Brentford FC launch official club app & FanScore with InCrowd

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Download for iPhone – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/brentford-fc-official/id1172756708?mt=8

Download for Android – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.incrowdsports.football.brentford&hl=en

  • Official club content always at the fans fingertips wherever they are
  • Rich new interactive sponsorship opportunities now open to club
  • New gamification platform Brentford FC FanScore also launched

Brentford FC fans now have a direct channel to their club wherever they are thanks to the release of their new official Brentford FC app. Fans will be able to access content throughout the week, on match day, at home as well as in a packed Griffin Park, thanks to the app’s unique and powerful connectivity software, TribeHive Connect.

Fans will be able to access and post to Twitter and check the in-game live match statistics wherever they are. Brentford’s progress throughout the season will be able to be seen, live, within the dynamic league table feature as well as all previous results and upcoming fixtures for the rest of the season. Tickets for upcoming fixtures and all club merchandise can now be purchased via the club shop and ticket sections within the app. 

For those not lucky enough to be at the game, live scores and audio commentary courtesy of Brentford PlayerHD (subscription required) will be available to keep fans up-to-date. Video highlights will be accessible for those fans who have missed the day’s events or for those that just want to relive the action.

Brentford FC FanScore is also available within the Brentford FC app. Whilst offering the club new, rich and interactive sponsorship opportunities, FanScore also allows fans to vote for their man of the match as well being able to predict on multiple events within a match such first goalscorer, the minute of the first goal, half-time and full-time results. Prizes will be awarded to the best performing fans on multiple occasions throughout the remainder of the 2016/17 season and beyond.

Brentford FC also now have the ability to understand their fans better than ever before, enabling them to create new strategies across all commercial functions. A new push notification system will give Brentford a new data-driven and highly targeted channel to communicate to their fans on a regular basis.

Kurt Pittman, Director of Marketing at Brentford FC stated “We have had a fantastic experience working with InCrowd, they proved they can not only deliver an innovative platform but adapt it to suit our needs. We believe this is the start of a very important partnership for Brentford FC as we strive to give our fans a connected experience wherever they are.”

Aidan Cooney, CEO at InCrowd commented that “We are very proud to be working with London’s local club. They have a fantastic fanbase and we are very pleased to offer them the best mobile platform on the market today”.

InCrowd attending the Fanalyse European Summit

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InCrowd are looking forward to attending this Thursday’s (17th November) Fanalyse European Summit at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. 

We will be demonstrating our official apps and how they can offer rights holders new communication channels to fans and exciting sponsorship opportunities for rights holders. We will also be holding a prize draw throughout the day on our new mobile 3D game, Handoff Challenge, with the top scorer standing to win a prize for their efforts.

The Fanalyse Euro Summit is a perfect opportunity for sports and venue based professionals with key topics within fan engagement and fan experience at the forefront of discussions with speakers, panelists and delegates.  

If you would like to get in touch with us to find out more about this event then please email enquiries@incrowdsports.com.

Aidan Cooney to give panel discussion at the 2016 World Rugby Conference

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Aidan Cooney, co-founder and CEO of InCrowd, will be taking part in a panel discussion at the 2016 World Rugby Conference in London on Tuesday 15th November.

Aidan will be speaking at the “Marketing the game – using insight to grow audiences and partnerships” session at 16:00 on the Conference Stage alongside Fiona Green, Chief Executive of Winners and Matt Rogan, Chairman of Two Circles.

The panel aim to address how national member unions and clubs can leverage audience data to identify which trends and what insights will increase fan-engagement and match attendance as well as establishing how can data trends and audience insights be used to attract and create more effective sponsorships, partnerships and improved commercial returns.

If you would like any more information on the World Rugby Conference and how to book your ticket, please click here.

InCrowd Prize Presented at University of Sussex Graduation

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The InCrowd Prize for best overall Computer Science performance was this week presented to Justin Crow at the University of Sussex Graduation Ceremony.

