Twickenham, the home of England rugby, is celebrating a successful introduction of new in stadium advertising which it claims makes it the leading digital stadium in Europe.
Fans at the ground over the recent autumn internationals as well as those watching on TV will have noticed taller and higher definition LED hoardings that stretch one kilometre around the ground at pitch and mid tier level.
Sports Revolution, a member of Sport for Business is the company behind the implementation of the new technology which it says has been configured to boost interaction between brands and the crowd through displaying specific messages and ‘leading’ the crowd during breaks in play.
The theory is not new, with the organ at ice hockey games or the playing of theme songs at soccer stadium a long held tradition but the capacity to tailor messages to individual campaigns does bring it bang up to date and will add value to sponsor relationships.
“We believe that understanding the fan and improving the match-day experience is key to building successful partnerships between rights holders, sponsors and fans,” said Darragh Persse, head of Sports Revolution in Ireland.
This subject was raised as an important element in Irish sporting venues such as Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium at the recent Sport for Business Members’ Round Table on Technology and Sport especially given the strong sponsor relationships between O2, Three and Eircom with the different rights holders.