will incorporate predictive data, analytics and social media to increase ticket sales, give fans a broader experience and facilitate longer-term relationships between fans and teams. While increasing teams’ revenue via ticket sales, flexibility and repeat business is at the core of what Experience offers its partners. The company’s technology also provides opportunity to expand sponsorship inventory. “Sponsors want to spend in mobile and put relevant advertising in front of people on their mobile phone,” Foster said. “We can do that and we can even bring in new advertisers. That’s a huge market. Now, we’re talking billions of dollars that we can address.” Foster concluded, “There’s an abundance of issues we can solve. Teams tell us, ‘Wow, here’s where I was before Experience, here’s where I am now. I want more of these innovative ideas.’ “We get asked all the time, ‘What else do you have that we can take advantage of?’ That’s a great question to be able to answer as a business. A successful company listens and understands demand for certain types of offerings and our product development road map is a reflection of that.”

Nothing beats being there. There’s a reason 325 live sports and entertainment properties  rely on our fan experience technology. Last-minute ticket and subscription access programs powered by Experience technology drive four to seven times higher fan attendance compared to traditional ticketing products.

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When a customer comes back for more of a product, a company is doing something right. When most customers do so, you have a trend. Such is the story of 4Topps Premium Seating, a manufacturer and marketer of innovative and functional premium seating products for stadiums and ballparks. 4Topps’ products have been installed in venues across the NFL, MLB, MLS, college sports, the PGA and Champions Tours, the CFL, minor league baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. And in many of these facilities, there have been multiple installations. Why? Because fans love the cool, innovative mesh seats, and front offices are able to boost their premium seating revenue. 4Topps’ patented flagship product is four 360-degree swivel seats around a semi-circle table — a mini, turnkey loge box. All of their seating products are made of a breathable mesh material, a welcome departure from the hard plastic or vinyl seats found in many sports venues. The mesh seat also dries instantly after a rainfall. The 4Topps’ design provides a social and functional experience for fans, an enhancement from a typical experience in which four fans seated in a row barely get a chance to converse with one another. When the same four people sit at one of 4Topps’ tables, they watch the game and socialize at the same time. “Fans are raving about it and paying top dollar to sit in our seats, and

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4TOPPS PREMIUM SEATING

4Topps: Giving Fans the Best Seat in the House

Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., spring training home of the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins, converted a section of row seating to 4Topps swivel row seats and table units.

that’s driving teams to find additional space to put our products,” said Deron Nardo, 4Topps’ principal and president of sales and marketing. “With venues trending away from tightly-packed seating bowls, we like that our products are able to generate incremental revenue for teams.”

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If a team is interested in maximizing its venue’s premium spaces, its next call should be to 4Topps. The Detroit Tigers, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars and Sporting Kansas City are among the teams that have made that call, and they’re also among the North Carolina-based company’s doz-

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ens of repeat customers. The Tigers furnished their 2014 right field Pepsi Porch renovation with 4Topps swivel seats and tables and, this season, asked 4Topps to furnish a brand new premium area of Comerica Park. The Jags have furnished three areas of EverBank Field with 4Topps tables and barstools. Because of the intense summer heat and humidity in Atlanta, the Braves are installing 2,500 4Topps mesh row seats in the first 15 rows down the foul lines at SunTrust Park, making the best seats in the brand new ballpark even better. The Braves also sold out of 4Topps’ terrace tables in just two months. “There will always be some teams that sell out consistently because of their brand, market or a winning culture,” said 4Topps CEO Joe Bellissimo. “All the rest have to get creative and offer fans something new, comfortable and functional.” The next frontier for 4Topps is suitelevel seating, where teams typically use traditional seats in the outdoor areas. Teams can do more to dress up the outdoor areas of these spaces and make more comfortable, Nardo and Bellissimo believe. And while 4Topps’ success has predominantly been in outdoor sports, the company is starting to see traction in indoor arenas and amphitheaters as well. “Wherever people go to be entertained,” Nardo said, “we want to be the premium seat of choice.”

