The Brooklyn Nets signed an interesting multiyear deal with a shopping technology called Mobilibuy that allows fans to scan and buy items using their Android or iPhone device.
Mobilibuy launched on the Nets’ app last month. The team installed posters and electronic video screens throughout Barclays Center — company representatives call them virtual stores — complete with images of merchandise that fans can scan from their mobile device and buy. The app also has a voice function.
The Nets’ game program has pages with images that allow fans to scan and buy specific items. Fans can pick up purchases from a kiosk at the stadium or have them mailed to their houses.
A number of heavy hitters have invested in the technology, including Nielsen, Israel’s Office of the Chief Scientist and Millhouse Capital, which is the investment arm for Roman Abramovich, owner of EPL club Chelsea and also a prominent backer.
Mobilibuy hired media consultants David Berman and Neal Pilson to push the technology into the U.S. market. The executives would not discuss the structure of the Nets deal, but they said they’ve had conversations with a number of U.S. leagues and teams.
“We are talking to a significant number of sports properties,” Pilson said. “The simplicity of it is its strongest selling point.”
Chelsea tested Mobilibuy at Stamford Bridge for two games earlier this season, using ad pages in the official game program to peddle its wares.
“We had a significant response at the game,” Berman said. “But we were surprised to see that people who took the program home continued to use the app.”
