Smart Stadia in Football

  Many stadia managers and clubs are investigating smart technologies such as multi-application smartcards, cashless payment, near field communications (NFC), and short message service (SMS) to provide a better customer experience, generate additional revenue and deliver cost efficiencies. The stadia sector can use any combination of smart technologies to provide a more enjoyable experience for customers, including easy access to the event, convenient ticket purchase, shorter queues within the stadium - which will also provide opportunities to generate additional revenue for the club.

On the surface, these time-saving technologies sound like the way forward, and indeed the growing view from early adopters is that they are. However, it is important to understand that clubs and their customers will not receive the maximum benefits from these technologies without a holistic approach to the underlying customer relationship management (CRM) system within the organisation.

Some stadia have already deployed single-use smartcards, some have piloted dual-use cards and one or two have small NFC trials. However most are not moving beyond using the smartcard for season tickets, with access to the stadium only. They are, therefore, missing out on the extensive benefits that could be achieved if they adopted a fully integrated smart technology scheme and interfaced that with an existing CRM system.

CRM is not necessarily needed for a smart technology scheme to deliver many of the customer benefits. However, if the club is to realise the scheme's benefits around increased revenue, then a fully integrated CRM is essential. A fully integrated CRM system that is planned and implemented well can help stadia managers ensure the security of the stadium and the safety of customers. It will also provide clubs with data that can be used to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy.

Benefits for customer and club

Implementing a multi-application smart technology scheme with a card management system (CMS) that interfaces directly with the CRM gives customers access to a number of functions via a single smartcard or mobile phone. These functions can include access to the stadium, cashless payment, an information and club news service in the stadium and other locations (such as train stations and shopping centres), ticket purchasing from smart posters (which can again be positioned both in the stadium and in other locations), e-ID and e-booking.

Besides improving the customer experience, benefits to the club can include better marketing information enabling more targeted marketing campaigns, efficiencies in back office processing, increased revenue, cost reductions (including savings on tickets and merchandise), increased attendances and help in resolving the 'half-time challenge' of serving all customers.

Marketing opportunities

It is simply not possible to develop a truly comprehensive-customer centric marketing approach without a smart technology scheme. Until all the interactions the customer has with a club are recorded in a central repository for analysis, the full picture is not understood. For example, if a club knows that a customer purchased a child's shirt it is able to offer related children's products at a discounted rate or a family-oriented matchday experience. If a commuter downloads a fixture list from a non-integrated smart poster in a train station but did not purchase the item, a club can offer them a reduction on a matchday ticket for the next home game or a fixture that is known to have low attendance. If it is known that a customer has an NFC-enabled phone then it is possible to promote the day's kick-off to them. Deliver that promotion via SMS along with a 'bring a friend' offer, and it can be transferred to a friend or family member via NFC. Throw in an offer on a club-branded NFC phone from the club shop or website and this may generate even more revenue. If a season ticket holder missed a game or a number of games the club could then use this information in future communications to the customer - alerting them to a different ticketing package that better meets their needs, thereby securing the support of a customer that was potentially thinking of leaving, and improving customer relations.

Community initiatives

Linking with activities beyond stadia turnstiles has long been the ambition of many clubs. Activities such as the promotion of healthy eating in schools, already a key goal for some clubs, and harmonising with local transport are especially interesting for clubs planning new out-of-town stadia. Not only do such initiatives demonstrate the club's social conscience, they also promote healthy living and green programmes. The most impressive thing about adopting the use of a smartcard operated by a third party is that other organisations are promoting the club and its activities.

As part of the UK government's national project 'Building Schools for the Future' many schools already have or are implementing smartcard schemes for access, registration, and cashless catering. Once even a simple smartcard scheme exists within a school, it is simple to include a reward scheme for attendance, merit, healthy eating and so on that can be recorded at the school and rewarded by the club, for example with a stadia tour, or the chance to meet a player or manager for the day.

The Department for Transport's National Transport Ticketing Strategy has issued eight million smartcards through every local authority in the UK for free travel on local buses. Therefore the underlying infrastructure would be compatible with a stadia smart technology scheme, thus linking with local transport is also technically straightforward and has already been considered by at least two English Football League clubs.

Revenue gains

The cashable benefits available from a smart technology scheme within a stadia environment can be better understood by looking at an example of a customer's experience as they interact with an integrated CRM system.

