Imagine whisking through the security check-in at a New York Jets home game just as fast as the people who avoid lines at John F. Kennedy Airport by dipping through TSA Pre.
Let’s take this a step further: what if the same biometric identifiers that power security identification systems such as TSA Pre could be used to instantly identify super fans and season pass holders and reward them with perks immediately upon entering the stadium?
A new multi-year deal between the Jets and IdentoGO by IDEMIA, which makes the TSA Pre parent the official identity security and biometric partner of the team, will allow for the two to collaborate on ways to improve safety and fan engagement at Metlife Stadium through biometrics.
This is the first time IdentoGO has partnered exclusively with a professional sports team, though Jeff Fernandez, vice president of corporate partnerships and new business ventures for the Jets, said in an interview with SportTechie that he hopes their work leads to broader adoption of such technologies across the NFL and other pro sports.
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“Our commitment is to try to tap into their expertise and their forward-thinking innovation team to look at pain points we’ve got at all of our events and see how technology can help improve it,” said Fernandez. “Part of it could be controlled access for convenience and speed, zip lanes, but another part is how we can better identify the fan base and reward them with benefits.”
The partnership, which will officially kickoff this weekend at MetLife Stadium when the Jets face off against the New England Patriots, will start simply with mobile check-in stations at every Jets game during this season.
The stations, which will be located outside the stadium nearby where fans are tailgating, will offer fans expedited sign-up for the five-year TSA Pre membership in a process that should take four to six minutes.
IDEMIA CEO Didier Lamouche said the deal enables its services to reach as many as 75,000 fans at each home game. To add incentive, the Jets are throwing in a $20 gift card that can be used at the stadium when a fan signs up.
IdentoGO will also serve as the presenting partner of the New York Jets Fan Hall of Fame, an initiative launched earlier this year that will serve as an annual celebration of an “ultimate Jets fan.” Inductees added to the fan hall of fame this year will be receive access to TSA Pre free-of-charge alongside a host of other recognitions, prizes and perks.
The next wave of the partnership, which will occur over time throughout the years of the deal, will be to launch a pilot program to experiment with ways to use biometrics, such as fingerprints and iris scans, to gather data about fans to improve their experience.
While this could be used to enhance security through things such as expedited check-ins for season pass holders, it could also be used as a way to keep track of fans, which the team can then use to offer targeted perks or discounts on things such as concessions or merchandise. A program such as this could even be integrated with point of sale systems, enabling contactless payments.
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An example of how this partnership may ultimately shape up can be gleaned from looking at IDEMIA’s recent partnership with the music industry through Live Nation. In July 2016, the company launched Fast Pass by IdentoGO that enabled expedited TSA Pre-like security screenings for pre-approved concert goers. For the Jets, it’s about using the team’s flexibility to experiment with technological innovation to improve the experience for fans in hopes that the team becomes a leader among NFL peers in adopting new products and services that could ultimately set a standard for the industry.
The Jets have long been one of the most tech-savvy teams in the U.S. They were one of the first in the NFL to eliminate paper ticketing for season pass holders, a move that might’ve seemed bold in 2014 but has led to a spike in data about Jets fans and been mirrored by other teams across the league.
In this year alone the Jets were the first NFL team to rollout a subscription service for season pass holders and the first to launch an in-house predictive gaming program that allowed fans using its mobile app to make real-time predictions on play outcomes in exchange for perks and rewards. Other technologies at Jets home games this year include stadium mapping and live videoboard Next Gen Stats.
“One of our core pillars everyday in the sports entertainment world is to try to be at the forefront of technological advancement. That’s a great brand ID for us: that the Jets are innovators,” Fernandez said. “We’ve set that trend on the tech side for awhile. This [deal with IdentoGO] is a whole other level.”