Dr Jon Rimmer, an InCrowd Director and Research Fellow at the University presented Justin with his award and prize for his achievements throughout his degree. “This is a really important event for InCrowd to be a part of as our technical foundation was laid with the support of the University. In fact, most of our technical team have come through the Computer Science department at Sussex. It is a relationship we value very highly.”

Professor Ian Wakeman added that, “it’s great to have a company such as InCrowd here to recognise the achievements of our students. The technology and products InCrowd produce are at the cutting edge of Computer Science and are something our students can aspire to be a part of.”

InCrowd’s CEO Aidan Cooney featured on SB Weekly Podcast

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Aidan speaks at length with SB Weekly’s Matt Cutler on InCrowd and industry trends on the transformation of the in-stadia experience by improving connectivity within venues and creating apps that help sports teams engage with fans and open up commercial revenue streams in the process.

Download the episode to hear Aidan discuss why:

  • Europe’s behind the United States and Australia in connecting stadia
  • It’s imperative sports teams invest in an official mobile app
  • You shouldn’t describe the approach InCrowd advocates as “disruptive”
  • His career as a sports journalist was shortlived
  • He came to the decision to sell Opta in 2013
  • Sports performance data finally became mainstream in the UK
  • The retail industry is one sport can take the lead from…

Available to listen on:

iTunes

Stitcher

Pocket Casts

Tune in

Player FM

Overcast

Podbay

Podcasts.com

InCrowd win the judges vote at Sports TechPitch 4.5

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We are very proud to announce that InCrowd have won the judges vote at Sports TechPitch 4.5.

Sports TechPitch 4.5 is a platform to enable startups specifically within the sport-tech industry from all across Europe to showcase their business proposition to a relevant wider audience, including VCs, sport industry professionals and experts, journalists, as well as other aspiring and successful sport and tech entrepreneurs.

InCrowd’s Archie Woodhead gave a three minute keynote presentation that focused on our stadium connectivity technology and revenue model to a panel of six judges (details below).

The other entrants…

BibShot – an app that connects participants and spectators through event photography

imin– an aggregator of open physical activity session data mirroring the multi-billion dollar travel aggregation model

Kymira – developing the smart clothing of tomorrow for a cleaner, safer, healthier planet, and validating technologies on the sportswear market for medical applications

Matter fit – disruptive fitness equipment that aims to change the way you work out, for the better

Pactster – a social fitness platform aimed at getting more people exercising more of the time, by tackling motivation and adherence

VSportR – realistic virtual spaces for interactive and immersive sports content

Xmetrics – a wearable technology company, combining Italian design with advanced biomechanical sensors and sophisticated algorithms, resulting in the ultimate ingenious activity tracker to improve any swimmer’s performance

The judging panel…

  • Chris Huey – Investment Manager, NEON Adventures
  • Iain McDonald – Senior Associate, Lewis Silkin
  • Dan McLaren – Founder, Digital Sport
  • Dom Moorhouse – Entrepreneur, investor and owner of European Fitness League   
  • Alexandra Willis – Head of Communications, Content and Digital at The All England Lawn Tennis Club (Championships) Limited
  • Nic Couchman – Sports Investment Partners and Chairman of sports business law firm Couchmans LLP

What is TechPitch 4.5?

TechPitch 4.5 is a platform for tech startups and entrepreneurs to show-case their business idea to a wider audience, including investors, journalists, potential partners and peers.

It takes the form of an evening pitch competition which brings together tech startups, investors, entrepreneurs, as well as business and technology experts, to see the latest tech business ideas receive productive feedback on their proposition and pitch from a panel of judges with mixed business, technology, marketing, investment and financial expertise. .

TechPitch 4.5 provides an opportunity for potential investors to observe and learn about the latest tech startups, as well as new technology business trends. Some of the startups presenting at TechPitch 4.5 will have profited from the 2Pears pitch-training workshops organised with the support from UK Trade & Investment, UKTI.