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How do you get a sponsor’s attention? By putting its brand on a fantastic fan experience and showing the sponsor a great return on its investment with reliable and detailed metrics. MVP Interactive, which is quickly becoming the premier interactive technology provider connecting big-time brands like Anheuser-Busch and CocaCola with sports teams all over the county, is doing exactly this. “We’re providing fantastic, unique experiences for fans and we are creating a return on investment for sponsors,” said James Giglio, founder and CEO of MVP Interactive. “This is the backbone of our business.” The Philadelphia-based company is at the heart of the experiential marketing trend as sponsors are shifting away from static signage and other traditional forms of in-venue advertising. Via its cutting-edge technology, MVP Interactive is helping fans interface with teams and brands. The technology includes virtual reality, photo capture, facial and gesture recognition, character morphing, augmented reality and a host of multi–touch technology, providing opportunities at venues such as virtual penalty kick shootouts and home run derbies, an interactive QB Challenge to test fans’ passing ability and photo activation like virtual bobbleheads, team face paint overlays and augmented reality player selfies. This interactive technology — fans may see as the coolest toys ever — serves to create brand awareness for

MVP INTERACTIVE

MVP Brings Virtual Reality to Live Events

With installations like the virtual penalty kick shootout, MVP gives sponsors the opportunity to pair their brands with popular sports experiences and fans the chance to participate.

sponsors and leverages fans’ passion for their teams. Teams benefit when fans come to the event early and stay late. The fan experience goes way beyond the game on the field. “It’s a co-branded experience between the property and the sponsor, all to the benefit of the fan,” said Giglio. For sponsors, it’s easy to see the results. MVP Interactive’s back-end system shows them a true snapshot of how a day at the stadium or ballpark went. “The gaping hole in experiential marketing is ROI data,” Giglio added. “Our technology is able to quantify and track impression rates and traffic flow, and we have an integrated dashboard where we collect user information. The technology creates a profile of an event space and we can track how many people came through, demographics, dwell time, etc. “That has really caught the interest

of sponsors.” Anthony DiPrizio, co-founder and chief technology officer, explains, “Creating a connected 360-degree overview of users’ experiences ties directly into the growing demand of IoT (Internet of Things).” MVP Interactive’s technology was featured at the 2013 NBA All-Star Jam Session in Houston, which jump started the company’s relationships with teams like the Houston Rockets, Houston Dynamo, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Clippers and Philadelphia Phillies. No team’s venue serves as a better showcase for MVP’s technology than the Washington Redskins’ FedEx Field, where the Bud Light-branded Social Lounge gives fans the opportunity to interact with a wide range of the com-

pany’s products. Since opening in 2014, the Social Longue has been so well received that the Redskins and their sponsor keep expanding it. “It has performed very well,” said Giglio. “Each season the Redskins and A-B add new elements to the Social Longue and then they’ve identified entire sections of the stadium that were completely unused that we helped them activate. So this season, not only are we going to keep operating our Social Longue, we’re going to convert the Bud Light Pavilion into a full-on ‘combine of the future,’ leveraging our technology. So fans on the opposite end of the stadium can now participate in this really cool interactive combine experience, where you’re going through the same activities players do during the draft combine – the vertical jump and 40-yard dash, for example.” MVP Interactive is also helping the Bucs sell season tickets with a virtual reality experience in the team’s sales center. Through 3-D architectural renderings and imaging of Jameis Winston and on-air talent, fans get a virtual tour of the newly enhanced Raymond James Stadium. “We want the marketplace to see us as the go-to provider for whatever technology they want to implement,” said Giglio, who launched the company in 2012 and just sat on the NFL innovation panel at Bud Light’s NFL Partner Summit, along with A-B, WME|IMG and The Players’ Tribune. “And the market is starting to see us as such. It’s an awesome start.”

MVP-INTERACTIVE.COM 211 N 13TH STREET #702 PHILADELPHIA PA 19107 267-273-0176

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Something seemed different to a longtime Arizona Cardinals’ seasonticket holder as he sat in the stands watching his team play the San Diego Chargers on the first Monday night of the 2014 season. “It looks like they repainted the field,” he said to his friend sitting next to him. “The colors are much more vibrant than they’ve been here in the past. It looks amazing.” Except it was not new paint, nor was it new Cardinals uniforms making the colors on the field pop. “I heard the Cardinals replaced their lighting system,” his friend said. He was right — the Cardinals had just installed Ephesus’ LED lighting technology at University of Phoenix Stadium. The decision to become the first NFL venue lit with LED lighting was driven, in no small part, by the fact that the facility would be hosting the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl XLIX in February. Traditionally, when sports teams and facility managers thought about the benefits of installing an LED lighting system, it was energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and low heat emissions that came to mind. Fan experience was not necessarily atop of the list. That notion, however, is changing. “What we’re seeing is that the fan

