New technology from startup ventures is transforming the sports industry. The mission of this series is to introduce startup companies in the sports technology space to a broader audience and allow Founders of promising new ventures to tell their story. Feel free to contact us if you know of a startup that should be considered for this series.
Company name: SnapRapid
Founder(s): Russell Glenister
Headquarters: London, England
1. What is your elevator pitch?
SnapRapid is transforming sports marketing by unlocking millions of dollars of previously inaccessible value for sports rights owners, brands and sponsors.
We have taken a one-dimensional, TV valuation process and replaced it with a far more effective three-dimensional approach, which includes not only TV valuation, but for the first time, digital and social too. It’s what we call, “3Play”.
SnapRapid’s unique ability to value digital and social media visual exposure for brands, alongside TV, makes it the sole source of a full, 360 degree picture of sports sponsorship and the data needed to make appropriate and profitable commercial decisions.
2. Problem & Solution
Sports marketing has been stuck in a bygone age in which sponsorship deals are valued largely on the basis of TV exposure. All research shows continuing migration to digital and social and more sports every day are consumed and discussed on social media and through digital channels.
Until now, that digital and social value couldn’t be measured and therefore went unmeasured.
Using proprietary systems, driven by deep learning technology, SnapRapid accurately and reliably identifies, analyses and values sponsor and brand exposure, in both still and moving images, across 11 social media platforms and 300,000 digital channels worldwide.
This data enables brand partnership and sponsorship deals to reflect true value and the parties involved to better understand their social and digital impact and develop strategies, that deliver improved KPIs.
3. Market – your target market and the overall market
We work with rights holders, sponsors and brands such as kit suppliers, across multiple sports. Sponsorship is a $70b market annually and athlete endorsements run into $millions per athlete, in a sector that is worth in excess of $1b per annum.
4. Business Model – how do you make money?
We monetise through an enterprise SaaS system. This system is driven by client specific dashboards for rights holders, brands and sponsors.
We help rights holders understand the value of their visual assets, by tracking their events through TV, digital and social for sponsor and brand partnership exposure.
For sponsors and brands we compare their sponsorship and partnership deals across many sports by tracking and evaluating their exposure by both event and sport.
5. Management Team – with titles
Russell Glenister, CEO
Patrick Nally, Chairman
Laurent Decamp, Computer Vision Team Leader
Lawrence Botley, Chief Video Technologist
6. What else do you want the audience to know about your venture?
Valuation is a key part of what we do. As the only company to value both still and moving images across multiple sports for over 80 sponsors, through social and digital channels, we spent nine months building an acceptable model. A key part of that process was analysing reams of data across many sports and events and comparing pricing models event by event.