“If you don't have your act together digitally, they'll just walk out on you”: Sorrell leads Ad Week panel on how big data is changing the world of sport

WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell pulled a large crowd for the Advertising Week New York session simply titled ‘Winning’. He led the group of panelists, including: Don Garber Commissioner, Major League Soccer; David Stern Commissioner, NBA; Larry Scott, Commissioner, PAC-12; and Bill McDermott CEO SAP AG.

Fresh back from the Singapore Grand Prix, impeccably turned out, and clearly very well briefed, WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell wasted no time in providing fulsome introductions to his guests.Flanking him were four very senior figures in the sports and sports sponsorship industry. Don Garber, as the Commissioner of Major League Soccer, is the man who has grown the sport in the USA to the point where franchises cost hundreds of millions of dollars to purchase, and soccer ranks second only to the NFL in terms of popularity with young people. David Stern, the Commissioner of the NBA oversees a sport millions of followers worldwide, $5bn in revenues, and on the edge of a truly digital (and monetized) future. Larry Scott, the Commissioner of Pac-12 is responsible for thousands of college athletes in the USA, and, as a result, helps fill the rosters of the major teams across all the headline US sports. The ‘client’ on the panel, Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP AG, was the first panel member to dig into how big data – the focus of the session - was changing their business. SAP has spent a good deal of time (and money) trying new ways to use big data and technology to improve the relationship between sports franchises and their fans. Being mainly thought of as a business-to-business company, SAP has used sports as a conscious means of being seen as relevant by the end consumer. They’ve been working with the San Francisco 49ers during the construction of their new stadium to meet the aspirations of owner Jed York that it be a completely digital experience, based on mobile technologies and with real time access to player data. McDermott wants to extend that same level of digital thinking to the at-seat experience. More broadly, he regards SAP’s involvement in sport as a way to connect with their 200,000 or more corporate customers but - more importantly – to eventually reach the seven billion people on the planet, this being the more commercially important constituency.McDermott can see a day when real-time analytics move deeper into the inner-sanctum of professional sports, turning locker rooms into something kitted out more like a situation room. To test out some of their analytics, SAP ran an event alongside the last SuperBowl where the game was simulated running on SAP’s HANA platform. Using its real-time analytic capabilities to predict what was likely to happen based on its knowledge of the on-field situation HANA correctly predicted the next play 85 per cent of the time. Stern chimed in to make the point that at-game analytics, for teams and fans, was already making a difference at the NBA, and that dealing with the volume of data available was like trying to drink water from a fire hose.McDermott continued the theme of innovation: “The key to me in running a company is staying authentic to who you are, and having empathy with the end consumer. We're not just in this business to make money,” he said. The challenge as he sees it is to maximise the use of big data to enhance the fan's experience at the game. The impatience of fans is something everyone has to anticipate and manage, because as he points out, “If you don't have your act together digitally, they'll just walk out on you.”He calls it 'omni-channel, omni-commerce CRM' where pricing is real time, transaction is seamless, the fulfilment is “beautiful”, and the relationship is managed lifelong, at a level of intimacy consumers have never experienced before.On the subject of the affiliations between sports, sponsors and brands, Stern is clearly proud of what the NBA and sport generally can deliver. “Talk about values. Obesity, diabetes and healthcare costs are strangling the whole world and yet exercise and public health is something that comes from playing sports,” he said. In a pitch aimed directly at Sorrell, Stern spoke further about what sports and sports brands give back to sponsors. “Teaching kids about sacrifice, discipline and team work and a sense of self confidence isn't a bad concept and so sport is a winning proposition because it not only has the content but it has the values.”As he turned to Sorrell, he finished the thought: “You're probably underpaying on behalf of all your clients for the affiliations you have.” So what of the global possibilities of extending the values of sport more widely? Despite soccer’s international popularity and the growth of the MLS, Garber looked to Stern to assume the mantle of building a truly global league. “We like to think of the US as being the last frontier for the sport of soccer. We are a global sport but there is not a global soccer league that's captured the opportunity. The NBA has the opportunity to be a global league and be able to capitalise on the fact that it is a global sport,” he said. Given that Stern is due to retire as NBA Commissioner next year, it’s likely that he’s spending a reasonable amount of time making sure all is set fair for the digital future of the NBA.As the session drew to a close, it fell to Sorrell to summarise the challenge and opportunity of big data. Drawing a comparison between the agency world and the opportunities ahead of sports brands and sports marketers and with typically elegant simplicity, he said: “It's about globalisation, and it's about technology.” It was one of the few comments he made outside of his role as moderator. Globalisation and technology are certainly critical issues. And if big data makes the fan experience more engaging, more intimate and more dynamic that’s all good. But it will also have to make it more profitable. In the US, getting people to go to games is getting harder, thanks in part to the impact of HD broadcasting. Some of this stay-at-home trend might be mitigated by the work being led by SAP at the 49ers, where big data may make the at-seat experience preferable to hanging in the man-cave. What we can certainly say is that thanks to the efforts of the panel members the world of sport is about to get very interesting, for fans and players alike.Throughout this week Patrick Baglee is reporting from Advertising Week New York. He most recently reported from a session with Roy Sekoff, founding editor of The Huffington Post, who discussed how social media is helping the broadcaster achieve authenticity in its coverage.