Philadelphia 76ers Sell The First NBA Jersey Ad To StubHub

What Happened
Last month, the NBA approved a three-year trial for teams to put sponsor logos on their team jerseys. On Monday, the Philadelphia 76ers took the leap and struck a deal with StubHub, becoming the first team to ink an on-jersey ad deal in NBA history. The StubHub logo will appear as a small patch on 76ers’ jerseys starting in the 2017-2018 season. Previously, StubHub also announced it will also launch a new ticketing platform for 76ers fans that bridges the primary and secondary markets.

What Brands Need To Do
In a similar vein to the T-Mobile CEO buying a tattoo ad spot on an Olympian track star, this NBA jersey ad initiative is illustrative of how media owners and brands are willing to try out non-traditional forms of advertising to capture viewers’ increasingly fragmented attention. At a time when ad blockers and ad-free streaming services are helping millions of viewers actively avoid ads, it is important for brands to find new ways such as sponsorships and native ads to circumvent consumers’ growing aversion to ads.

For more information on how brands should leverage interesting branded content to earn consumer eyeballs, check out the Ad Avoidance section of our Outlook 2016.

 


Source: Digiday

 

Header image is a promotional image from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Amazon Echo Integrates StubHub For Event Info

What Happened
Amazon’s connected speaker is quickly expanding beyond its initial functionality, adding support for a handful of new third-party platforms, including popular event booking and ticket sale platform StubHub, as well as several smart-home platforms such as Cree. The StubHub integration, in particular, stands out for it customizes the information based on location and utilizes Alexa, Echo’s embedded virtual assistant, to offer info about events nearby within a natural, conversational context.

What Brands Should Do
As a nascent media platform, devices like Amazon Echo and, allegedly, Apple TV – both well-poised to become the central hubs of connected devices and all sorts of services – are slowly and surely gaining momentum as the future standard of digital interactions. And brands, especially those in the ecommerce and smart-home space, need to be mindful of its potential. For brands that wish to experiment with Amazon Echo, there is the Alexa Skills Kit, a free SDK that allows for creating new features for Echo’s platform and integrating branded digital assets with Alexa’s conversational U/I.

 

Source: Engadget
Header image courtesy of Amazon Echo Product Page

How Deep-Link-Enabled Partnerships Are Changing The Mobile Ecosystem

What Happened
StubHub has teamed up with Uber to generate some cross-app synergy. Now event-goers will be able to book an Uber ride directly from StubHub’s mobile apps after purchasing tickets. Moreover, StubHub will also send out a timely notification two hours prior to the event to offer users a chance to conveniently request a ride. A similar partnership between Uber and Live Nation was also forged back in May to integrate the on-demand car service into the event-going experience by using Uber’s open API. Earlier this year, Uber announced a similar deal with Foursquare with the help of mobile deep-linking startup Button.

What Brands Should Do
Either through open API or third-party deep-linking solution, Uber is clearly working to put its service conveniently anywhere people may need it. Such an approach has certainly helped expand Uber’s reach, and it is something that most brands can learn from. The key here, though, is to figure out where your product or services are needed, whom your brand should be partnered with, and how to create a deep-linking solution that is user-friendly and efficient – all of which the Lab are happy to help you with. Come visit us if you need help understanding the ever-evolving mobile ecosystem and finding the suitable partnerships.

 

Source: Tech Times