The fan experience is impacted dramatically by Ephesus’ capability to adjust the tone of the lighting for each event. experiential impact of LED lighting is driving the purchase decisions of professional sports teams and facilities,” said Mike Lorenz, president at Ephesus Lighting Inc. “Teams and facilities understand the benefits for players and that the systems are energy efficient, reduce maintenance costs and improve the presentation on television. But the fan piece of the story is quickly evolving and it’s exciting the maturation of the market.” Bridgestone Arena in Nashville is a great example of how the fan experience has been enhanced with the addition of Ephesus’ LED lighting systems. The Predators game presentation staff now has the ability to control and integrate the lighting at the beginning of games and during intermissions. “You can hear the fans gasp when the lights all go dark, all come on and all go dark again,” said Lorenz. The multi-use Bridgestone Arena also hosts regional and national college basketball tournaments, concerts, family shows, ice performances and special events, like the Country Music Association Awards and even the 2016 NHL AllStar Game. These events all have different lighting requirements and their presentations are improved by adjusting the color and tone of the lights. The Ephesus system allows venue operators to transition seamlessly from hockey to rock and JULY 11-17, 2016

JOHN RUSSELL

Ephesus Makes Lighting a New Element in the Game Experience

Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators, is using Ephesus lighting to add a new dynamic to their game presentation — adjusting lighting tones to fit the event and create dramatic transitions from live action to breaks.

roll to basketball to shows for the kids — with just the push of the button. The fan experience is impacted dramatically by Ephesus’ capability to adjust the kelvin temperature to personalize the tone of the lighting for each event. For a basketball game, warmer lighting is optimal because fans can better see the wood tones of the floor and flesh tones of the players. For hockey games, cooler light is best. “Aesthetically, it dramatically enhances the look of the event for fans,” Lorenz said. He added, “The fan is now getting consistent light based on the event or activity they are watching. They can count on the light matching that activity and enhancing their experience. And that’s a really cool effect. Before the advent of LED, lighting technicians were compromising to a middle ground, a place that wasn’t great for anyone, but was okay for everyone. LED lighting allows them to be much more specific with how they light an event.”

Out with the old, in with the new As a digital lighting company, Ephesus engineers its products differently than sports lighting providers have for the past 50 years. For example, all Ephesus sports fixtures are built with the power supply integrated into the rest of the fixture — similar to how power supplies are integrated into mobile phones and computers — as opposed to the conventional lighting approach of installing the power supply as a separate component. This traditional approach is inefficient and can result in interference between the lighting fixture and other electronic devices in sports venues. “Our engineers utilized a unique perspective to design our state-of-the-art digital lighting solutions because they SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION



do not come from a traditional, bulbbased lighting background,” explains Lorenz. “As a result, we have been able to debunk many preconceived notions to revolutionize sports lighting with innovative solutions that offer facility managers many benefits beyond just energy efficiency and better quality lighting.” Also, because of a new predictive feature of Ephesus’ lighting systems, the company’s customers are never left in the dark. With traditional lighting systems, we could see only if a light was on or off. Ephesus’ systems can gauge the health of a light, monitor it and predict the performance of a system before it fails or even before a single light fails. “This is fantastic from an operator’s perspective,” said Lorenz.

Making the broadcast better While Ephesus’ LED system is best known for allowing fans in the arena, ballpark or stadium to see a better game, it also enhances the way highdefinition television cameras see the light. The company has been integrating the Television Lighting Consistency Index (TLCI) into its systems with an eye on moving its technology up that scale. A higher TLCI translates to broadcasters’ ability to maintain consistent light in the shows being watched by millions of fans. This is especially important for outdoor venues or those affected by changes in natural light as daytime fades into darkness. Said Lorenz, “The broadcast quality allows the production team to transmit the image in a much more vivid and accurate color rendering than the case with other lighting systems where they are forced to actually Photoshop the image before transmitting it.”

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What’s next? Thanks in part to Ephesus, the fan experience will continue to improve. In the near future, facility managers can expect the Ephesus system to offer additional intelligence to connect with wearable technologies. There will be more information available to spectators in the venue based on sensing technology and player wearables that will allow fans to track how fast a player is running, how hard a ball is being hit or how fast a ball is being pitched. Adding cool features like this will not be difficult for Ephesus customers. “We built our technology with the ability to upgrade to that level of intelligence when the technology is available, so you won’t have to replace the system,” said Lorenz. “We can just upgrade the software for a system, much like you would update your phone or computer.”

Ephesus does it all With an industry-leading 500-plus installations, Ephesus’ systems have been in operation for more than 270 million hours since the company became the first to install an LED lighting system at a professional sports venue in North America in 2012. The company’s LED lighting is in indoor and outdoor venues, spanning from pro facilities to college facilities to municipal fields. “This is an exciting time to be part of the rebirth of sports lighting. After a 60-year run, the industry realizes the benefits of well-designed solid-state LED sports lighting and is embracing it as a far better alternative to legacy metal halide fixtures for new and existing applications,” said Lorenz. “We have been lighting a wide range of venues from all four major professional sports to universities to municipal ball fields with the best technology in the marketplace.” 33