For entrepreneurs and tech startups, TechPitch 4.5 has proven fertile ground for networking and making useful connections with potential investors, business experts and advisors, journalists, as well as peers, potential partners and users.

InCrowd shortlisted for the BT Sport Industry 2016 Cutting Edge Award

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Sport Industry Group has unveiled the Official Shortlist for the BT Sport Industry Awards 2016, featuring a variety of outstanding campaigns, sponsorships, programmes, brands and activations from across 13 different categories and we very pleased to announce InCrowd has been shortlisted for the BT Sport Industry Cutting Edge Sport Award.

The nomination is testament to the industry leading work by InCrowd’s technology team, who are based in “Silicon Beach” Brighton. 

We are facing some formidable competition in the form of DNAFit, Football Foundation, Formula E, Hawk-Eye and Henley Royal Regatta. The full list of nominations can be seen here http://www.sportindustry.biz/events/awards/2016/shortlist.

Nick Keller, chairman, Sport Industry Group, commented: “The wide variety of work on the Official Shortlist is proof once again that the UK sport industry leads the way in creativity and innovation. We are delighted by the incredible level of high-quality work to be found across the board.

“Throughout a thorough steering process, overseen by our official adjudicators EY, the Steering Committees had as tough a job as ever narrowing down the list, with any piece of work making the Official Shortlist representing a truly stellar achievement.”

The Official Shortlist was selected through an extensive Steering Process -involving more than 70 key industry figures and 40 hours of intensive judging, fully overseen by EY – and will now go forward for consideration by the main Judging Panel, who will decide the winners in each category.

The industry’s flagship event will see over 1,750 major players from the world of sport, business and entertainment come together for an unforgettable night celebrating the standout work from across the sporting world.

BT is the Headline Partner of the BT Sport Industry Awards, joining EY as an Official Partner.

Albion Ventures invests in InCrowd

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Albion Ventures LLP (‘Albion Ventures’), one of the largest independent venture capital investors in the UK, has led a £1.65m funding round in the mobile fan engagement and sports marketing company InCrowd Sports (“InCrowd”). Albion Ventures are investing alongside Sky and a number of angel investors.

The management team is led by Aidan Cooney who previously set up the world’s leading sports data company, Opta, also backed by Albion Ventures. He is joined by two IMG executives and a technology group borne out of the University of Sussex Innovation Centre.

InCrowd develops mobile apps for professional sports clubs underpinned by the unique technology solution developed by the team at the University of Sussex. The technology solves the problem of poor connectivity in crowded places and allows phones to share all available connectivity, rather that compete for it.

InCrowd apps contain real-time content, match analysis and interactive fan games which directly engage sport’s most committed fans. InCrowd currently works with 10 football clubs including Middlesbrough and Watford and will be investing heavily in technology to create digital sponsorship rights for clubs and leagues. With over 50% of the UK’s advertising spent on digital, this will be a major growth area for sport sponsorship over the next five years.

Ed Lascelles, Partner at Albion Ventures said:

“We are delighted to be working with Aidan again after our successful time together with Opta. He and his team at InCrowd have a huge opportunity to transform and enrich fans’ experience at live sports events, while at the same time offering rights holders and brands hyper targeted access to a large and valuable market.”

Emma Lloyd, Director of Corporate Development & Strategic Investments at Sky, said:

“This is the latest in a series of Sky investments in pioneering technology companies, which we know bring real benefits to customers. We’re really looking forward to working with InCrowd, a company that shares our passion for innovation, and for finding new and exciting ways to deliver content.”

Aidan Cooney, CEO of InCrowd said:

“This round of funding not only enables us to invest in the technology needed to improve experiences for fans, clubs and sponsors but also brings with it a number of incredible people who will help us on our journey.”

