Game Changers

Being Fans First Created a Team Bigger Than Baseball

The classic line from Field of Dreams is, if you build it, they will come. In Savannah, Georgia, a more appropriate baseball saying might be, if you make it fun, they will come. Jesse Cole, Owner of the Savannah Bananas, is truly in a league of his own. Cole is a trailblazer and an absolute game-changer when it comes to the sport of baseball. His dreamchild, The Savannah Bananas, made believers out of naysayers and transformed a community to become evangelists for this new version of America’s pastime. They say there’s no cryin’ in baseball, but there are no rules governing fun. And if there were, it’s safe to say Cole and his team would break them. The Savannah Bananas are an incredible story; a small-time community baseball team with national appeal. In just a few short years, they’ve captivated fans across the country with their original take on the sport, with fun front and center of the action. Game Changers host Katie Steinberg caught up with Jess Cole to learn more about the Bananas’ story and the branding secrets that set this ball club apart from all others. From the origin of the club’s unique name to its transformation from traditional baseball to its ‘fun rules’ Banana Ball and all the crazy marketing providing one of the most fantastic experiences in all of sport, Steinberg, and Cole cover a lot of ground. The ethos of fun that drives all the decisions around building this successful brand. “We put ourselves in our customer’s shoes,” Cole said. “I learned this from Walt Disney; he’s my biggest mentor. He was sitting at a park bench. Every Saturday was his day with his daughters, and he’s watching them on a carousel at Griffith Park, and he said, ‘I wish there were a place that adults and kids could have fun together.’” Cole used the same logic that created Disneyland to create his version of baseball to make the game fun for fans, young and old. Jesse Cole is the founder of Fans First Entertainment, which owns and operates the Savannah Bananas. The Bananas have welcomed more than one million fans to their ballpark, and have been featured on MSNBC, CBS Sunday Morning, Access Hollywood, HBO Real Sports, CNN, and ESPN. Cole is the author of Fans First & Find Your Yellow Tux. The Savannah Bananas play their rivals, The Party Animals throughout a fun, fan-focused baseball season at Savanah’s Grayson Stadium and locations throughout the country during their upcoming 2023 Banana Ball World Tour. Tickets are available at thesavannahbananas.com.

GrubHub has Targeted Their Entry into the Hospitality World

Being able to order food at the press of a button is beyond just mere convenience, it is simplicity and delivery at its finest. If host Katie Steinberg has anything to say about it, food delivery apps like Grubhub are almost a little too easy to use. Nicolas Holland, the Partnership Director with GrubHub sat down with Game Changers to discuss the present and future of the food delivery app. “It’s really all about discovery, it’s all about accessibility,” said Holland, noting that the ease and use of the app allows users to discover and experience new food networks that exist all around them. “Technology has really enhanced the way we all live our life from our couch…we’re able to leverage our time so much more effectively.” There are a plethora of factors that go into being able to provide an excellent food delivery and pick-up app. Good wifi and great coverage in the venues are essential to carrying out orders. In sports venues and stadium deliveries, Grubhub utilizes algorithms to track wait-times and historical data to improve the customer experience. This on-time consumer experience for in-venue and in-stadium pick-ups allows the fan to see the game they came for (not have to stand in a line) and experience the food simultaneously. In a new move aimed at branching into the hospitality industry, Grubhub has partnered with Resorts World in Las Vegas. As a mega-hotel, with over 3,500 rooms, Grubhub has worked to “customize and tailor our product to fit their needs” throughout the property. On the Fly powered by Grubhub allows customers to deliver food services and products to their room or for pick-up. Holland imagined, “You’re leaving for the day…and all you want to do is stop at the cafe in the lobby, grab yourself a cup of coffee and some breakfast…and there’s like a 30 minute wait just for a cup of coffee?” Grubhub provides the tracking and the tools needed to minimize and eliminate these inconveniences.

