For the Fans: How The Entertainment Industry Can Use Interactive Kiosks for Fan Engagement
The entertainment industry is a big, diverse landscape. From the NFL draft to the biggest games in e-sports, from sold-out stadium shows to small concert venues, the entertainment industry is vast, ever-changing, and an incredible opportunity for brands, marketers, and organizers to connect with fans and raise brand awareness.
Fan engagement in the entertainment industry is a world of opportunity and challenges. For brands, it’s a chance to tap into a dedicated fan base that isn’t afraid to show their loyalty. For the world’s biggest sports leagues and most beloved brands in entertainment, it’s a way to make fans feel closer than ever to the things they love.
BIG Digital works with all kinds of companies to improve their outreach and engage with their audiences in new, innovative ways. One of our latest and greatest sports and gaming activations was at the 2024 NFL Draft in Michigan, which hosted an unprecedented 700,000 fans. Our interactive kiosks and digital billboards played a pivotal role in enhancing the fan experience with live NFL draft updates, on-clock draft headlines indicating the team making its draft selection, wayfinding tools to help fans navigate the venue and find nearby attractions, and digital signage integration for sponsors, not to mention fan selfies helping attendees capture their memories of draft day.
Whether you’re looking at sponsorship activations that can get the word out about your brand or event networks that connect with your fans in the real world, BIG Digital signage kiosks are an indispensable tool. They bridge the gap between digital assets and engagement in the real world.
Let’s take a closer look at fan engagement in the entertainment industry and the instrumental role that digital kiosks can play.
Interactive Kiosks for Fan Engagement
Engaging with fans before, during, and after live events is a critical component of completing the live experience. Fans who come out to concerts, live sports, and e-sports are coming to make memories. Interactive kiosks are a smart tool for creating memories during those in-between moments at big live events.
Building Fan Engagement in the Entertainment Industry
The entertainment industry is an increasingly interactive one. You don’t have to look any further than the growing number of streamers and the role of social media in all forms of entertainment to see how fans want to engage with the creators, musicians, athletes, and gamers that they love and follow.
One of the big themes in the evolution of fan engagement in the physical world has been the growth of experiential marketing and in-person interactivity. This manifests in everything from gamifying the ticket-buying experience, Augmented Reality sneak peeks, souvenir tickets, and self serve kiosks that provide upgrades and enhanced experiences.
Engagement with Fans Online and Offline
In today’s era, fan engagement requires an online and offline approach. Younger generations are seeking fan engagement in the digital sphere, preferring social media and virtual experiences (including VR) for a more communal and immersive experience. A successful engagement plan brings fans who may never enter the stadium.
Any successful fan engagement campaign will reach fans online, but it should also complete the in-venue experience. Consumers who have an emotional connection to a brand were found to be 52% more valuable than consumers who were considered “highly satisfied but not fully connected” by the Harvard Business Review.
When it comes to the in-venue experience, try brand activation ideas that provide an interactive element for fans. With interactive kiosks, the possibilities really open up. Talk to us about interactive experiences, gamification, Augmented Reality, and AI technology to create a completely unique experience that fans will pay attention to.
Self-Serve Kiosks: Fan Engagement Through Live Events and Performances
The option to upgrade the experience at big, live events should always be available to fans. One of the best ways you can enhance the experience and upsell at live experiences is with self service kiosks where fans can integrate with mobile to get tickets and upgrades to everything.
Some of the options for enhanced experiences include access to VIP experiences, last-minute seat upgrades, merch that can be delivered to a seat number or picked up after the show, or souvenir tickets that can be printed then and there.
The practice of selling souvenir tickets is a particularly fascinating throwback to the analog age. With digital tickets taking over, people miss the tactile experience of a ticket stub to a show or an experience that they’re always going to cherish. It’s the same as buying souvenirs when they travel. A souvenir ticket is proof of ownership of an experience and something that they can use to remind themselves of it long into the future.
Fan Engagement in E-Sports and Gaming
E-sports is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the entertainment industry, with expectations that the industry can grow to $5.7 billion by 2028, and it’s attracting the attention of more sponsors looking to engage with new audiences. The question is, how can brands break into this space with experiences that will intrigue fans?
In a growing segment like e-sports, you have an opportunity to create sponsorship activations that are win-win for both sides. Sponsors connect with a new audience and loyal fan base, while organizers and venues get to complement the main event with fun, interactive sponsorships, giveaways, and contests.
BIG Digital recently powered Redbull at a Kumite Gaming event in NYC, where 16 top gamers went head-to-head to crown the ultimate Street Fighter 6 Champion. We brought Redbull Kumite to life with our cutting edge interactive kiosks and gaming activations.
When it comes to gaming activations, BIG Digital leads the way with customizable, innovative experiences that create fan engagement and make them feel like they’re part of the action. BIG Digital provides the technology powering OLG’s iCasino. The activation is a team-up with creative partner Mint Agency and designed to help gamers find their gaming style and put them in the driver’s seat.
A digital kiosk display is a smart way to add an interactive element to any sponsorship activation. You’re already working with a market segment that loves gaming, which can be both an opportunity and a challenge. On the one hand, you know that a gamification experience will match their interests. On the other hand, you may need to invest a bit more research into finding the right kind of gamification experience to create the right kind of experience for this group.
Fan Engagement Campaigns and Promotions
In addition to sponsorship activations at live events, fan engagement can be crucial for donation campaigns or getting the word out about contests and promotions. Donation campaigns can deploy kiosks for donations to let fans learn more about good causes and choose the size of their donations in a way that can feel much less intrusive than person-to-person contact. When users have the freedom to learn, explore, and choose options without that pressure, they can be more likely to give.
Fan Engagement Analytics and Data Analysis
One of the most valuable assets you can generate from a fan engagement campaign is insights into your audience. BIG Digital’s interactive kiosks can help you capture that information. Learn more about fans’ consumer behaviour, preferences, and engagement patterns. The more you learn about your audience, the more you can tailor your marketing message and perfect your engagement plan.
Interactive kiosks are the perfect tool for fan engagement in the entertainment industry. We’ll work with you on finding the right solutions for your campaign ideas and acing fan engagement.