ENDS

For further enquiries please contact:

Patrick Evans / David Sells (for Albion Ventures)

+44 (0)20 7282 2863 or Patrick.evans@citigatedr.co.uk / david.sells@citigatedr.co.uk

 

Archie Woodhead (for InCrowd)

+44 (0)20 3137 9873 or archie.woodhead@incrowdsports.com

 

About Albion Ventures

Albion Ventures LLP is a leading venture capital investor which has been managing investments in small unquoted UK companies since 1996. Albion has over £270 million under management across six Venture Capital Trusts and a portfolio of around 60 businesses.

Albion Ventures looks to invest £1-10m in growing businesses within a variety of sectors including healthcare, technology, environmental, travel and leisure, and asset-based businesses. Our approach is to provide strategic advice as well as financial resources in order to realise the full potential of the business invested in and so create returns for our shareholders.

Albion Ventures is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

About Sky

Sky is Europe’s leading entertainment company, serving 21 million customers across five countries: UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy. Sky offers the best and broadest range of content, deliver market-leading customer service and use innovative new technology to give customers a better TV experience, whenever and wherever they choose.

Sky has annual revenues of over £11 billion and is Europe’s leading investor in television content with a combined programming budget of £4.9 billion. The group employs 30,000 people and is listed on the London Stock Exchange (SKY).

About InCrowd

InCrowd is a sports marketing company that uses technology to bring fans closer to the teams they are passionate about. They build club apps based on proprietary TribeHive Connect software, which networks all phones with the app installed, boosting connectivity in sports stadiums, dramatically improving fan’ access to data.

InCrowd enables fans to directly participate via their smart phone, expressing their views, opinions and predictions to each other and via the stadium’s big screen. This also provides a platform for clubs to build one to one relationships with their fan base, whether they’re watching from the stands, the pub, or their home.

How Sport Sponsorship can Develop more Valuable Digital Rights

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Read more

Making the most of a mobile moment

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Advertising is a dynamic industry; that much is a fact. If you are in need to evidence, any number of sources will show you how budget spend has moved from area to area and how it is projected to continue to do so.

Advertising evolves to follow the consumers, who are remarkably fickle in how and when they expect to be communicated with. Timing, whilst always important, has never been more crucial; and this is due at least in part to the rise of mobile connectivity: Because instant became possible, it became expected with the immediacy and locational transferability of a smartphone altering the way in which consumers can respond to marketing messages.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that they will.

 

Digital marketing messages can be exceptionally well targeted; that much is undeniable. On lines of demographics, interests, and purchase history it is possible to target the most relevant people; but are you targeting those people at the time they are best hit? In all likelihood, probably not.

Timing is essential. But that presents its own set of challenges; many of them logistical. The chart below demonstrates this fantastically well; and it would also be interesting to know the style, form, quality, and consistency of moment-responses generated in such short timeframes.

Moment Marketing 1

Credit: eMarketer

However, producing great content at the right time can be – and has been – done exceptionally well as the two examples below demonstrate. They also demonstrate why 67% of digital marketers in the UK expect to increase their spend on moment marketing in 2016.

Mobile Marketing 2

One of the most famous example of moment marketing. The lights go out at Superbowl XLVII and OREO produced this Tweet in around 10 minutes, before the lights came back on. It was retweeted 10,000 times within the first hour.

Mobile marketing 3AFC Bournemouth all but guarantee promotion to the Premier League in their penultimate match of the 2014/15 Championship season. Their goal difference makes them near impossible to catch and they celebrate accordingly; with Charlton their last fixture of the season.

These examples both had the moment created for them, and they acted on it, but wouldn’t advertising, or digital content, be easier if you knew what the moment was going to be? Or even better: What if you could create the moment?

Within direct advertising, it will be difficult to create that moment. However, great sponsorship activations create great moments and what’s more, they create them at a scheduled time. This is a move away from the immediacy of moment marketing, to right-moment marketing.

Thanks to mobile connectivity, anywhere can be the right place and if you can get the right content at the right time, it can go a long way.