Extreme Networks: Leveraging Funflation for Fan Experiences
Despite rising living costs, consumers are still actively prioritising entertainment experiences. In fact, according to research by Extreme Networks, activity is increasing as people are prioritising enjoying themselves.
Mobile Magazine speaks exclusively with John Brams, Senior Vice President of America's Sales at Extreme Networks, about ‘funflation’ - patterns of consumer spending - and its overall impact on live events. He explains how venues can best capitalise on this trend by leveraging network data to create unmissable tech-driven experiences.
As a leading networking company, Extreme Networks helps organisations enhance their customer engagement through tasks like managing high-density WiFi and analysing fan behaviour. As a result, they are able to advise businesses on how to overcome technology-based challenges, use data responsibly and future-proof venues to meet booming customer demand.
How is the ‘funflation’ trend impacting customer behaviour at live events?
From concerts to sporting events, there’s a rising demand among consumers for live entertainment, despite the increasing cost of living. This trend - sometimes referred to as ‘funflation’ - highlights how people are prioritising and investing more in entertainment and experiences.
This means there is an opportunity for more engagement with an already interested audience; stadiums and venues can prioritise creating memorable in-person experiences, helping draw fans to live events by making experiences unmissable.
The increase in devices is the biggest trend that impacts network data. The more devices that fans use in the stadium, in addition to devices like mobile POS systems used by operations teams, the more bandwidth that is required to support a seamless fan experience.
However, this also means more data that sports leagues can use to get insights on fan behaviour like applications they’re using, what devices are being used the most and at what time, etc. On the backend, we’re also seeing more interest from stadiums and venues in adding operational technology like AI platforms, biometrics for stadium re-entry and cashier-less retail spaces.
While this technology creates more of a demand on the network, it also creates more data that leagues can leverage when planning for future games and events.
What are some of the largest challenges facing event venues when it comes to technology? How can they overcome these and better support their customers?
Today’s fans want to be able to share their experiences instantaneously with others around the world, requiring powerful wireless networks built for high-density environments. With the surge in attendees using mobile devices for everything from gaming to accessing streaming services at events, there's a growing expectation for fast and reliable Wi-Fi.
For venues with an outdated network, fan expectations can quickly exceed what the infrastructure is capable of supporting. Venues must ensure they can handle the high connectivity demands of large crowds or dense areas, as well as support their own tech powering these experiences in the background.
Additionally, as venues increasingly rely on digital solutions for their payments, paperless ticketing and attendee management, they can potentially become more attractive for cybercriminals. Proactively implementing robust cybersecurity measures and prioritising network security is essential.
How can businesses leverage network data to improve their offerings to fans? Can you give any specific examples?
Businesses can leverage network data in several impactful ways. Operationally, monitoring network performance can help identify areas with weak or congested Wi-Fi. Insights into device activity and behavioural trends, along with network load and performance, can help venues to optimise the overall experience and address any potential problems.
These analytics allow IT teams to understand network performance and usage, helping them make informed decisions and better support things like retail spaces or AR/VR fan experiences. Venues can also gain valuable insights like peak network usage times, use locationing data to identify foot traffic patterns and identify what applications are most popular.
By analysing how fans interact with event-specific applications and digital experiences, venues can assess the success of these initiatives and plan future events more effectively.
Recently, Extreme completed the deployment of a high-speed Wi-Fi network at Anfield, home of Liverpool Football Club (LFC). As a result, LFC can now easily monitor and optimise network performance across the venue, as well as analyse real-time data around fan preferences. These insights can then help inform decisions around areas in the venue that may require additional staff, opportunities for future marketing partnerships and prioritising content to boost fan engagement.
With this data, what type of insights can venues gain from their customers?
Beyond ensuring a seamless experience during events, leagues and clubs can leverage these insights to learn more about fan behaviour: what concessions areas are most popular and when, what areas in the stadium might have more congested foot traffic, when fans are most engaged on social media vs. when they’re accessing official stadium applications or focusing on between-play programming, etc.
Insights like what applications fans use most can even inform future sponsorship or advertising decisions. All of this data can be used to personalise in-stadium offerings, ultimately enhancing the overall fan experience.
How is Extreme Networks working to help organisations improve fan experiences?
By delivering solutions like powerful, cloud-managed business insights and the latest generations of 6 GHz Wi-Fi, Extreme helps ensure venues are prepared to deliver an experience that fans will remember fondly. Beyond the performance on the field or on stage, fans want to make it through concession lines quickly, access real-time streaming platforms to share key moments with friends and family on social media.
By ensuring venues have the infrastructure necessary to support these key moments, even in a stadium with tens of thousands of fans, Extreme can help organisations in the sports and entertainment industry deliver the modern experiences fans expect. This also helps make venues more attractive when other organisations are choosing where to host their next event, helping them stay competitive.
With the increasing use of network data to analyse fan behaviour, how does Extreme Networks address potential privacy concerns from consumers?
It’s important to note that any fan data that Extreme or its customers are leveraging, from popular applications to network traffic, is aggregate data. Everything is anonymous and can’t be traced back to a single person.
Even location data only shows the density of devices in a space - necessary for informing decisions around adjusting the flow of fan foot traffic, but without the ability to pinpoint personal devices or individual activity.
What advice would you give to venue operators who are looking to unlock the potential of their network data but don't know where to start?
Beyond investing in a platform that makes network data analysis possible, it’s key to always prioritise your customers’ needs. Imagine attending a sporting event, music festival or concert. What factors would make your experience enjoyable and worth not only the cost but the time investment to make it a more memorable experience?
Start with this perspective, then apply it when analysing event data. Make use of the vast amounts of data that venues naturally generate to analyse and streamline operations. Features like reduced wait times, cashless payments and in-seat concession ordering can significantly improve the visitor experience and make it more memorable.
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