No league has experienced stronger mobile app engagement than the National Football League. NFL teams have embraced their mobile app to enhance fan engagement, improve partnership opportunities, and boost ticket sales.
In particular, 24 NFL teams have utilized Rover to achieve these goals.
Rover empowers teams to create and launch a range of mobile activations. Here are five of the most notable use cases we have observed across the NFL.
1. API-Powered Dynamic Gameday Content
Designing and launching content for a team's mobile app used to be a challenging task. However, with Rover, creating mobile game day content has become easier than ever.
Teams have successfully created impressive game day campaigns by utilizing APIs to automate their weekly content. Thanks to Rover, they were able to create stunning UI/UX experiences without relying on developer resources or writing code.
The Atlanta Falcons serve as an excellent example. They have consistently incorporated APIs and user data into their mobile experiences, resulting in rich and engaging content. They have integrated NFL League APIs as well as specialized content from their headless CMS, Contentful.
Rover allows my team to go from ideation to real product in half the time. It allows us to quickly iterate and refine our mobile experiences as the season evolves and as we digest data from usage.
I’m no longer limited to what I can or can’t do, I can think about the problem and what’s the best way to solve it and bring it to life with Rover.
Austin Klubenspies
The Falcons’ Director of Digital Platforms
In their Gameday Recap, the Falcons’ used APIs to dynamically include information fans with or without a ticket might need about the game. This included such as the live score (by quarter) and the current weather. These inclusions facilitated app use, while maximizing the experience’s pertinence for fans attending the game live or fans tuning in from home.
2. Personalized Ticketing Experiences
One of the most popular recent mobile app campaigns across the NFL have been focused on ticketing campaigns. Specifically, teams have turned to Rover to create a variety of personal and customizable mobile experiences, the most common of which has been Season Ticket Member portals.
Utilizing Rover’s Ticketmaster integration, the Carolina Panthers created one of the most stunning season ticket member hubs in the league. Their campaign features pertinent information for the season ticket holder, as well as a variety of personal touches, such as the account holder’s name and account number, specific ticket information, and a chat button to get in touch with their specific account representative.
Speaking about the campaign, Will Bryan, the Panthers' Senior Digital Experiences Manager, stated, "Each season, we work to enhance and improve the mobile experience for our fans within our mobile app. The Rover Platform has become a foundational piece of that."
Since Rover is part of Ticketmaster's Nexus Program, teams can fully utilize Ticketmaster's API and personalize the content in their app based on various factors. For example, if fans are logged into Ticketmaster but do not have tickets, Rover can dynamically create a section in their campaign with a prompt to purchase tickets. On the other hand, if they are logged in and DO have tickets, Rover can include the details of their tickets in the campaign, similar to what you see in the Panthers' experience above.
This past season, we wanted to add more features for our season ticket holders within our app,” added Bryan. “We did that through the PSL Member hub, built out through Rover. It uses the Ticketmaster API to present custom user information and we surface exclusive offers and information for our biggest fans with Rover’s sleek user interface.
Will Bryan
The Panthers’ Senior Digital Experiences Manager
3. Sponsored Content & Partnership Campaigns
Partners consistently request teams to find new and innovative ways to integrate their brand into a team's digital channels. With social media and other platforms becoming increasingly noisy, a team's mobile app provides a unique opportunity for commercial inventory.
Rover provides teams and leagues with additional partnership inventory, allowing them to create engaging campaigns that align perfectly with the team and their partners. And one team that does a great job both leveraging the power of the Rover Fan Engagement Platform and creating innovative partnership content for their sponsors is the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles' gameday guide is a prime example of how partners can be seamlessly integrated into Rover experiences. From their Dietz & Watson Homegating Recipe to their Ricoh Game Notes Trivia experiences, the Eagles have successfully executed their creative vision while incorporating sponsored experiences using Rover. They have even targeted a variety of fans, offering a thorough Partner Zone with numerous promotions, as well as a Kids Club with fun games.
