Moon fishing
In the welcome speech at Savage Marketing this week, the MC Chris Baldwin asked the audience “how many times do you need to fold a piece of A4 paper to reach the moon?” At every conference I attend organizers, speakers and brands are all seeking to enlighten their audience about something. In the last three weeks it has been fun to attend the World Stadium Congress, Sport Analytics & Technology Conference and Savage Marketing. All three offering a different perspective into their world and what the future holds for us. It was an eclectic bunch: architects, stadium operators, manufacturers, data scientists, athletes, rights holders, agencies, marketers, management consultants and even biologists.
But, there is one thing that was central to every conversation: the consumer. Head of Brand Marketing for Uber Eats, Can Akar captured a common theme: “amongst all the change in marketing, understanding the consumer remains unchanged.” Akar also dispelled the myth that food delivery saves people time. People are watching Netflix or chatting with their friends. The reality is much simpler for brands: you are not relevant in my life!
Listening to experienced architects talking about the future of sport venues, especially football stadia there was one which caught my attention. The Ras Abu Aboud is the seventh stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™. It will be constructed using 1,372 shipping containers, removable seats and other modular ‘building blocks’ to create a 40,000-seat venue. After the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar™ it will be dismantled and repurposed for sporting and non-sporting projects, introducing bold new ideas in tournament legacy planning. Given the nature of Qatar and latest market research indicating 59% of fans prefer to watch sport at home, perhaps it is time we take a different approach to delivering the fan experience.
Recognizing that a stadium operator cannot be involved in all the latest technological start-ups, the Johan Cruyff Arena introduced a program called ‘Change the Game’. The main objective is to engage and exchange knowledge, develop, test and improve the quality of the stadium experience. A total of 189 companies participated from which 35 finalists were selected. In the process the stadium will become a field lab and showcase for the Johan Cruyff Arena and associated partners.
When it comes to performance measurement and management on the pitch, data driven products and services are popping up like wild mushrooms. I can see a parallel to what has happened in brand and sponsorship research: there is no universal standard and whilst every organisation claims to have discovered the holy grail of algorithms, the reality is simple. As Barry McNeill, CEO of Catapult Sports stated: “it is not about having it but extracting insights.” If you ever ask someone from Red Bull to speak at your event, generally you are told: the Bull never speaks! But, every now and then they do. Andi Gall, the CIO of Red Bull for 13 years delivered a clear message in his presentation entitled ‘Re-activate the senses’ advising scientists and marketers to find a balance between data and gut feeling. According to Gall, ‘innovation is about spending more time with your kids!’.
With a mountain of take-aways from each conference I cannot do it all justice. But, there are always some nuggets that make you think. 82% of all internet traffic will be consumed on mobile by 2021. We are already using our mobile 151 minutes and scrolling 91 meters of content per day. Only 10% of users turn their screen to landscape for video (really??). According to Jeremy King, CEO of Attest, a biologist turned data explorer, nature has already solved most of our problems in innovation, strategic thinking and marketing. I will never look at a mantis shrimp, tiger butterfly or squid in the same light ever again. You had to be there. Moon fishing was not actually discussed but I have the impression it might not be as crazy as it sounds…..and if you can fold an A4 piece of paper 42 times you will be able to reach the moon!