Marketing execs representing brands ranging from Target to NASCAR talked about making big events memorable as part of a panel discussion that ended Day 1 of the ’15 Intersport Brand Engagement Summit. The session, titled, “Driving Brand Affinity: Making Your Big Event a Personal Experience,” included StubHub's Justin Finn, Target's Dan Griffis, Under Armour's Shana Gritsavage, the Cubs' Alison Miller and NASCAR's Jeff Wohlschlaeger. The group pointed to several keys for successful activation, ranging from Under Armour’s focus on appealing to young children who dream of becoming athletes to NASCAR presenting a “total attack on your senses.” While the panelists agreed on the importance of making an event personal, their answers showed the different ways brands pursue that connection. For Griffis, clarity in the stories his company tells is vital. “There’s two key elements,” he said. “There’s the ability for a clear spine to run through the center of the story -- it’s that clear spine that draws people in. The second piece is to make it as easy to understand as they possibly can.” Asked to choose whether story trumps experience for StubHub, Finn, on the other hand, did not hesitate: “We don’t have as much storyline to be able to tell. Ours is really the experience. … We personalize things by being able to get people to participate.”
POWER OF INFORMATION: Asked about the most valuable type of data for their organizations, Finn, Wohlschlaeger and Miller each emphasized the importance of getting information on who attends their events. StubHub, whose average customer buys two tickets, looks for information about the people who accompany the ticket buyer. NASCAR knows that most of its season-ticket holders are older males, but through the use of facial recognition, Wohlschlaeger said he has found that crowds often feature more Millennials and women than expected. Miller discussed her preference for fans to buy digital tickets so that the Cubs can keep better tabs on them. “We hate the paper ticket,” she said. “I know the collector fan that wants to keep the stub from the game that was the no-hitter or whatever. The paper ticket just makes it really hard to understand who’s in our ballpark.” Gritsavage, though, talked about the data that Under Armour is emphasizing: connected fitness. “We are now in the connected fitness digital business,” she said. “You’re coming to my event, I want to turn you into a connected fitness consumer, so I’m trying to get you on your phone. Not to necessarily buy a T-shirt. I want you to get on these apps that we just acquired that we’re developing so that we can help you become healthier."