One standout feature of the Eagles' gameday guide is the inclusion of a trivia campaign, sponsored by Ricoh, that engages fans with entertaining questions related to the game matchup. This campaign was flawlessly executed, showcasing both the Ricoh and Eagles brands. It not only provided an interactive element for fans but also created further engagement by directing them to the Eagles' Notes of the Week, which were also sponsored by Ricoh.
Furthermore, the Eagles have created standalone sponsored campaigns to highlight their partners. In their Gillette Gameday Fit campaign, Eagles fans were invited to vote for their favorite player looks. Each screen featured two Eagles players dressed up, and fans were encouraged to vote for their preferred look. After making their selections, fans had the option to receive push notifications. This feature benefits both parties, as Gillette gains greater exposure and clicks, while the Eagles can segment and target their fans with personalized push notifications.
It’s clear that the Eagles' gameday guide serves as a model for successful partner integration in Rover experiences. Through their creative vision, targeted promotions, and seamless incorporation of sponsored campaigns, they have enhanced the gameday experience for fans while generating additional revenue for their partners.
All in all, we have seen an exceptional increase in both user engagement and time spent since onboarding to Rover. As we kick off the new year and head into the upcoming season, we’ll be working alongside the Rover team to continue the push on mobile innovation, with the expectation to set an example and continue to be a leading contributor in sports.
Chris Rutledge
UI/UX Developer at the Eagles
4. Creating Tentpole Events
TThe NFL, like other leagues, has a variety of tentpole events that require teams' digital teams to create engaging experiences for their fans. These events range from My Cleats, My Cause and Breast Cancer awareness, to unique sporting events like outdoor games, alumni celebrations, and international events. Teams have relied on Rover to create stunning evergreen experiences directly within their apps.
This season, the Green Bay Packers created unique gameday campaigns for their international game against the New York Giants in London. In their gameday preview, the team did an excellent job highlighting the history of the rivalry between the two teams. They included an extensive section detailing how, where, and when to watch or listen, along with graphics displaying the importance of the matchup and the distance traveled.
This experience effectively informed fans about the matchup, generated excitement for the event, and provided many opportunities for engagement, despite the game being overseas. The team was able to quickly modify their gameday guide for this significant event by incorporating an altered UI and informative content, all while utilizing minimal resources and no code.
5. Segmented and Targeted Push Notifications
Effective push notifications are crucial for mobile app retention. They allow a team to reach their entire fanbase with just one click. Rover’s affiliated push platform, uses segmentation to personalize the push notifications sent out. This ensures that the outreach to the fanbase is relevant to each individual fan.
The Baltimore Ravens are highly strategic users of Rover’s push platform. They send push notifications to their fans based on various factors, including geographic location, device type, seat section, and even specialized pushes based on categories that fans have subscribed to, such as contests & promotions, live streaming events, and more.
Rover's push platform has significantly enhanced our mobile app messaging capabilities and notably improved our team's efficiency. The user-friendly features enable us to easily create, edit, duplicate, preview, and schedule our notifications, saving us a considerable amount of time throughout the season.
We've also taken advantage of Rover's segmentation tools to better target our fans with relevant messaging -- particularly on and around game days. In my mind, Rover's strong capabilities are ideal for effectively communicating with our fans and driving traffic to our ap
Dave Lang
Director of Digital Strategy & Innovation at the Baltimore Ravens.
Conclusion
When examining the innovative app experiences across the NFL, it is evident that these native campaigns can effectively engage fans and their communities. What makes them even more appealing is their simplicity in design and launch, requiring no additional developer resources or code. The Rover platform empowers teams to design exceptional experiences, and we eagerly anticipate the continued innovation, creation, and launch by NFL teams and other organizations.
Contact us today to learn more about your organization can ameliorate the fan experience through powerful mobile activations!