SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Sacramento Kings today announced the use of the Gimbal™ mobile engagement platform from Qualcomm Retail Solutions, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, to further enhance the fan experience via offers and communications to fans based on location and activity.Through the Sacramento Kings App, fans will receive highly relevant offers and communications delivered to their iPhone using Gimbal proximity beacons with Apple’s iBeacon technology. Gimbal beacons will be positioned throughout the arena delivering a whole new level of micro-awareness for fans.
“Creating the best fan experience is paramount,” said Kings President Chris Granger. “Like many major franchises, we have a loyalty program for our fans, but what we are doing with the Gimbal platform leverages technology to take the relationship between the Kings and our fans to a whole new level.”
Gimbal provides a comprehensive mobile context aware platform the Kings are using to engage fans through the combination of physical location, activity, time and personal interest as a major enhancement to its loyalty program. The Gimbal platform capabilities include:
- · Macro- and micro-location triggers using geofences and proximity beacons with iBeacon technology
- · Fan interest sensing by using a combination of real-time location and historical travel patterns, the attributes in the fans’ profile and actions they take in response to offers and other push notifications
- · Fan-controlled privacy with up-front opt-in, so engagement is only on the terms the fan wants
- · Secure and multiple information protection safeguards (on device and during transmission) to ensure security of data transmission
“No one is more motivated to engage with a brand than dedicated sports fans with a deep connection to their teams,” said Rocco Fabiano, president, Qualcomm Retail Solutions. “Gimbal provides the very latest in mobile context awareness and proximity technology to enable sports franchises to deliver a premium sports venue experience – and the Sacramento Kings are at the forefront in leveraging mobile technology to increase fan loyalty.”
The Kings and Qualcomm Retail Solutions are working closely together with TIBCO, the Kings’ loyalty platform developer, on the Gimbal implementation. Proximity beacons have already been installed throughout the Sleep Train Arena and fans with the Sacramento Kings iPhone App receive special offers at the Kings store and have been given the opportunity to meet members of the team based on proximity. Future plans include special concession offers during games, ticket deals and special offers from Kings’ partners when fans are out and about in the Sacramento area.
“A central element of our NBA 3.0 philosophy is to use cutting-edge technologies, like Gimbal, to enhance and reward passionate Kings fans,” said Granger. “We are constantly on the lookout for the latest technological breakthroughs to help connect fans and the team. In this quest, taking the best advantage of mobile is job one and Gimbal is a great solution for real-time mobile fan engagement.”
The Sacramento Kings App is available for free from the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or via the following: http://bit.ly/KingsAppAS.