A SaaS platform that transforms anonymous users into identified fans through customizable interactive games for sports organizations. The platform enables brands to collect valuable user data while providing entertaining experiences.
Problem StatementWe needed to understand what customers really needed
In today's digital landscape, we faced a significant challenge:
When a social media post receives 2 million likes, and we want to create jerseys featuring the fans' favorite player for the next game, knowing who that player is becomes crucial.
Perhaps it would be better to produce hats instead of jerseys. Without proper data, these decisions are based on guesswork rather than evidence.
We needed to personalize user experiences, create valuable data repositories for sponsors, and transform casual engagement into paying customers. The key to achieving these goals lies in converting anonymous users into identified users with rich profile information.
Our challenge extended to methodology:
Research PhaseWe conducted extensive competitor analysis examining both direct and indirect competitors in the sports engagement space, including Genius, Feeling Sports, Fanta King, Fantasy, Fanteam, GLAUnited, Incrowd, and others.
Our research aimed to answer several critical questions:
Is there genuine value and utility in social games compared to traditional surveys?
How are games customized to meet specific client needs?
What types of games currently exist in the market?
Which games demonstrate higher engagement rates than others?
What are the best practices for user onboarding in this space?
Our research findings were fascinating. We discovered question-based games like trivia quizzes but also entertainment-focused games such as "Wheel of Fortune." We found landing pages that centralized all available games in one location, providing a seamless user experience.
User Flow for Clients:
Login to the platform
Select an activation from the activation popup
Enter the "Activation Builder" and input relevant details
Save the activation
Publish the activation to desired destinations
Game Design Process
We approached development from an unusual angle – we created the end-user experience first, then worked backward to determine what customization options clients would need.
For example:
When developing a goal-shooting game, we had to understand which sports could utilize this type of game and adapt the grid to accommodate as many sports as possible.
Any sport with a goal and ball needed to be able to customize the game to their specific needs. This made our game suitable for rugby, soccer, handball, volleyball, tennis, and many other sports.
We designed the grid to make players feel like they were throwing the ball themselves.
The ball has two starting points – one on the ground (like in soccer) and one in the user's hands (like in handball).
The background consists of two elements: a field or floor that can adapt to different surfaces (grass, court, sand) and an upper section showing either the crowd or sky.
In the middle, we added an atmospheric strip that serves dual purposes: creating immersion and providing space for sponsors to promote products, display logos, or add custom messages.
Above this layer sits the goal, which is customized per game but can also be uploaded by clients. Additional elements include the ball, lighting effects, shadows, and size adjustments to create a complete, immersive experience.
Activation Builder
For customization, we developed an Activation Builder where each game opens with its unique settings alongside general configuration options.
We created games using a screen-by-screen approach to enable tracking and monitor user drop-off points. This methodology allows clients to learn from user behavior and optimize their activations.
Each screen can be customized with different settings to create a coherent user journey.
Game Structure
The start screen includes logo, sponsor logo, title, description, image, and call-to-action button
The game screen contains the interactive elements
Customized end screens vary based on outcomes (e.g., winners, losers, etc.)
Using this framework, we created more than 30 social activations. While the structure remains consistent, the content varies per activation to maintain freshness and engagement.
Clients using our system requested even more customization options, which led to integration with our platform's graphics system. Now clients can create 100% customized start and end screens tailored to their specific needs and brand identity.
Popular Activations Among Clients
We observed several activations gaining significant traction among our clients, demonstrating our system's versatility and effectiveness in engaging end-users.
Data Collection Strategy
For each activation, beyond capturing the user's name and time spent playing, we created a system-integrated form (appearing before gameplay) with short questionnaires.
Each question connects to a specific data point, and the answer equals a value.
For example, if the question is "Who is your favorite player?" and the user answers "Messi," our system records "Favorite player = Messi."
Clients can customize questions or use pre-built templates provided by our system. This approach ensures data collection feels natural and integrated into the gaming experience.
As our development continued, we implemented alternative data points to avoid asking returning users the same questions repeatedly, improving the user experience for loyal participants.
Distribution Channels
Each activation has a dedicated publishing space where it can be promoted. Clients can create personalized links that include tracking capabilities to identify traffic sources.
Certain links can receive enhanced features, such as Facebook promotion with images and text (known as "clickable images").
We later developed a dedicated canvas for conversation flows.
For example, an end-user flow might include:
Our canvas offers options to connect questions, activations, and carousels (common in Facebook and Instagram, useful when giving users choices to personalize their experience).
Analytics & CRM Integration
Each activation has a dedicated space to view statistics, player participation, and collected data points. Clients can also analyze user drop-off to identify improvement opportunities.
As part of our clients' need to collect user data, we developed a specialized CRM where clients can view collected information and user profiles that have transformed from anonymous to identified users.
