MLB sprints past other sports leagues in OOH beacons

Out of home beacons are seen as the future of the industry, offering advertisers both a chance to connect with audiences and to find out more about them. Sports leagues evidently want in on that promise.

Among the big four pro sports leagues, Major League Baseball and the NFL are the strongest early adopters of OOH beacons. Meanwhile, the NBA and NHL are playing catch up.

Among MLB teams, 93 percent have implemented beacon technology in their stadiums, according to a new report from Unacast. The proximity data company also says 75 percent of NFL stadiums have done the same.

On the other hand, just 53 percent of NBA arenas are equipped with beacons, as are 47 percent of NHL arenas.

Globally, the number of proximity sensors is rising rapidly. In second quarter there were 8.27 million sensors registered to Unacast’s proximity marketing arm Proxbook. That was up 33 percent from first quarter.

Of those sensors, 6.06 million were beacons, with 2.10 million NFC sensors and 113,000 Wi-Fi access points.

The company predicts 400 million beacons will be deployed by 2020.

Teams use beacons to boost ticket sales

Unacast’s study includes case studies showcasing how sports teams are using proximity-based marketing to increase ticket sales.

In one example, the NBA’s Orlando Magic boosted ticket sales by $1 million, thanks to high app adoption through proximity technology. The team’s app adoption grew to 30 percent, well above the 5 percent league average.

Magic chief executive officer Alex Martins says proximity technology helped increase fan engagement and ticket sales, as well as season ticket renewal rates.

Tags: beacons, major league baseball, mlb, nba, nfl, nhl, OOH