Feature: Oli Avent, Senior Account Manager
I'm Oli, a Senior Account Manager here at Ten Toes. I sit within our brand division working to help bring brands closer to a sporting audience. In an industry where sporting fans are known to be vocal, ensuring brands act with authenticity, relevance and creativity in this space is key. It's great to be involved day to day with a multitude of activations, projects and impactful collaborations that can make people sit up and take notice and really drive an impact across the sporting sphere.
Sport has the power to connect. It transcends languages, cultures, abilities and socio-economic status. At the heart of sport there is passion and it’s a feeling that can’t be replicated to the magnitude that sporting moments provide you. It has the ability to inspire new generations, the growth of female participation following the amazing achievements of the Lionesses is case in point. It also can cross the industry lines of culture, to deliver collaborations that connect wider audiences. In recent years we have seen fashion, music, film and design all tap into the energy, opportunity and vast audiences that sport brings to the table.
So what keeps sport so exciting and what is the next step that will wow a generation?
The desire for fans to connect with their favourite superstars is stronger than ever. With fans able to take to social media, access any game, anywhere - there is a thirst for experiences while watching sport, which keeps the demand for new technology high.
The entry of VR and AR into the market is a growing presence. These technologies are finding their feet under the table of the world of sport, and looking to become a permanent and inspiring feature. Wii, Playstation, Xbox and even player cam brought us as close to the real thing as it could when I was younger, however, nowadays tech has taken a step further. Oculus’s ability to bring Jonah Hill and Adam Levine court-side for an NBA game shows that the way we view sports is dramatically changing. You can be amongst the action, sitting next to your friend and watching the game unfold, while actually sitting in the comfort of your own home - whose to say that the next step isn’t to bring the other senses into play?
Additionally, the introduction of vastly improved wearable tech such as the camera that was placed on Tim Limperle for FC Koln in the friendly against AC Milan in the summer, highlights an opportunity for broadcasters to bring fans closer to the real thing. It flirts with memories of the iconic Nike ad ‘Take it to the next level’. As mentioned earlier, player cam was revolutionary at the time for Sky Sports but with this new tech we can catch Haaland’s own perspective as he slams in his 90th goal of the season. Let the pundits loose, with a new opportunity to draw his vision from first person.
There is, of course, a wariness with the likes of AR, VR etc, the old adage that ‘nothing beats being there in real time’. While I agree with that sentiment entirely, you have to consider those who can’t be at games and the growing international audiences that each sport attracts. Yet, it may only be Phil Knight these days who captures sporting moments in their purest form, with a whole world now watching live sport in stadiums through their screens. So with the demand still there it is extremely exciting to see what the wonders of technological advancements and our craving for sports interaction will take us.