Digital Media is KING in this day in age of online engagement and social sharing. The mobile device is creating new online content and environments, thus facilitating a very connected world. Digital Media has become the primary driver of how data is now being consumed online:

  • 1.8 Billion images are uploaded daily and shared
  • Shared content with images have 94% more views than content without images
  • Digital Media “creators” have grown to 46% of all internet users (2014 statistic)
  • 66% of the “digital universe” and engagement is around video watching, social media usage, and image & video sharing
  • By 2018, global digital ad spending is projected to reach $252 Billion USD

We see no difference in our endurance event domain. The participant and their associated friends & family are becoming ever so connected around digital media content before, during and after the event. The “official” event participant-captured image five years ago was more of a memento from the event than what it has become today. It was a memory that could be purchased, preserved and hung in your trophy case.

The Evolution of Digital Media

With the evolution of Digital Media and an industry-wide, consumer-driven, demand for instantaneous services & products, the endurance “official” event photography experience has transcended into a more digitally sharable experience for participants. Based on this premise, the endurance event photography market will need to serve these new needs of our customers. Something important to consider during your race planning.

Hence, through this survival-of-the-fittest mechanism, those firms that rise prominence are most keenly tuned to giving their customer’s what they want”Clayton M. Christensen, The Innovator’s Dilemma. This excerpt addresses why ChronoTrack has taken the position to invest in our digital media product to better serve the needs of the endurance community. What we have seen is that when only selling photographs back to runners (the old retail model), on average only about 5% of participants (up to 20% for premium marathons) will purchase their photos. In this scenario it’s clear that you’re not giving the customer’s what they want. Quite the contrary is found when allowing participants to freely download their official event photos. We see 85%+ engagement.

Getting Customers’ Attention

Our digital media platform (part of ChronoTrack Live, our all-encompassing race management platform) is creating the attention sponsors feverishly are seeking at your event. Attention is a necessary ingredient for effective advertising. The market for consumer attention has become so competitive that attention can be regarded as a form of currency. The more attention the advertiser/sponsor gets, the more persuasion is likely to occur. It’s a fundamental law of communication and (therefore) marketing that neither can occur without the foundational element of attention. It is true that the value of attention varies greatly depending on the quality and origin thereof, but that does not change the fact that there is absolutely no value at all without attention.

Take a look at the attention our ChronoTrack digital media platform is currently capitalizing on when participants freely download the media (now a service model rather than the old retail model of selling photos):

  • 85% to 90% of the participants will visit & engage with our site to download their personal event media
  • 85% will open a “photo email” campaign with a 79% Click-Thru Rate
  • 87% participant viewer rate on participant event videos
  • 98% event photo MMS open-rate with over 90% of the messages opened within 3 minutes after delivery
  • We create 208x/per finisher Facebook impression Rate
  • We create 16x/per finisher Facebook Like Rate
  • We create 2x/per finisher Facebook Comment Rate
  • We create 6x/per finisher rate on that participant event video being watched

The statistics, because being aligned with the unique participant photos, are simple to explain. But don’t take my word for, take the visionary Walt Disney’s:

 

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Changing the Business Model

Are you ready to look at your event photography model in a different way and serve the needs of your participants? Media Sponsorships on our race management platform are commanding anywhere from $2 to $5 per finisher from an official event “Media Sponsor”. In addition, now all your participants get FREE downloadable photos, creating additional online advertising your event. To request more information click here or email photos@chronotrack.com. ChronoTrack has you covered.

Sources: eMarketer and Pew Research Center’s Internet Project.