Working alongside our Customer Success team, we created complex search and filtering capabilities to help clients navigate data efficiently.
We created different views based on observing how clients interact with data. Recognizing that different personas handle data for different purposes, we created pre-filtered CRM views for each type of user. These views can be saved at the company level (rather than user level), allowing user groups to collaborate on a single view.
Clients can define appropriate columns and export data to external CRM systems if needed.
Evolution & IterationAfter receiving excellent feedback from clients about end-user engagement, we considered next steps for platform enhancement.
First, we addressed organization issues as many activations had been created in our system. We developed groupings called "campaigns" where activations with similar content promoting a specific player purchase could be organized together. This approach provided statistics per activation and per campaign, giving clients better organizational structure.
Our next evolution was stadium production integration. We created a dedicated space where activations could be published in real-time during stadium events. During game breaks, this feature creates additional content and attracts more audience engagement.
The main end-user flow for stadium integration includes:
This feature expanded our clients' reach and helped them target more precise audiences through social media and targeted advertising.
We then introduced competitions to create even more engagement.
Competition campaigns can span several months, with a dedicated leaderboard allowing end-users to see their ranking and compete with friends.
From the client's perspective, creativity became the only limitation.
The more creative the campaign, the more user engagement it generates.
One of our clients successfully pre-sold 90% of tickets to an upcoming game through the end screens of these activations.
Games like Prediction and Trivia received single-participation options, while luck-based games allowed multiple participations. Regardless of the game type, engagement levels remained consistently high.
AI Enhancement
Creating numerous games requires significant time investment and our busy clients managing successful sports organizations aren't always available (or willing) to input data manually.
To address this challenge, we connected our games to AI capabilities.
For games like Trivia and Prediction, clients can now write a prompt, and our system automatically generates the game, creates questions and answers, and even marks the correct answers. For "free text" answers, our system generates options that end-users can select.
This enhancement made game creation faster and more efficient, and our clients enthusiastically embraced the AI features for creating their activations.
Design System ImplementationWe created the item structure after understanding what's important for users to see before entering the post details:
To create the best possible user experience for clients creating activations, we developed design themes containing all repeating settings (such as logos, colors, fonts, etc.).
This approach allows clients to configure everything once, then select between different design themes with a single click to customize their activations.
Through system usage, we identified a significant pain point: a content manager at a company created activations with what they thought were brand colors, creating and publishing eight different activations.
However, the colors weren't correct – the red wasn't the right shade, the yellow was off, and the font was entirely wrong. Despite using themes, the manager had made color mistakes.
This discovery led to the addition of an update feature for activations.
Clients can now choose whether changes should affect existing activations or only apply to new ones going forward.
Results and Impact
Activation Engine platform successfully transformed how sports organizations collect and utilize fan data.
By creating engaging, interactive experiences, our platform turned anonymous users into identified fans with rich profile information.
Our clients gained valuable insights into their audience preferences, enabling more targeted marketing campaigns and sponsorship negotiations.
Stadium integration expanded reach beyond digital channels, creating seamless online-offline experiences.
Competition features extended engagement over months rather than moments, building fan loyalty and participation.
AI capabilities reduced content creation time, allowing even resource-constrained organizations to maintain fresh, engaging content.
Our comprehensive design system ensured brand consistency across all activations, strengthening brand identity while simplifying content creation.
One of our clients achieved the remarkable result of pre-selling 90% of tickets to an upcoming game through our platform's end screens, demonstrating its power as not just a data collection tool but also as a direct marketing and sales channel.
Before we wrap up, here are some images from games created with Activation Engine.
As the UX/UI leader, I spearheaded the integration efforts, bridging the two platforms to leverage their common value and showcase the company's technological prowess while prioritizing user experience and customer satisfaction.
The consolidation posed significant challenges, particularly in merging the backend systems from the acquired company into Infront's existing framework. This involved a deep dive into platform features, value propositions, competitor analysis, and customer needs, all under tight deadlines.
I conducted extensive research on Infront's competitors and also brought insights from Pico's competitive landscape, offering a comprehensive view of market dynamics and strategic positioning.
Through agile methodology, we successfully consolidated the platforms onto the Pico infrastructure within eight sprints. This involved streamlining tasks, enhancing content creation capabilities, and empowering customers with advanced marketing tools.
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Our efforts led to tangible benefits for our customers, including improved social media management, automated content creation, enhanced analytics, and targeted advertising, resulting in better audience engagement and increased sales for the Content Engine system
1. Emphasized content quality and introduced social media publishing features in the Pico calendar.
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- Achieved a 20% increase in content creation within six months.
- Enhanced end-user engagement and satisfaction.
- Boosted sales of the Content Engine system
