Fans using the Toronto Maple Leafs‘ mobile app were set to be treated to exclusive content triggered by mobile beacons at the team’s Draft Party on Friday
MLSE partnered with a Toronto tech company, Rover, to install the beacons at the event. The first notification fans would see were triggered when they arrived, followed by additional messages when they approached any of the statues located at the Air Canada Centre’s Legends Row.
The content (which was designed in house, working with Rover’s CMS and support staff) included history on Legends Row players and information about party activities. Fans with the app were also invited to join special prize giveaways.
“We’re really excited about all the potential that beacons represent in terms of how we can enhance the fan experience,” said Jonathan Carrigan, who spearheaded the initiative as Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment‘s (MLSE) director of marketing intelligence and platforms. “This is the first step in that learning process, in seeing how it works, and how it’s received.”
Carrigan said that, like a lot of companies, MLSE still needs to do some experimenting with beacons to understand what kind of reach they have. Beacon providers have reported high levels of engagement when fans receive beacon messages (Rover says it’s seen engagement rates between 45% and 85%), but it’s not really clear how many fans receive those messages and are able to engage with them. There are a lot of potential barriers to reaching fans: they need to have installed the app, they need to have opted to receive notifications from it and they need to have bluetooth and location services turned on.
MLSE were set to track what percentage of attendees are able to see and interact with beacon content, as well as following reactions on social media and requesting fan feedback. Carrigan said fans would play a big role in guiding how the technology would develop, and that the ultimate goal was to meet their expectations.
“What we’re focusing on across all of our brands, but specifically the Leafs, is how to have a deeper fan engagement,” said Shannon Hosford, vice-president of marketing for MLSE. She said that the Leafs’ announcement that their fanfest will be free this year is another step in that strategy.
Beyond the Draft Party, Rover’s beacons will continue to operate on Legends’ Row, sending notifications with history about the players to fans who approach their statues. The Maple Leafs plan to promote the attraction on social media, and encourage fans to share the experience with their friends.
