Last season, NBA teams proved that there’s more to a memorable fan experience than on-court performance.
Without fans in attendance, organizations sought alternative ways to engage with their supporters throughout the season. With spectators stuck at home, teams across the league used mobile apps as a key channel to promote interactive activations, creative content, and unique experiences to keep fans engaged.
The flexibility via Rover’s server-driven UI enabled efficient amplification of the fan experience as illustrated by these seven examples.
1. User Onboarding
The Charlotte Hornets used Rover to create an appealing onboarding experience that helped guide new users on their mobile app. Effective on-boarding is a critical element in improving 2nd day retention and garnering a payback on resources spent on mobile user acquisition.
2. Game Previews
The Portland Trail Blazers created an in-app magazine experience to preview upcoming games. This one-stop-shop for fans featured game information, matchup previews, stats and more. Making changes to the digital experience for every game was stress-free thanks to the dynamic editing offered by Rover.
3. Game Recaps
The Los Angeles Clippers created post-game recaps that highlighted stats, game highlights, interviews, images and more. Whether a fan was unable to watch the game live, or wanted to re-watch their team's performance, this mobile experience was an ideal way to keep supporters engaged.
4. Story Style Experiences
The Cleveland Cavaliers focused on real-time story-style content to engage with fans. Teams have utilized this form of storytelling to showcase behind-the-scenes images/videos to their fans, all while seamlessly integrating partnerships into the experience and building direct relationships in app, rather than sending users to social channels. Posting engaging content keeps users in their ecosystem and ultimately provides the team with richer data and monetization opportunities that off-platform social media apps can't provide.
5. In-App Merchandising
With continuous app-growth, the Clippers focused on improving merchandise sales. The team used Rover to create a new micro-store in their app, taking friction from the purchase process and driving immediate conversion.
6. Event Guides
The Chicago Bulls took advantage of the hype that comes with Summer League by creating an event guide for their fans. This was more than a landing page and included the team schedule, player roster, and breaking news regarding the Bulls up-and-coming stars.
7. Ephemeral Content
One of the most celebrated mobile experiences last season. The Milwaukee Bucks took advantage of Rover’s server-driven UI to quickly create and publish an event guide for their NBA Championship Parade & Celebration. Highlighted on their app, fans were presented with a schedule of events, parade route map/location, contests and more.
With the growth of digital marketing, fan engagement opportunities have become endless - and an essential focus for NBA teams.
We at Rover can’t wait to see what creative mobile experiences will be designed next season!