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December 21, 2016 | Volume 14, Issue 22
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MY ONE BUFFALO CONNECTS CITIES' SPORTS TEAMS
"My One Buffalo" syncs Buffalo's largest sports teams and improves the fan experience
By: Jordan Latchford
Click the image above to check out My One Buffalo!
Dear Faithful Readers,
December is one of my favorite times of the year. Everyone is in the holiday spirit and is fully connected with their family and friends.
Speaking of being connected, we wanted to share a story on Pegula Sports & Entertainment’s (PSE) “My One Buffalo” App before the Holidays. PSE developed this app as a way to better connect all of the Buffalo sports teams with their fans. My One Buffalo was recently launched this fall and PSE has already seen great results.
Happy Holidays from all of us here at the National Sports Forum! Enjoy this time of year with your loved ones and we’ll see you in 2017.
Enjoy the read!
Cheers,
Alby Abalos
Marketing and Communications Manager
PROGRAM TITLE
Pegula Sports and Entertainment: "My One Buffalo" App
OBJECTIVES
Pegula Sports and Entertainment (PSE) was looking for an innovative way to bring their fans together while also creating an easier way for Buffalo fans to connect with their teams. The mobile app, My One Buffalo, developed by Venuetize and SKIDATA, allows fans to stay connected to the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits and HarborCenter events at all times. The goal was to create a unique fan engagement platform that could apply across all of the Buffalo-based properties. “Our goal is to build on the success of the Sabres Fan Advantage app, a Sabres specific fan engagement program, and expand it to include the Bills, Bandits and HarborCenter,” said Brent Rossi, Pegula Sports and Entertainment’s Executive Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy. With three buildings (New Era Field, KeyBank Center, & HarborCenter) built in three very different eras, My One Buffalo wanted to create a unifying platform to generate a more seamless experience for fans regardless of the venue they were in. PSE wanted this platform to serve the utility of making the fan experience better.
Additionally, they wanted to create a “single view” of a fan for their analytics and database marketing. Fans interact with their different properties in different ways (e.g., the Bills are on Ticketmaster, the Sabres on Tickets.com) so they have plenty of information about their fans in many different places. By creating a platform that pulls in all these different sources, they are able to connect the dots between different data sources and better understand fans on an individual basis. My One Buffalo is currently available as part of the Bills Mobile App, Sabres Mobile App and also as a standalone app in the App Store and Google Play.
After setting the goals of the program, the My One Buffalo team formed an internal committee of about seven people across a variety of job functions to lead the ideation and development of the program. This included representatives from Marketing, Business Solutions (which includes an analytics and digital development team), Social Media, Ticketing, and even Finance. The group was assembled to cover all components of business and singular responsibilities were delegated to different members of the committee where appropriate.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
 My One Buffalo is a new way to customize the fan experience through a mobile phone or smart device. The goal of the program is to sync Buffalo’s largest sports teams and improve the fan experience. The program includes a new status program, the ability to manage all tickets, and also features that make attending games easier than ever. With newly completed upgrades to the Wi-fi in both the arena and stadium, as well as a fully functional website, any fan with a smart device can participate.
The program is defined by three key components. The first is that fans will now be placed into tiers with different benefits based on how often they interact with the teams. Interactions include purchasing season tickets, attending home or away games, attending team events, dining at (716) Food and Sport, and more.
Second, all of these interactions are automated and no longer need fan actions to get credit for interacting. The stadium, arena, and HarborCenter all have iBeacons, which means fans who leave their Bluetooth settings on will get credit for attendance.
Third, there are more ways for more fans to participate in the program. By including the Bills, HarborCenter , the Bandits, select events at the arena and stadium, as well as events for fans outside Western New York, the status program truly encompasses everyone who considers themselves part of “One Buffalo.” The app also has a feature in which you can forward game tickets to friends, purchase tickets, manage your account settings, and pull up your tickets on your phone to enter the building. The app even provides traffic updates and fans can even track where they park their car.
Click the image above to check out My One Buffalo!
PARTNERSHIP
Through partnerships with Ticketmaster and Tickets.com, fans will be able to purchase and transfer tickets, manage season ticket accounts, and pull up tickets to enter events, all from the app. During games, the app will provide fans with the opportunity to upgrade their game experience. Each team has partnered with Experience, an award-winning provider of mobile fan experience technology, to give fans a chance to purchase seat upgrades, head onto the field after a game or go down to the Gold Carpet to greet the Sabres as they take the ice. My One Buffalo also partnered with Venuetize, SKIDATA, and Yinzcam in the development of the different parts of the app.
 RESULTS
As a result of this innovative app, PSE has seen an increase in fans’ use of digital and automated ways to interact with Buffalo brands (digital ticketing, scanning status cards at merchandise check out), which increases understanding of user behavior. They have been able to add value to sponsor packages by incorporating them in the app where appropriate.
LOOKING AHEAD
The My One Buffalo App is the first step in what intends to be a multi-year program. PSE will continue to add features and benefits to the program. They will continue to add in partners as those opportunities arise as the program allows for multiple levels of sponsor involvement. My One Buffalo provides a single platform to connect with fans and provide utility.
CONTACT
For more information, contact:
John Durbin, Director of Marketing, Pegula Sports & Entertainment
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