Yesterday I attended MediaTel’s Media Playground 2011 in London – a great event with relevant debates, great networking and tiny but perfectly formed desserts! What was of particular interest was The Digital Olympic Debate which once again threw up the question all in the sports/digital industry are asking:

Why isn’t the sports industry taking full advantage of digital opportunities?

This is an issue that was questioned during Soccerex earlier this year and something we expect to be discussing again at the Stadium Business Summit next week.

Global industry, global medium

As Richard Brinkman, head of KantarSport pointed out, both sport and digital are global ideas with ever changing boundaries and “the perfect marriage” as he put it. Digital allows to reach many people quickly whilst providing great value for investment. Certainly if you have been thinking about it your competitors are already doing it.

Over 1 billion unique users are expected to visit the official 2012 Olympics website over the course of the games, Alfonso Medina of Endemol says. What a fantastic opportunity to ride the buzz to promote engagement and loyalty! But how can this audience be monetised?

The sports industry can not live on credit alone…

It needs to start making money! Digital is the perfect opportunity as Brinkman says, “no-one has really mastered this.”  However, here at Makemedia we’ve been working hard to show the sports industry how to monetise their audiences – something Rob will be speaking about at the Innovation showcase at the Stadium Business Summit, presenting how the Stadium Explorer is doing this for current clients.

A connected world vs. Traditional rights holders

Medina also pointed out the conflict between the traditionally tight controls of the sports industry and the modern habit of sharing. There will be no advertising within the Olympic stadiums nor will there be any non-sponsor advertising or food being sold within a certain distance – as is enforced by the city and promised as part of their previous bid. Photos and news from the athletes village is also restricted but in a world of Twitter this is impossible to enforce.

But rather than look at this as a threat the industry can behold an opportunity here to get closer to users via social media and apps.

Facing the challenge – get digital!

Buying into the Olympics, whether as a consumer or a sponsor, is about buying into hopes and dreams. In the sports industry we need to be asking ourselves, how are we allowing our audience to buy into our brand?

If you would like to meet with Rob at the Stadium Business Summit please email info@makemedia.com