Firstly the customer would need to register various bits of information with the club's supporters card scheme and select specific services such as NFC, SMS and so on. On match day, they could receive an SMS alerting them to an early bird offer at the stadium. The SMS could also include travel information. Once at the stadium, the customer could access the car park, pay for parking and access the stadium via a smartcard or NFC-enabled mobile phone, eliminating the need to produce paper tickets. Once the customer is in the stadium, they could be alerted of a discount in the stadium shop through a smart poster or SMS message. The message could even be targeted to that specific customer - for example, wishing them a happy birthday and offering a free drink at a stadium kiosk.

Ricoh Arena

This example may seem futuristic to some, but actually the technology exists today and most clubs are missing out on significant benefits. For example, Daniel Gidney, chief executive of the Ricoh Arena (the home of Coventry City Football Club) explained to the delegates of Stadia Design and Technology 2008 how, by just introducing cashless payment, the average transaction time dropped from over a minute to between 20-30 seconds. In May 2009 Gidney reinforced this in reference to catering kiosk sales. "The biggest change has been an increased penetration - which is the number of transactions as a percentage of the retail audience - from 45% to 55%. This in itself represents an average increase over the season, year on year, of 22%. Our current match record is 63%," he said. "We are now targeting an increase of the average from 55% up to 60%. Our record 'spend per head' was £2.67 for the Chelsea cup game, where the average is normally £2.10 to £2.20. So the key for all of this is a dramatic increase, in the teeth of a recession, of people buying at the kiosk. This gave us a double benefit of increased transactions and turnover, and a happy fan who doesn't have to queue that long."

Let's assume that an element of this average spend increase is due to better transactional-based data. However, if targeted marketing encouraged every customer to spend just £2 more per game, on all merchandise, the annual revenue for a Premiership football club would increase by £780,000, if on average 20,000 customers attended every home league match. That figure increases for Championship and League clubs (as clubs in these tiers play more League games) and also when home cup matches are considered.

The use of simple smartcard schemes in the stadia environment has increased over the past two years. Although significant revenue-generating opportunities exist, some clubs that are adopting the smart technology are justifying the investment on the need to improve the customer experience smartlink.so. "The primary aim is to reward the fans," said Michael Jones from Watford Football Club, when asked about smart technologies and fully integrated CRM systems.

In summary, smart technologies linked through a fully integrated CRM system would enable clubs to increase their revenue, reduce their overall operational costs, and improve the customer experience. Although it may have been difficult in the past for clubs to integrate their systems, the technology solutions and specialists are now available to help them navigate the smart technology pathways and allow them to achieve maximum benefit for themselves and their customers from smart technology schemes fully integrated with the club's existing CRM system.

How Powerful Is LinkedIn For Your Business

With 175 Million users currently on LinkedIn and that number projected to rise to over 200 Million within the next 2 years and the projected average salary currently standing at $107,000 can you afford to miss out on the opportunity that it offers?

It is estimated that over 45% of the people on LinkedIn are Business Owners, Managing Directors, CEO's or senior decision makers! How do you get in touch with those people and get them to see you as the expert in your field? How do you turn those people from users on LinkedIn to leads then to clients?

The truth is that many people on LinkedIn seem to use it as another social media platform, another Facebook or Twitter; they don't use it to its full potential of generating leads, clients and therefore increasing sales. Is that you? Or do you want to accelerate your sales with this awesome opportunity?

Surely the key is to create your online persona that shows you as a leader in your relevant industry, a trusted source, an expert. LinkedIn will let you join up to 50 Discussion Groups so that you can take part in discussions, start relevant discussion and through your comments build your professional persona. However, there is no better way to do this than creating your own group and getting people to join it. This then gives you control of what is discussed and allows you to send emails out to that group as if it where your own email list - by giving people great quality information you build trust and by building trust you build your persona as the expert in that field.

Do you want to wait until someone approaches you or do you want to take advantage of the opportunity that is before you? You can dramatically increase the amount of leads you get by setting yourself up as the expert in your field and letting your potential clients know that it's you they need to come to.

Make it your mission to learn more about LinkedIn so that you can use it to its full potential and turbo-charge your business, create a torrent of high quality leads and create the strong business you desire.

Do you want to be part of just another social media platform or do you want to create a strong, powerful, successful business?

I trust that by reading this you will be one of the people who will grab this with both hands and accelerate your results.

