Marketers interested in adding an extra dimension to live events should take a look at what the Portland Trail Blazers pulled off as part of their at-the-game experience at their arena, Moda Center. It wasn’t just engaging — it was profitable, too. 
We’re always focused on driving opt-ins and downstream engagement, but there’s often a chance to deliver on-the-spot revenue. The Trail Blazers wanted to leverage mobile engagement for fans attending home games — and they found it, in creating a series of contests that included social integration tactics, push notifications and more to deliver discounts and in-venue ticket and merchandise promotions.
The net-net (excuse the pun) for the Trail Blazers? They saw the highest-grossing sales night of the season. Connecting your live event directly to sales is obviously a consideration that’s usually in an event marketer’s mind, but we often look on it as an apres-event approach. We’re afraid it may somehow interfere with the brand experience we’re trying to deliver. But that may be a failure of imagination. By making the opportunity and incentives to buy compelling and creative, and a vibrant part of the overall live brand experience, a marketer could realize immediate revenue.
It’s also a way to appeal to the connected, always-on mobile user, who’s more than willing to make purchase decisions in the moment if you’re making the offer and occasion cool enough. And I can’t resist re-treading the pun: it’s a strategy that can make an experiential encounter…nothing but net.
