I’m Kurt Brockett, Director of UX Evangelism at IdentityMine. We’re a user experience (UX) company specializing in Microsoft presentation technologies. In 2005 we hitched a ride on the Avalon train that morphed into Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) released in .NET 3.0. This is the technology root that has grown to include Silverlight, Microsoft Surface and most recently the preferred way to build touch applications in Windows 7.

Our foray into Sports & Entertainment started with a relationship we established with the New Orleans Saints. This past summer we created an application on Microsoft Surface that assists the team in searching and organizing stats and cross-referencing them with the vast video libraries they currently store. Our work with the Saints led to an introduction to the Miami Dolphins who were in the unique position of playing host to the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl this year.

As a host organization, Miami was interested in demonstrating leadership by using specialized technologies within Sun Life Stadium for these two high-profile events as a first step in a venue wide rollout strategy. Today, the pursuit of success in professional sports is to increase sponsorship revenue while providing an enjoyable and compelling fan experience. The use of digital signage within venues can only take a brand so far before it crosses the line into distracting from the sport. Additionally, the actual effect of that type of advertising is impossible to measure. To combat this, IdentityMine has created a portfolio of application experiences which compels fans to interact with team and sponsor content due to their compelling and intuitive nature.

These unique experiences require a complete package from the software, hardware, operating system, and physical environment. Identity Mine and Microsoft teamed up with HP to place 30 of their new TouchSmart PCs in numerous luxury suites. In addition, the Microsoft Surface team provided 5 units that were used in various high-traffic areas.

Here’s a picture of our team doing a bit of the setup:

Chad Brown setting up one of the Microsoft Surface units.

The experiences we built are all built utilizing Windows Presentation Foundation targeted at both Windows 7 and Microsoft Surface. Below is a quick tour of the software applications that were deployed.

Flashcards – Fans were able to play memory and matching games with NFL specific content. In the sample set below you will see that users matched logos to their favorite NFL Teams.

Super Bowl Highlight Reel: Utilizing touch, fans were able to search a library of Super Bowl highlight content and play their favorite moments in Super Bowl history.

Merchandise Selector: Fans discovered and visualized various Super Bowl XLIV and NFL team merchandise that was available for purchase in the Club Level during the game. This experience leveraged Microsoft Tag technology allowing fans to capture links to the products directly on their Mobile Phones for later purchase.

Digital Memories: A touch-enabled experience allowed team and league executives and marketing partners the ability to review catalogs of photos taken during the festivities leading to game day including the exclusive Commissioner’s Ball and owners pre-party held at the Viceroy in Miami.

Miami Beach Sand: A beach themed entertainment application that illustrated the unique touch and gesture-enabled properties of Microsoft Surface and Windows 7. This application became an entertaining way for fans to uncover unique sponsored tokens “beneath” the “sand”.

 
(Above far right) Mark Brown of IdentityMine with some younger fans digging into Miami Beach Sand.

The experiences were a hit in the suites and the attendees were able to relive the event through relevant and recent content available within 24 hours of an event, bringing a personalization aspect that can’t be achieve utilizing static technologies. Additionally IdentityMine, Microsoft and HP were able to demonstrate to all the franchises in the NFL the real business and entertainment value that touch enabled interactive experiences can bring the sports and entertainment world.

We’re excited by this initial rollout and are currently working with other franchises to bring customized experiences to many more fans. For more information on IdentityMine services visit www.identitymine.com and be sure to come see us in the Commons Showcase area at the upcoming MIX10 conference being held in March in Las Vegas, NV.