BusinessWeek recently featured an article called "Japan: Google's Real-Life Lab", that profiles Google's extensive product testing among Japanese consumers. The article immediately caught my attention, as it carries strong parallels for sports professionals looking to drive traffic to their organization's webpage.
Here is the excerpt from the article with sports connotations:
"It was 10:51pm in Tokyo, and suddenly Google was hit from a two minute spike in searches from Japanese mobile phones. We were wondering, Was it spam? Was it a system error?" says Ken Tokusei, Google's mobile chief in Japan. A quick call to the carrier revealed that it was neither. Instead, millions of cell phone users had pulled up Google's search box after a broadcaster offered free ringtone downloads of the theme song from The Man who Couldnt Marry, a popular tv show, but had only briefly flashed the web address where the tune was available. The surge in traffic came as a big suprise to Tokusei and his team. They had assumed that a person's location was the key element of most mobile Internet searchs, figuring that users were primarily interested in maps of the part of town they happened to be in, timetables for the train home, or the address of the closest yakitori restaurant.
Translation to sport:
Sports marketers can use a similar "free ringtone download" tactic in-arena to drive web traffic. With ample amount of time in-game to fill air space, property reps can easily implement a simple website traffic driver by flashing up a :15 promotional read on the video board (complemented by a PA) that reads:
"Fans, the (insert name of team/university athletics) is pleased to offer all fans attending tonight's game a Free ________ ringtone/wallpaper will by logging onto (insert team/university athletics website) from 8am to 5pm tomorrow."
To backfill the promotion, properties can engage their wireless provider sponsor to pay for the ringtone/wallpaper rights (show value to the sponsor by linking the promotion through the sponsor webpage). To track click-thrus and redemption, the property can force fans to input their ticket barcode and/or ticket seat location (optional).
This promotion (or one of similar nature) would:
1. Drive incremental traffic to the property website (by showing :15 promotional messaging on video board/PA)
2. Incorporate sponors (providing added value/additional "ownable" assets)
3. Learn more about ticket holders' incentive drivers
* Properties could offer ringtones (songs/team slogans/reads from the PA announcer/mascot related downloads, etc.)
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 09:58PM 
Have you considered numerous ways to target your fanbase online? Have you brainstormed ways to increase the engagement level of your team emails/text messages? 
