While watching highlights of Anthony Davis, a viewer will see some big blocks, rim-rattling dunks and heads-up passing. GumGum Sports sees something else: the ads. There’s Chevron and State Farm on the stanchion, arena namesake Smoothie King and Ochsner Medical on the floor. GumGum Sports sees those ads and calculates a Media Value Percentage (MVP) based on amount of time on screen and clarity of view, among other metrics.
GumGum Sports announced on Thursday a partnership with the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints to help them better quantify the value of in-venue advertisements. “This helps our partners feel confident that they are maximizing their sponsorship dollars and better understand what they are getting in return for their investment,” Mike Stanfield, the Senior Vice President of Sales for the Saints and Pelicans, wrote.
GumGum Sports is a division of GumGum Computer Vision and is less than a year old. “It’s tremendous, they want brand sponsors to know they are on the cutting edge of technology,” said Ryan Mosher, Executive Director of Sponsorship Solutions at GumGum Sports. “If a team or rights holder is not adapting, they are already behind the eight ball.”
To calculate the MVP, GumGum Sports considers six factors: Clarity, Prominence, Size, Visibility, Placement and Share of Voice. In combination, these statistics show the value of the individual ad on screen.
That isn’t where GumGum Sports stops. The next step is measuring how many impressions that ad made, especially on social media. “By analyzing assets across TV, streaming and social media, and reporting back on one platform, GumGum Sports offers a holistic understanding of a sponsor’s media value,” Mosher said.
“We capture the value in every post – whether it be from a team-owned account or a fan taking a selfie at the game,” Stanfield added. The social media space is largely unaccounted for when determining the reach of the ad. In many cases, social media can drive more impressions than the original TV broadcast. Especially with highlight-reel players like Davis and DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins on the team.
“By sharing clips and images after a game, fans across the globe create entirely new media ecosystems that teams can’t identify,” Mosher said. “(The teams) remain blind to the immense exposure generated by this extensive reach.”
By better quantifying the value of sponsorships, teams and venues can increase the value of their sellable inventory. In addition, GumGum Sports helps identify white space that could be ripe areas for signage in the future. At least one city’s professional franchises are taking a long-look at how highlight culture is changing the value of in-venue advertisements.
