Soccer is by far the most supported sport in South Africa. Everyone knows that. But there is a long way way to go before it can reach the commercial heights that it can reach potentially. This past weekend’s Soweto derby was a groundbreaker broadcasting wise due to the 27 cameras, helicopter shots and High Definition TV signal. However, when compared to the sheer spectacle of the IPL T20 currently underway in South Africa there is no comparison. The IPL event is a fan’s dream. Yes, the two are very different sports but the IPL has got innovations that are very applicable to soccer.
Let’s start off with the ticket-technology. The IPL have got electronic scanners at the turnstiles so that you just scan your ticket instead of getting a section of it torn off. The advantage of this is that if you want to exit the stadium and come back again you can do so by just scanning your ticket on the way out and scanning it to enter again. There is a very big commercial advantage to this. It means that you can extend the event’s hospitality income to the maximum – well beyond the stadiums limited corporate VIP suites.
Let me explain. People being able to enter and exit the stadium during the event means that VIP hospitality and catering can occur outside the stadium by way of state-of-the-art movable marquees that can be erected at a site adjacent to the stadium. These hospitality package-tickets cost way much more than normal tickets which means greater profit maximisation of the event. Imagine if during any time of the match, hospitalty ticket-holders sitting on the normal stands could at any time leave the stadium and go for a snack or drink at their marquee and be served a gourmet sit-down meal during half-time. Furthermore, fans would be able to enjoy post-match hospitality after the match as well.
The second innovation soccer can adopt is on the branding front. The IPL is installing additional big screens inside the stadium on which they flight advertising. This could maximise the sponsors exposure and the remaining slots could be sold to other marketers. This would greatly enhance advertising revenue for our clubs.
Yes, some have dismissed the IPL T20 format as crass but there is no disputing the commercial acumen of the IPL organisers. Another innovation that would greatly increase the spectacle of our soccer experientially is to have a volley of spectacular fireworks whenever a goal is scored particularly during night games. If our soccer clubs start implementing innovations like these they will definitely get more bums on their seats and more advertising revenue into their coffers.
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