The concept of “connected stadium” is relatively new in Japan but its global market is forecast to increase by 3.7 times, amounting to $1.7 billion, within the next five-year period.

A company involved in the development of Connected Stadium, a digital platform for the Japanese market, is playground Inc. Founded in 2017, the company introduced “Quick Ticket by MOALA” (or Quick Ticket for short), a communication-based electronic ticket service. Then, a beta version of its digital platform, MOALA was released in September 2018.

Here we talk to Keiji Ito, the head of playground Inc., about his motivation to start this project. As he explains, Connected Stadium has been developed to meet the needs of sports stadiums in Japan.

Keiji Ito
Head of playground Inc. After graduating from Sophia University, joins IBM’s consulting department to be involved in customer-related projects such as digital marketing services and CRM solutions. In 2011, starts Leonis&Co. with focus on “digital store” solutions, which sells to transcosmos inc. in 2014. In June 2017, founds playground Inc. to provide digital solutions for real-life events in the entertainment industry.

What is connected stadium service MOALA?

As per playground Inc.’s description, the MOALA service aims to increase the value of real-life events by integrating various aspects such as customer experience, data and operations via IT tools and connectivity.

In other words, MOALA is a web platform for “connected stadium”; the underlying idea is comprehensive digitization of real-life events, excluding only live performances.


How baseball fans buy the Saitama Seibu Lions tickets with MOALA

Among sports entities which have integrated MOALA is the Saitama Seibu Lions baseball team. Once a ticket is purchased, its URL is digitally delivered to a buyer’s LINE app account. An electronic ticket is then opened by tapping the URL which fans use to enter the stadium on the day of the event.

Before the match fans usually get welcome messages, game preview and starters’ information, while thank-you messages and victory photos are sent at the end of the match. Also, buyers of electronic tickets are automatically entered in a drawing to win player autographs and other prizes.

Electronic tickets are also convenient for fan groups; a group member can purchase tickets on MOALA web platform and distribute to other members via LINE or email. This way, even if one of the group members arrives late, they still can enter the stadium to meet other members and enjoy the match.

As a web-based platform, MOALA does not require an app installed on the device and the whole digital experience of a sports event takes place via web browsers and preferred means of communication such as LINE app or email.

To create a convenient smart stadium for sports fans, the MOALA service has unified the various aspects of a sports event into a single digital platform.

Identifying the needs of sports events

Before launching its Connected Stadium project, playground Inc. had already integrated its digital service “Quick Ticket” in the entertainment sector. Here is how Mr Ito explains expansion into sports industry: two factors in regard to sports stadiums affecting the decision.

Keiji Ito: The first factor concerns ticket-selling. If we take professional baseball as an example, the ticket-selling process seemed inconvenient both for organizers and baseball fans. Fans queued up, sometimes for an hour, to obtain tickets via ticket-selling machines installed inside stadiums.

The conventional ticket-selling did not benefit the organizers in a sense that large crowds gathering in front of stadium imply additional staff and rental costs. They would have preferred using the funds instead towards improving customer experience.

Meanwhile, sports fans do not wish to arrive at a stadium much earlier than the start time and wait in line to buy a ticket. Although there are designated convenience stores to buy baseball tickets, for those who had not obtained their tickets beforehand, the distance from the stadium to a store may not be close.

Keiji Ito: The second factor concerns marketing. Organizers of events both in sports and entertainment had little data on trends among fans. There are reports in the media such as growing numbers of baseball and football female fans and popularity among youth but those figures are perception-based data.

To increase the value of services provided, event organizers need marketing data. In the sports industry, the available fan club members’ data does not include the information on who actually bought a ticket and who attended the match.

As people often attend sports events in groups, the data available only concerns a person who bought the tickets for the group but not the group members.

Keiji Ito: People who take initiative to buy tickets for the group members are usually loyal sports fans who regularly attend events. Therefore, from a marketing perspective, data on other group members is needed so as to tailor services to suit their wants and interests.

The Connected Stadium integrated into sports and entertainment events can help resolve the marketing task of event organizers.

A new platform for better customer experience

Users of the current version of MOALA can complete all procedures via a web browser. However, the predecessor of this digital platform was app-based service, and as Mr Ito explains it was difficult to surpass a threshold of 5 percent app utilization rate.

Keiji Ito: As people do not change their habits easily, it can be challenging to attract customers even for extraordinary products and services. For example, Suica, a rechargeable smart card, has become indispensable in our daily lives, but it has taken almost 10 years for this product to proliferate. Therefore, when introducing a novel product or service into a market, one has to find a way to lower the hurdle for new customers to try the product.

While avid fans may attend sports events many times in a year, most people go to stadiums only several times a year. Understandably, customers do not wish to spend time on registration for an online service which they do not frequently use. Therefore, MOALA is designed as a user-friendly platform with its easy access and efficient service.

Keiji Ito: As of the beginning of 2019, a third of Saitama Seibu Lions fans are purchasing Quick Tickets on our web platform. This stands in stark contrast with a 5 percent rate for the app-based platform. Also, more than 90 percent of buyers of multiple tickets are distributing to other members of their group.

By introducing convenient features such as digital purchase and distribution of tickets on a single platform, it became possible to lower the hurdle and attract new customers. In addition, the digital platform provides access to marketing data on sports fans who obtained their tickets via distribution.

A vision for the world of entertainment

Other than sports events, MOALA has been integrated in various sectors: theme parks such as Sanrio Puroland, music concerts, and tourist attractions such as Tokyo Cruise Ship.

Keiji Ito: The concept of “connected stadium” may sound futuristic. However, this service was created to serve a fundamental need. MOALA aims to give more convenience to the users of services. Meanwhile, collected marketing data would help further improve customer experience. This way, it becomes possible to make events even more interesting and exciting. As we provide solutions for simple needs, we think MOALA can be widely applied across industries.

MOALA could similarly be integrated in zoos and aquariums, and visitors could learn about living species via text and movie messages delivered by email or on social media. Cinema goers could purchase digital tickets and earn points, which in turn could be used to obtain food and drink coupons or additional movie tickets.

Considering digitization possibilities in the world of entertainment, we ask Mr Ito how he sees the future of playground Inc.

Keiji Ito: We started playground Inc. aiming to offer digital solutions for real-life events. We began with digital tickets but our current goal is to diversify into an entertainment technology company. We recently set up a new division for consulting and system integration with a team of top experts in various fields. This way, in addition to simple solutions such as web design and CRM service, we intend to offer marketing solutions such as spurring ticket sales for events. New technologies such as dynamic pricing, cashless payment and automated operations will continue to emerge giving vitality to real-life events. Our purpose is to provide solutions across various sectors of the entertainment world.

Original Text: https://ampmedia.jp/2019/04/04/playground-interview/