With 175 Million users currently on LinkedIn and that number projected to rise to over 200 Million within the next 2 years and the projected average salary currently standing at $107,000 can you afford to miss out on the opportunity that it offers?

It is estimated that over 45% of the people on LinkedIn are Business Owners, Managing Directors, CEO's or senior decision makers! How do you get in touch with those people and get them to see you as the expert in your field? How do you turn those people from users on LinkedIn to leads then to clients?

The truth is that many people on LinkedIn seem to use it as another social media platform, another Facebook or Twitter; they don't use it to its full potential of generating leads, clients and therefore increasing sales. Is that you? Or do you want to accelerate your sales with this awesome opportunity?

Surely the key is to create your online persona that shows you as a leader in your relevant industry, a trusted source, an expert. LinkedIn will let you join up to 50 Discussion Groups so that you can take part in discussions, start relevant discussion and through your comments build your professional persona theblox.co. However, there is no better way to do this than creating your own group and getting people to join it. This then gives you control of what is discussed and allows you to send emails out to that group as if it where your own email list - by giving people great quality information you build trust and by building trust you build your persona as the expert in that field.

Do you want to wait until someone approaches you or do you want to take advantage of the opportunity that is before you? You can dramatically increase the amount of leads you get by setting yourself up as the expert in your field and letting your potential clients know that it's you they need to come to.

Make it your mission to learn more about LinkedIn so that you can use it to its full potential and turbo-charge your business, create a torrent of high quality leads and create the strong business you desire.

Do you want to be part of just another social media platform or do you want to create a strong, powerful, successful business?

I trust that by reading this you will be one of the people who will grab this with both hands and accelerate your results.

Create Your Own Video Game

The passion for video games is one that has to be experienced to be truly understood. It is not surprising when dedicated players decide to create their own video games because they have a clear understanding of what they like in a game and what they don't. Do you too share a passion to excel in the virtual world of video games? Would you like to create your own video game? There is plenty of help at hand online to help video game players of all ages to experiment with creating a game of their own.

Basics to Create Your Own Video Game

If you ask a group of game players what is the single most important thing in a successful game they will all probably find it difficult to agree on any single factor. While some believe that it is the story line that makes a video game special others feel it is the manner in which the gameplay is designed, while still others focus on the special effects that have been included in the game.

To create your own video game it is a good idea to first decide what you find most interesting in your favorite video games and start from there. Most game players are clear about what they think a video game lacks and your video game gives you an opportunity to create what you think is a complete video game.

Once you have a great story line and characters in mind you would need to decide on the look and feel of the world in which your video game is set. Remember the more life like the virtual world the more absorbed the players become in it.

For inspiration and guidance for the style of storytelling you will find several resources online that can help you refine your narrative technique. Next you need to create the graphics for the video game and this can be done fairly easily using the varied software available for this very purpose. Most of these are free to download online and you should consider a few of them before you make up your mind.

If you don't want to sketch out characters and textures for scenes you can use the pre-made ones that can be downloaded free of cost from the internet. Two dimensional graphics are needed to create a 3 D affect and the background scenery should also match the look and feel of the video game. Depending on your level of understanding of software you need to select one that best suits your project.

Software to Help Create Your Own Video Game

Beginners and kids, you can try to create your own video game by using one of the software available for those who have little knowledge of programming and graphics but have the interest and passion for video games. The Games Factory is a great place to begin making your first video game whilst learning some of the principles of the process. Simply drag and drop the features you want included in your game. Stagecast Creator is also a wonderful tool for kids who want to make their own video game. Just draw or import your characters and indicate what you want them to do and the software takes care of the rest. This software creates terrific 2D video game that you can play and share with friends.

For players with a little more experience with games and relevant software, and are interested in 3D video games try Reality Factory, where you can build the entire world of your video game from the blueprint upwards. You can choose to use existing textures or create your own for your virtual world. There are several tutorials for Reality Factory that clarify all aspects of the software. It is free and easy to download and provides developers a great understanding of the script, models, affects, etc.

For those who are considering a career in game development and have a good understanding of the process involved software such as DarkBasic is recommended. Working on it will provide you a good understanding of the programming required for video games. As for professionals, you can't do better than C++ and Microsoft Direct X.

Microsoft XNA Game Studio Express allows Windows XP users to download it free and create video games on it bloometa.com. Soon developers on this system will be able to create, test and share their video games for the Xbox Three-Sixty.