Using AI to Never Miss a Minute

When lifelong Detroit Red Wings fan Zack Klima missed seeing a game-winning goal due to waiting in a long line, he knew enough was enough. Spurred to action, Klima founded and is now CEO of company WaitTime, a state of the art artificial intelligence platform using real-time and historical data to analyze crowd diagnostics. Klima sits down with Game Changers host Katie Steinberg to discuss WaitTime’s performance, success, and process. After meeting a few key investors and entrepreneurs, Klima was able to take the chance of a lifetime and develop WaitTime. When investments came through, others noticed, “...it kind of put WaitTime and the idea of WaitTime on the radar that, okay, this is something to actually look at,” said Klima. Instead of raising money conventionally, Klima found private investors to keep the company in-house, Klima noted, “Everyone has a swim lane…to achieve the goal that we’re all working for.” How does WaitTime work? In the past, failed companies used beacons and bluetooth and even walkie-talkies to navigate the stadium and movement of people. Klima knew that WaitTime would need to take a different approach. Using cameras programmed with specific algorithms, Klima said, “We have four algorithms that track, individually, the movement analysis of everyone in real-times. So we look at speed of movement…direction of movement…and we do all this tracking…24 times per second.” This patented technology enables the team to pass along real-time data and expose deficiencies in any operation, allowing more efficient productivity to move in. When scaling, Klima said, “If you truly want to scale, you have to be with scaleable entities like Cisco, Intel, Microsoft…” and provide value to the companies through true integration, “Now we are at a point where Cisco…is now becoming our sales force globally,” explained Klima. As for what the future holds, Klima is excited to continue growing partnerships and expand on the uses of this patented technology - and never miss a game-winning shot again.

Sports Professor Discusses How Franchises Will Open New Revenue Opportunities

From game highlights and player highlights to behind-the-scenes footage, social media users are actively following sports teams on TikTok. According to Morning Consult data, 46% of self-identified TikTok users said they “often” or “sometimes” use social media to stay updated with game highlights. In comparison, 42% said they use it for player highlights. Meanwhile, 43% of TikTokers said they use social media at least sometimes for sports news, and about 3 in 10 (31%) users watch behind-the-scenes content via social media. Patrick Rishe, Director of Sports Business, Washington University, focuses on the success of Formula 1 racing and its growth and following on social media. According to Gadgets Africa, a luckily-timed series on Netflix, Drive to Survive, gained popularity during the lockdown. The industry saw significant growth in following from YouTube to TikTok. F1 is building an audience with content and reaching younger audiences. Rishe believes we’ll start “seeing trends in other sports. Use[ing] media to connect with younger fans.” F1’s success is its variety of content. F1 is sharing stories on and off the track. “Formula 1 is very different than what’s happening with Nascar. Nascar is experiencing stagnation,” noted Rishe. Leveraging social media to build audience growth means embracing an all-encompassing content strategy. By adopting the F1 content strategy, other teams could experience the same growth. Thanks to social media, fans enjoy access to the sport from social media. “Everyone is their own media outlet,” said host Katie Steinberg. However, professionals have to toe the line between access, posting responsibly, and honing their craft. Rishe said it's a good thing and requires discipline and control.” Rishe and Steinberg’s conversation continues to explore other sports trends like alternative revenue streams and sports labor. The two discuss betting and the new technology that identifies issues with gambling. Their conversation also turns to minimum wage pay for 60% of professional sports players and how union movements may impact sports labor.

How a Motion Analytics Company is Applying AI to Improve you Putting in Golf

BioMech, as a company, combines sports and analytics to help athletes perform better at the sports they love. Professional Golfer Health Slocum and Dr. Frank Fornari, Co-founder of BioMech, joined Game Changers’ Katie Steinberg to discuss the approach behind BioMech’s technology and how it’s upping the game for many golfers, including Slocum. “BioMech is a motion analytics company driven by artificial intelligence and machine learning,” Dr. Fornari said. “We make tools to analyze how you move, and then spit back meaningful, actionable information to the end user.” One challenge Fornari saw in golf, a sport steeped in process and tradition, was that it could be difficult to change when something wasn’t working right. To make the appropriate change in one’s game, people need tools that provide results they can trust. “We developed technology that teaches,” Dr. Fornari said. This easy-to-use and affordable technology works for golfers at any game level. Slocum worked with Fornari throughout the creation process on the part of golf he believes to be the most critical, yet least understood, putting. And the AI built into BioMech’s solutions take all the knowledge and experience that golfers like Slocum possess and put it inside their putting application. “Once I met Frank and listened to his approach to not only golf but to everything,” Slocum said. “And talking about the science and analytics and how we can get better and do all this stuff, I was like, I want to be a part of it, and I was fortunate enough to become a part of BioMech. From the putter to the sensor to everything else that will come of it, it made sense to me. I saw an opportunity to help myself get better and help the masses get better.”