As any parent of a soccer or hockey-playing child knows, TeamSnap is an invaluable resource for keeping track of practices and games while also indicating their availability to coaches and managers.
Established in Boulder, Co. in 2009, the web and app-based product now boasts approximately 10.5 million users in 196 countries, including 2.5 million users in Canada.
TeamSnap’s chief growth officer Ken McDonald said the company had enjoyed a “pretty significant presence” in Canada for roughly five years, and is looking to grow its user base with the launch of a new product catering to sports clubs, leagues, associations, etc.
The new tool, TeamSnap for Clubs & Leagues, is aimed at administrators, commissioners and volunteers, and includes an array of tools including online registration, a website builder, standings and live score tracking, scheduling and roster building.
TeamSnap recently enlisted longtime Bell Media sports publicist Greg McIsaac to oversee communications, promotions and Canadian partnerships through his company Greg McIsaac Communications.
McIsaac is a veteran sports publicist who spent several years with Bell Media, overseeing communications initiatives for the likes of the Grey Cup, IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships and the Super Bowl.
McDonald told Marketing the company had a “very strong incentive” to invest in Canada, since TeamSnap’s penetration here is eight times that of the U.S. and three of its top five cities are Canadian (Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary). Hockey comprises the company’s largest user segment, followed by soccer, baseball, basketball and lacrosse.
But, while TeamSnap enjoys high awareness in Canada, McDonald said it also had something of a perception problem, with many people primarily regarding it as a product catering to individual teams. He said leagues and associations represented a “small percentage” of its total user base.
While much of TeamSnap’s revenue is generated from its paid user base, it has experimented with display advertising.
“We have a very viable business model right now, so advertising hasn’t been as much of a priority in the short-term,” said McDonald, adding that advertising could potentially become more important as TeamSnap grows its user base.
“You need a certain scale for advertisers to be interested in what you’re doing, and we feel we’re right on the cusp of people starting to tell us we’re interesting,” he said.
TeamSnap doesn’t boast a high dwell time, with a typical web session lasting three minutes and 50 seconds, a session in the iOS app lasting three minutes and 20 seconds, and the Android app about 50 seconds.
McIsaac told Marketing functionality in the iOS is currently slightly more robust, but a sizeable update to the Android app is in the works.
The company does engage in marketing through online advertising including paid search and Facebook, and offline sponsorships including The Coaches Site’s recent “TeamSnap Hockey Coaches Conference” in Toronto and Vancouver.
McDonald said much of TeamSnap’s marketing is aimed at generating consumer awareness, since about three-quarters of its free users eventually convert to the paid tier.
“When you have those kinds of numbers, it’s about getting the word out there so people know what you do,” said McDonald. “Once they try it, we’re very successful in getting them to pay for the service. They seem to feel like it’s good value for the money they pay.”
