Written by Chris Kontos, Business Development Representative at Americaneagle.com
National Sports Forum in Atlanta, Ga. was truly a sight to see! This being my first trade show, I was eager to see what this experience had in store for both myself and Americaneagle.com. What was unique about this trade show was getting the opportunity to engage with something I have dealt with my whole life from a different perspective. Looking at the business side of a professional team is something even the most die-hard fans do not think about on a day to day basis. There is an entirely different world outside of the players competing to bring home a win for their team and fan base. In fact, generating more revenue highly correlates with the on the field product and the team’s success.
The four core pillars of the NSF are:
- Sponsorship Sales & Partner Activation: Corporate partnership sales activations behind the brand and sports organizations.
- Marketing & Fan Engagement: How teams engage with their fans. Whether it be a league looking into new fans across the world, a property looking to engage with fans during season, or a corporate partner looking to build
brand affinity with certain fan bases.
- Ticket Sales & Service: Every year new strategies are discussed for ticket sales and to fill stadiums.
- Business Development: As sports evolve, teams are looking for new sources of revenue growth whether it be through the game, through yearly events, or through new ideas.
With many of the bigger professional leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL) having an in house platform for their websites, a lot of our conversations focused around fan engagement. A big dilemma that these teams are looking to tackle is how to get fans to further engage when they are not at the game. Whether it be an away game, the offseason, or out-of-state fan engagement. We are perfectly positioned to assist these teams with their goals. The 100-year anniversary website we developed for the Packers is the perfect example. The website allows fans to search for Packer bars in their area no matter where they are, along with enriching them of their illustrious history. All of this adds to the team’s brand and allows them to have a reach beyond the stadium.
Our booth at the trade show created the opportunity to have initial conversations with these teams, while the majority of these conversations were nurtured during the event afterward. Here, we were able to speak more at length to get a sense of what these teams are looking for and to get to know the people behind their team’s logos. While we did not attend the speaking events, in the future these would be highly beneficial in determining where the industry is going and how we can assist these teams with their agendas.
All in all, the National Sports Forum is surely a can’t miss event for anyone in the industry. As the world becomes more digital and new opportunities arise for more dynamic experiences, we will be here to help teams reach their goals. If you’re curious about finding new ways to increase fan engagement, let’s talk.