Yogurt, BBQ … and facial-recognition software?
It’s all part of the Golden State Warriors’ latest seven-figure “gold alliance” partnership deal.
Ignite Farm, a Walnut Creek, Calif.-based venture firm whose companies and brands include FacialNetwork, Yoatz yogurt and the Kinder’s Meats & BBQ chain, has signed a three-year deal with the Warriors worth at least $1 million annually that makes the company one of Golden State’s biggest sponsors.
The deal will put the company’s Yoatz logo on the Warriors’ practice jerseys beginning in January. It also provides for a Kinder’s hospitality suite at Oracle Arena and will give all of Ignite’s brands signage throughout the venue. But the more intriguing, and revolutionary, aspect of the deal is that the Warriors — with a clear eye on adding new technology for their planned new arena — will start testing Ignite’s FacialNetwork product as part of the agreement.
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The Warriors are looking at the technology more for customer-relations purposes.
Photo by: NBAE / GETTY IMAGES
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It’s FacialNetwork’s first sports team deal and the first facial-recognition company to do business with an NBA team.
Neither team nor company officials have committed to any particular uses at this point, but the technology has several potential applications, from arena security to serving as a virtual season ticket for season-ticket holders. Fans could submit to the team an online photo of themselves that could then, through a tablet or smartphone, serve as that fan’s season ticket, or provide that fan with entrance to suites or clubs within the arena. The Warriors could also use the system as another way to collect data on specific fan preferences related to merchandise sales and concessions by similarly making a connection using a tablet or smartphone and the technology to match up the buyer’s photo.
“We have talked to the team about a lot of possibilities,” said FacialNetwork CEO Kevin Tussy. “We are not sure what applications will be put in place.”
The use of facial-recognition technology is not new to sports; it’s been used in the past by the NFL for security purposes at the Super Bowl. But the Warriors are looking at the technology more for customer-relations purposes, especially as they work to build a new $600 million arena complex in San Francisco with a planned 2018-19 opening.
“We will begin beta testing to see if we want to incorporate it into the venue in San Francisco,” said Chip Bowers, chief marketing officer of the Warriors, adding that by building a database from fan-submitted images, the team could better recognize their customers and perhaps offer tailored ticket offers, concessions and merchandise inside the arena.
Bowers said that from a CRM perspective, the technology could give the Warriors a new way to create added value for fans. “So we can put their image in a database and personalize the experience,” he said. “But it can’t be just another method to push information to our core customers.”
Ignite approached the Warriors in June about a deal.
“We want to be forward-thinking and not risk-averse,” Bowers said. “The goal is to push the envelope.”
But the Warriors also are aware of the privacy issues that could stem from any team’s use of facial-recognition software.
“The responsibility falls on the teams to make sure that it is not invasive and that it is helpful,” Bowers said.
Bowers said FacialNetwork to date has been focusing on marketing its software to the hospitality industry. Company officials said they are looking to do more deals after testing the technology with the Warriors.
“We will be developing it and taking it out nationally,” said Ignite CEO Joe Rainero.
Ignite joins Clorox, Kaiser Permanente, Visa, Jawbone and current arena naming-rights partner Oracle as Golden State’s “gold alliance” partners. The team created that sponsorship category in 2011, with Kaiser Permanente the first of the top-tier partners.
Ignite was founded by Rainero and other investors in February. The company then bought Kinder’s, which was founded in 1946, and added the two-year-old FacialNetwork this summer, along with adding the recently launched Yoatz brand.
