iVirtual and Saige Consulting Partner to Launch FanMore™ to Transform how Teams Connect with Fans
The NHL’s Seattle Kraken launching a closed pilot of the personalizable fan engagement platform among selected superfans and friends of the team
NEW YORK & TORONTO, April 9, 2024 – iVirtual and Saige Consulting (Saige) today announced their partnership on the creation of FanMore™, a groundbreaking new fan rewards platform. The platform is the world’s first entirely personalizable fan loyalty rewards platform for sports teams or other organizations with a significant fanbase. Connecting fans with teams and teams with fan insights, FanMore engages and captures the unseen 90% of fans who are not able to attend games in-person, building revenue channels for teams and engagement channels for sponsors.
“Access to live sporting events has become out of reach for most super fans and many fans will support a team for years and never be recognized by their team, simply because teams do not have the data on their fans. We built FanMore to connect fans with teams, and teams with fan insights,” said Meghan Nameth, Co-Founder of iVirtual. “Starting with our instant avatar creation technology fans can create a personalized and shareable team Fanmoji, as their digital badge of fandom to the world. As they continue to engage on the platform, they earn more points from sponsored quests and get access to rewards like tickets or team experiences. FanMore is the solution to rewarding superfans and democratizing fan access to sport.”
FanMore empowers fans to accumulate points through a gamified experience of completing quests. These earned points can then be redeemed for exclusive rewards not only from the team but also from their sponsors. Rewards can include access to tickets, merchandise, Zamboni rides, opportunities to meet the team, and more.
Embracing innovation and forward-thinking, the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League sees enormous potential to leverage FanMore to connect with fans and generate additional revenue for the team. The Kraken are the first team to test the platform, with a closed pilot for selected fans that runs through the end of the regular season.
“Innovation has always guided our approach, from our arena to our partnerships,” said Todd Humphrey, SVP, Digital Innovation & Fan Experience, Seattle Kraken, NHL. “We were interested in testing FanMore because we know our fans outside of the arena want to engage with the team. FanMore gives us space to reward their loyalty and it connects us and our sponsors with insights that help us ultimately generate new revenue streams for the Kraken. We see great value in the ability to better understand our fans.”
The strategic partnership between iVirtual and Saige facilitated the creation of the first-of-its-kind platform that democratizes access to teams for sports fans. Leveraging iVirtual’s cutting-edge Fanmoji technology, Saige helped to develop the FanMore platform, which integrates into the teams’ own apps or websites to reward fans for their unwavering support.
“We chose Saige because they are experts in data monetization, have expertise in the sports sector, and they specialize in seamlessly integrating advanced AI and digital solutions,” said Nameth. “Moreover, we were impressed with their ability to collaborate, move quickly, and create a well-managed and highly integrated analytics system.”
“At its core, FanMore fuels connections. The product confronts the multifaceted challenges teams face when looking to expand their connection with their fans,” said Charles Hu, Senior Partner, Technology, Saige. “With the collaboration of our innovative partners at iVirtual, we created a platform that generates data and insights that teams can use to create better fan experiences both at home or at the stadium, improve sponsor ROI, generate new revenue streams, and deepen the connection with current fans, while concurrently engaging with fans of younger generation.”
iVirtual is accepting potential investors until May 1, 2024.
About iVirtual
iVirtual is on a mission to redefine the sports fan experience, transforming how loyalty and engagement is fostered within the sports industry. The Company’s innovative platform, FanMore, introduces a unique ecosystem that rewards engagement and loyalty, enriches the fan experience, and opens new revenue streams for sports organizations in a world where the connection between sports teams and fans is more digital than ever. FanMore by iVirtual leverages cutting-edge, proprietary technology—including instant avatar creation tech allowing fans to create their own Fanmoji—to offer fans personalized experiences, gamification, and unique rewards while providing invaluable insights and analytics to teams and sponsors. With billions of sports fans worldwide, FanMore is poised to tap into this vast market, addressing the unmet needs of fans and creating new pathways for monetization in the sports industry.
About Saige
Saige Consulting is a strategic consulting and technology development firm that leads digital transformation initiatives for enterprise clients. Leveraging AI, data & analytics, and machine learning technologies, Saige builds innovative and highly efficient operating models that dramatically improve business results for clients. Saige also enables enterprise clients to unlock the benefits of emerging Generative AI technologies to participate in the next wave of business process reengineering.