Whether you are a beginner to gaming, an avid fan or a professional creating a video game of your own is the most satisfying experience, one that is sure to motivate you to create more games.

Crypto TREND - Fifth Edition

As we expected, since publishing Crypto TREND we have received many questions from readers. In this edition we will answer the most common one.

What kind of changes are coming that could be game changers in the cryptocurrency sector?

One of the biggest changes that will impact the cryptocurrency world is an alternative method of block validation called Proof of Stake (PoS). We will try to keep this explanation fairly high level, but it is important to have a conceptual understanding of what the difference is and why it is a significant factor.

Remember that the underlying technology with digital currencies is called blockchain and most of the current digital currencies use a validation protocol called Proof of Work (PoW).

With traditional methods of payment, you need to trust a third party, such as Visa, Interact, or a bank, or a cheque clearing house to settle your transaction. These trusted entities are "centralized", meaning they keep their own private ledger which stores the transaction's history and balance of each account. They will show the transactions to you, and you must agree that it is correct, or launch a dispute. Only the parties to the transaction ever see it.

With Bitcoin and most other digital currencies, the ledgers are "decentralized", meaning everyone on the network gets a copy, so no one has to trust a third party, such as a bank, because anyone can directly verify the information. This verification process is called "distributed consensus."

PoW requires that "work" be done in order to validate a new transaction for entry on the blockchain. With cryptocurrencies, that validation is done by "miners", who must solve complex algorithmic problems. As the algorithmic problems become more complex, these "miners" need more expensive and more powerful computers to solve the problems ahead of everyone else. "Mining" computers are often specialized, typically using ASIC chips (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), which are more adept and faster at solving these difficult puzzles.

Here is the process:

Transactions are bundled together in a 'block'.

The miners verify that the transactions within each block are legitimate by solving the hashing algorithm puzzle, known as the "proof of work problem".

The first miner to solve the block's "proof of work problem" is rewarded with a small amount of cryptocurrency.

Once verified, the transactions are stored in the public blockchain across the entire network.

As the number of transactions and miners increase, the difficulty of solving the hashing problems also increases.

Although PoW helped get blockchain and decentralized, trustless digital currencies off the ground, it has some real shortcomings, especially with the amount of electricity these miners are consuming trying to solve the "proof of work problems" as fast as possible. According to Digiconomist's Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, Bitcoin miners are using more energy than 159 countries, including Ireland. As the price of each Bitcoin rises, more and more miners try to solve the problems, consuming even more energy.

All of that power consumption just to validate the transactions has motivated many in the digital currency space to seek out alternative method of validating the blocks, and the leading candidate is a method called "Proof of Stake" (PoS).

PoS is still an algorithm, and the purpose is the same as in the proof of work, but the process to reach the goal is quite different. With PoS, there are no miners, but instead we have "validators." PoS relies on trust and the knowledge that all the people who are validating transactions have skin in the game.

This way, instead of utilizing energy to answer PoW puzzles, a PoS validator is limited to validating a percentage of transactions that is reflective of his or her ownership stake. For instance, a validator who owns 3% of the Ether available can theoretically validate only 3% of the blocks.

In PoW, the chances of you solving the proof of work problem depends on how much computing power you have. With PoS, it depends on how much cryptocurrency you have at "stake". The higher the stake you have, the higher the chances that you solve the block. Instead of winning crypto coins, the winning validator receives transaction fees.

Validators enter their stake by 'locking up' a portion of their fund tokens. Should they try to do something malicious against the network, like creating an 'invalid block', their stake or security deposit will be forfeited. If they do their job and do not violate the network, but do not win the right to validate the block, they will get their stake or deposit back.

If you understand the basic difference between PoW and PoS, that is all you need to know. Only those who plan to be miners or validators need to understand all the ins and outs of these two validation methods. Most of the general public who wish to possess cryptocurrencies will simply buy them through an exchange, and not participate in the actual mining or validating of block transactions.

Most in the crypto sector believe that in order for digital currencies to survive long-term, digital tokens must switch over to a PoS model. At the time of writing this post, Ethereum is the second largest digital currency behind Bitcoin and their development team has been working on their PoS algorithm called "Casper" over the last few years. It is expected that we will see Casper implemented in 2018, putting Ethereum ahead of all the other large cryptocurrencies.

As we have seen previously in this sector, major events such as a successful implementation of Casper could send Ethereum's prices much higher kryptview.com. We'll be keeping you updated in future issues of Crypto TREND.