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Sports:
For sports organisations, the Internet should be all about developing a real network of communities that share common interests. However, many of these websites are failing to engage their audiences and involve their grassroots. Increasingly, there is a realisation that existing Internet strategies are falling very far short of their original objectives.
There is a proliferation of sports websites which follow a standard format in terms of providing news, results, fixtures, player profiles, message boards, merchandising registration and links to commercial offers. Many of these sites have been constructed around the aggressive marketing of products.
The common denominator for sports organisations is that audiences tend to be strictly limited to the supporters of the particular club, region or national team(s) of the sport being promoted online. Yet visitors to these sites are still on the receiving end in a broadcast environment. Most websites talk at the visitor because they are using broadcast thinking.
Grassroots support
Grassroots support is the heartbeat of any sport. It's what fuels the passion. If nurtured that passion can produce enormous benefits for the fans, the clubs, the national teams and the sport itself. A real network allows people to build identity around interests they are passionate about and to put themselves in touch with others who share this interest.
VISION enables fans, stars, clubs and organising bodies to use the Internet to build communities. The tools and solutions VISION uses give each of these communities access to rare content - hot news, iconic sports stars, promotions and initiatives - but, most importantly, make them connect with each other.
Pragmatic networks
VISION's intuitive approach in this arena is unique. It has been developed by the fusion of key personnel who have a keen interest in sport with colleagues who have come through a tough learning curve in the innovation of digital asset management strategies for the music industry.
VISION has spotted the potential to leverage affinity sports fans to build a pragmatic network of regional communities who all share a common love of their game. While the governing body of any sport is recognised as essential to the administration of the game, fans do not readily identify with officialdom. They certainly do not consider themselves to be part of the establishment.
Shifting strategies
VISION believes that international, national and regional sports governing bodies of any sport need to radically shift their Internet strategies. It is essential for the custodians of sport to engage in a re-recruitment exercise of the active followers of their game.
VISION's network coordination strategy can be developed to place the governing body at the centre of a valuable services provision to the affiliated clubs and their supporters.
This is not as daunting a task as it may sound. Sports organisations have natural distribution channels. Major competitions present a unique opportunity to build community through the creation of a real sense of occasion around the games. This enables the progressive integration of fans from many quarters across many frontiers.
Internet's power
VISION is demonstrating to sporting bodies the power of the internet as a channel through which it can:
- further the development of the game
- expand the base of active participants at all levels
- broaden the sport's appeal
- build a real sense of community among all who follow a sport at club, regional and national level
- through technology involve the expatriate community who miss out on the sport they left behind
- operate an ecommerce business with the well-grounded capacity to dramatically increase revenue generation opportunities.
VISION promotes two propositions wrapped into one aimed at serving and
funding sport.
VISION concentrates on determining the nature and detail of content that can be assembled and distributed via the internet channel to the defined categories of active participants and committed fans.
Rapid development
VISION has perfected the ability to produce a set of templates and tools which effectively facilitate the rapid development of websites for regions and clubs within a sporting organisation. This means the Internet can be harnessed to create a network between affiliated clubs and their respective audiences.
It allows for registration of active participants and supporters between clubs and regional or national organising bodies. Apart from improving the control and maintenance of centrally held data on player and fan activity, the platform can also be set for exploiting revenue generating opportunities on a shared basis through the power of the networked websites.
For an international governing body overseeing major competitions, the prospect of establishing a central market platform for offers distributed through a network of participating clubs' websites is exciting.
Commercial opportunities
As we move closer to the delivery of broadband access for all, the value of Internet rights of sporting bodies rises steeply. Now is the time to build the network of communities among sports followers to capitalise on the commercial opportunities.
This will serve supporters who are consistently entertained, informed and educated by excellently managed content and through network facilitated contact with members of other communities within their sport. Those same supporters and participants will also be satisfied by the value for money offers they can rely on from their ease of access to their network of community websites.
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