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NSF "Selling It..." Newsletter - NSF Tech Tank

March 15, 2017 | Volume 15, Issue 2

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NSF TECH TANK

Exposing innovative companies to teams, sports properties and agencies.

By: Tina Szyszkowski

Click the image above for more details on the Tech Tank!

Dear Faithful Readers,

The NCAA March Madness tournament is here! As a basketball fan, this time of the year is exciting with all the games happening and so much school pride on the line. There’s so much passion that goes into the tournament and you never know what’s going to happen. Each year the NSF staff compete against one another and we are excited for the action to get started.

In the spirit of competition, this week’s story showcases one of the Forum’s competitions, the NSF Tech Tank. The NSF Tech Tank is now heading into its third year after another successful year in Minneapolis. Tech Tank continues to showcase innovative technologies in the industry and we wanted share with you more information on the competition as well as showcase the competing organizations.

Enjoy the read and don’t forget to fill out your brackets!

Cheers,

Alby Abalos

Director of Marketing and Communications

[email protected]

P.S. - Don’t forget to stay engaged with us on social media! Follow @NatlSportsForum on Twitter and Instagram and like us on Facebook!

"As the sports industry continues to expand its use of technology, programs like the Tech Tank are incredibly important. Not only do they provide a way for teams and sponsors to get new ideas for how to use technology in their organizations, but it's a great showcase of the innovation occurring in the sports world."

Visit www.sportsdigita.com to learn more about Sportsdigita.

PROGRAM TITLE

"NSF 2017: Tech Tank"

OBJECTIVES

Back for its second year, the NSF Tech Tank aims to expose organizations to innovative technologies making waves within the sports industry. The competing tech companies were given 15 minutes to present and showcase their technologies. Each flight panel received a specific rubric, according to their flight, to judge the criteria of each presentation. At the end of the day, the expert judges discussed and ultimately decided on a winner for each flight.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The 2017 Tech Tank consisted of three “flights”, each focusing on a specific topic in the sports industry: Ticketing, Corporate Partnership & Brand Activation, and The Fan Experience. With so many companies utilizing technologies to stay on top of the latest trends, some noteworthy companies may fall under the radar. The NSF Tech Tank is designed to expose these innovative companies to professional sports teams, properties and agencies.

In short, the Corporate Partnership & Brand Activation flight looked to uncover the new technologies that add value to existing partnerships, as well as introduce new revenue streams to sports properties. The Fan Experience flight aimed to showcase the companies who assist sports organizations in creating memorable fan experiences and increasing engagement. Lastly, the Ticketing flight centered on companies that utilize unique tactics that ultimately increase ticketing revenues and drive season ticket renewals.

Each panel of judges consisted of industry professionals from established organizations such as, the Chicago Bulls, GMR Marketing, Oklahoma City Thunder, Coca-Cola, and the San Francisco Giants to name a few.

The winner from each flight became a panelist during the Tuesday afternoon breakout session titled “Best of the NSF Tech Tank” to further raise awareness of their innovative technology.

Click the image above to check out the Tech Tank Overview!

PARTNERSHIP

This year’s Tech Tank had 12 cutting-edge companies participate and made it difficult for the judges to decide on just one organization. The companies include ClickDimensions, FanServ, Sponsorship Buddy, Stanza, Widen, Allure – A Christie Company, PSAV Sports and Entertainment, Vstar Entertainment Group, AmpThink, Loop & Tie, TAGD, and Umbel.

RESULTS

The winners of the three flights were announced at the Minnesota Vikings Welcome Reception Sunday evening. The winner of the Ticketing Flight was AmpThink. Sponsorship Buddy won the Corporate Sponsorship and Activation Flight. And lastly, Allure – A Christie Company took home first in The Fan Experience category.

Judges and presenters alike enjoyed the Tech Tank experience and came away with new knowledge to take back to their organizations. Karlis Kezbers, Director of Business Intelligence & Strategy for the Oklahoma City Thunder, described his experience with the Tech Tank,"The National Sports Forum Tech Tank has been a wonderful process to be part of. It’s so rare in sports business for teams, vendors and others to come together to hear about innovative technologies in a comfortable and casual atmosphere. I’ve been very impressed with the various levels of companies that have given their sales pitches and excited to see them work with teams in a more official capacity."

Each of the three flights showcased a variety of diverse technology offerings, all of which are currently being utilized in the sports industry. For more information on the winners and all of the presenters, click here to go to our website and learn more about their platforms and how you could be utilizing these technologies for your own organization.

LOOKING AHEAD

As we continue to look for new ways to introduce innovation and new technology to the sports industry through the National Sports Forum, the Tech Tank has become a popular program for forward thinking executives each February. Each Tech Tank flight is designed to target a specific segment of sports business, and introduce new technologies that teams, agencies, and brands could be integrating into their business strategy to be better selling tickets, activating partnerships, and engaging fans. For the 2018 National Sports Forum, the Tech Tank will return for it’s third straight year, and we will continue to look to introduce technology platforms to the industry.

CONTACT

For more information, contact:

Stephen Corsaro, SVP of Business Development, National Sports Forum
(781) 534-8513 | [email protected]

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTS FORUM	THE NSF SALUTES OUR PARTNER
The National Sports Forum is the largest annual cross-gathering of the top team sports marketing, sales, promotions, and event entertainment executives from throughout the broad spectrum of teams and leagues in North America. The 2018 NSF Conference and Trade Show will be held on February 11 - 13, 2018 in Frisco, TX. Visit www.sports-forum.com.
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