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| Shout TV |
When Real Madrid
launched its new mobile app in May, the club highlighted social media platform Shout TV as one of the key features. Shout, which engages fans before, during and after live events with trivia games and contests, is one of several games included in the new app. The process that led to
Shout’s three-year partnership with Real Madrid -- which was signed last summer and went into effect in March -- began during an NBA Brooklyn Nets-Milwaukee Bucks game on February 19, 2013. That night, Shout quickly captured the imagination of Real Madrid Media Dir Rafael de los Santos Navarro, who was one of four Real execs exposed to the app, and its CEO & Founder, Darl McBride. Santos Navarro said, "I saw great potential in it because I had a chance to feel the engagement that it generates." McBride, who had helped provide tickets in Nets guard Deron Williams’ suite for the Real execs, said he made the game available, but did not prod anyone to play it, or even initially introduce himself. McBride: "We wanted to see if unprovoked, they would play the game, and if so, what they would think about it. ... They were just having a blast playing it." McBride’s initial conversation with Santos Navarro and Co. quickly turned into a discussion about a possible partnership. "We talked for about half an hour," McBride said. "And they said, 'How soon can you be in Madrid? We need to talk.'" McBride was not surprised at Real's interest. "Real Madrid cares a lot about their fans," McBride said. "This whole thing about having 82 million Facebook followers and 120 million overall, that didn't happen by accident. They really, really care about the fans. So it's not totally surprising that the club that really cares about their fans was interested in doing a deal with a company that positions itself as the leader of fan engagement."
KEYS TO SUCCESS: Once the deal was signed, the partnership with Real quickly proved to be a boon for Shout, helping it expand its int'l presence from six countries to 203. McBride highlighted the impact of associating with what he called the largest sports club in the world and its 500 million fans, including 120 million inside its social media pages. Santos Navarro credited both Shout's ability to engage fans as a game and facilitate sponsor activation as keys to its growing popularity. He said, "The combination of those two things makes Shout a product that for us is going to be one of the most promising services that we’re going to have." Throughout the early stages of the partnership, Real is more concerned with positive feedback than how many of its fans are using the app, Santos Navarro said. In that regard, the club has been pleased with the results to date, but did not disclose details. Santos Navarro: "Of course, as you can imagine at this point, we have to polish the game."
