A few weeks ago we attended the SEAT conference down in Daytona. SEAT – which stands for Sports & Entertainment Alliance in Technology – holds an annual peer-to-peer driven conference for executives in the sports and entertainment industries. This is always an educational event for us, we have many clients within the sector and although we check in with them frequently, it’s always good to get the 411 on the industry as a whole.

Arriving on Sunday we settled in at Daytona. After touring the race track we started meeting clients and prospects and over the next few days we noticed some similar themes throughout the many different conversations. 

Everyone seemed to be talking about business intelligence and the role of data integration within that. Business intelligence is commonly used to support key decision-making processes – but you need to trust the data – and it all needs to be compiled in the same place. Integrating disparate data from various sources across the entire organization was a common thread for many organizations. BI and data integration only emphasize the importance of first-party data. In other words, data that is collected right from the source – your prospects and customers. There is no better way to get that information – then from the horse’s mouth – so to speak – while getting consent to market to them in the future. We created an infographic about it, if you're interested in more information.  

Another common theme was security – both technical and physical. There were several conversations around data – how to collect it safely – how to keep it safe – how to be compliant, etc. And as these sports and entertainments teams and venues market internationally – GDPR comes into play as well – which again takes us back to the importance of first party data. 

And speaking of GDPR, everyone also seemed to be talking about how to better connect with their international customers, the rise of them within the venues, and how to market to them. Many of our clients specifically run reports on the languages used, as well as run survey cards that ask where people are from – helping to create better profiles and therefore more targeted marketing campaigns.

All in all we had a great conference - met with some current clients, spoke to several prospects and learned a lot about what's happening across the sports and entertainment industries.  At SocialSign.in we’re passionate about WiFi Marketing, the capabilities of the software and what it can do for businesses. If you’re interested and want to learn more - you can contact us @ info@socialsign.in.