Lebron James’ multi-media brand, UNINTERRUPTED, recently formed a partnership with Tapcart to build their mobile app.
And the head of commerce Steve Friend said something interesting…
“…our focus is anchored in the three pillars of Product, Content, and Community”.
That’s the blueprint for success in 2023 & beyond ^^^
Let’s take a look at it 👇
UNINTERRUPTED Laying The Foundation
UNINTERRUPTED aims to tell stories highlighting the theme of “More Than An Athlete”.
Athletes who use their hobbies and passions outside of their sports to find community.
UNINTERRUPTED and Lebron’s end goal…1-to-1 engagement with their super fans.
They will funnel users like this:
It’s about attacking the top of the funnel to see what loyal fans reach the bottom (where you take care of them even better).
- Short Form (social media sites twitter, ig, tiktok, etc)
- Long Form (podcasts, youtube, documentaries)
- In-App (personalized engagement, perks, & merch)
Let’s take a look at some other sound ideas in sports media.
Future $1B Sports Media Companies
I’ve now recorded over 45 podcasts and have heard a few repetitive potential opportunities.
They’re extremely relevant to sports — but also to media and entertainment as a whole.
Shoppable Content
Steve Scebelo from the NFLPA talked about it when he said that the metaverse is the next evolution in sports media and e-commerce.
And it’s not how you see it in the movies…
But rather being able to buy right from the screen (or see stats while you’re watching).
A more immersive experience is what it’s about.
Or the “buzzword” we’re all sick of…
Commerce Combos
Today’s podcast guest Don White talks in detail about “commerce combos” and many other guests have brought it up as well.
Think of it as itinerary building — or listing out all the things a fan wants to do, buy, or see.
Here’s an example of a baseball game:
- Park under the bridge
- Four tickets on the 3rd-base line
- Beer and a hot dog in the 5th inning
- A shirt of your favorite player upon entering
The current problem…
You can’t buy all of them at once. There’s a different POS (point of sale) for each of them whether in person or online.
Integrating all of this is a huge opportunity (and AI is sure to help play a part in the transformation).
Artificial Intelligence Ideas
AI has been in sports for a long time…
But now it has the opportunity to really push the space forward — mostly through automation and optimization.
Three opportunities that I see:
- AI that automates repetitive tasks (challenging information director roles)
- AI that provides data analytics & insights (challenging data analyst roles)
- AI agents that handle online jobs (challenging IT, HR, and customer support roles)
Sports are built on data, media, repetitive jobs, and experiences.
AI will transform it undoubtedly.
Going Forward
Sports is media (and media is sports).
94/100 of the most watched live events in 2022 were in sports.
The playbook for media companies is: Content, Community, Product
Not only are companies like UNINTERRUPTED following this (but also sports leagues and rights holders).
Exciting times ahead 🥂
