The San Francisco 49ers are using a new tablet-based ticket and suite sales product developed by multimedia company Channel 1 Media Solutions that digitizes the marketing and contract processes.
The 49ers’ tablet presentation includes high-end digital brochures, simulated views from the team’s proposed new stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., seat manifests and contract documents. Purchasers sign for their seats right on the tablet using a stylus, rendering the whole process paperless.
Sales representatives for the 49ers and partner Legends Premium Sales have used the tablet product for their suite sales for the new stadium, and are looking to branch out to club and general ticket sales next year.
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CHANNEL 1 MEDIA SOLUTIONS
The system from Channel 1 Media Solutions provides electronic documents ready to sign. |
“We have the stadium preview center, but this really supplements that, and allows us to take essentially what is there in the center out on the road,” said Al Guido, vice president of new sales and service for Legends Premium Sales, which is running luxury seat sales efforts for the 49ers.
“Going out with traditional paper pieces of sales collateral or a standard PowerPoint presentation just didn’t have the ‘wow’ factor, particularly in this market where seemingly everybody has got a tablet of their own of some sort,” Guido said.
Development of the 49ers’ tablet-based sales product began in June over drinks at the Association of Luxury Suite Directors conference in Los Angeles. It is designed to run on any of the major platforms, including Apple’s iOS and Android.
Legends and 49ers executives declined to outline how many suite sales have been closed using the tablet product. But overall, more than $150 million in suite revenue has been generated in presales, even before final approval and financing for the stadium have been secured. Having the immediacy of electronic documents ready to sign has also been useful in closing sales with buyers who may have wavered otherwise, Guido said.
The deal continues a strong run for Toronto-based Channel 1, which now counts 100 major league sports teams as clients, for projects including website development, electronic brochures and DVD production. “We’ve quietly built up a lot of momentum,” said Channel 1 President Evan Karasick.
