Digital Sports: a naive vision of data- Oscar Ugaz
November 15, 2012
In the middle of this reality there is a new and relevant component: data.
Like never before, savvy sports properties and brands have the opportunity to obtain a lot of detailed information. Users of the mobile application of, let’s say a football club, are providing vast amounts of data each time they consume digital content. Something similar happens when they purchase from an e-commerce store or from a ticketing platform, use their membership cards to obtain a discount, consume video content on an official YouTube channel or engage with the club Facebook page. Each of these services provides aggregated, and in many cases, very personal data about demographics, behavior and consumption.
The gentleman from the advertising agency at the Euroleague round table mentioned Nike+ as an example of what can be done with a pure creative approach-that’s a very naive point of view. Simply praising these products and services only for their clever gamification techniques, savvy social media approach or outstanding marketing campaigns misses the fact that data is not just a powerful externality, but a main goal to build around. With the adequate privacy and permission marketing authorizations, data about frequency, repetition, localization and relationships is obtained smoothly.
Does all this data makes sense by itself? Absolutely not. It´s just an unconnected and senseless mess.
Here enters the mathematicians and statisticians with their clever business approach. Their mission is to make sense within the mess, and look for new insights and business opportunities. They will be able to connect them to generate new value. They will be able to see how the consumption of mobile content, the chgaeck-ins in a venue, the sales in an online store, the pattern of consumption of a membership card or the location of a run can help partners like Turkish Airlines or BWIN sell additional air tickets or bets. It will also help sport properties prepare new, insightful and more profitable products or services.
Big data is a relevant opportunity for the future of many industries including sports, but taking advantage of it requires the right approach and the right people. This is not about a sophisticated analytics system for a club website or an official mobile app. In fact, you must invest just 20% in software and platforms. The 80% must be oriented to pay clever people that can analyze the data and transform it into insightful and actionable information to generate new business. The bad news is that there is a shortage of these types of experts and it’s going to get worse. You must start to profile and search for the right people today.
But first me must get rid of our bias visions about how strong our brands and traditional business models are and start paying attention to new disruptive opportunities like the one that data represents. The point of view of agents and middlemen that are adept to the status quo and the “creative big idea” approach that have guided their services in the last 60 years doesn’t help.
Sports brands and properties with all their appeal and interaction can be outstanding examples of how powerful data can be used to exploit business objectives. Let´s avoid approaches that send us to the end of discussion and look for those who make it go further. It’s time to look beyond the obvious and avoid naive opinions on digital in our industry.
About Oscar Ugaz:
Oscar Ugaz is the Regional Project Director at Phantasia Wunderman, a digital business consultancy.
Prior to joining Phantasia Wunderman, Oscar enjoyed a extremely successful spell as Digital Business Manager for Real Madrid C.F, where he managed the club’s e-commerce, online video business, commercial strategy of realmadrid.com portals and social media strategy. He is responsible for launching the club’s Facebook (currently 33 millon ‘likes’), Twitter (currently 6 million followers) and YouTube channel (currently 86 million views).
With a career in digital marketing spanning over 15years, including projects with major brands such as Movistar, SABMiller and Toyota, Oscar often travels the globe as a keynote speaker, often participating at events and conferences on Digital Business Strategy.
He has an MBA from Universidad del Pacifico (Lima, Perú) and has been Consultant and Teacher Assistant of the Wharton Business School GCP Project.
Twitter: @oscarugaz
Oscar Ugaz’ 
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