COVID-19 Has Given Sports New Audiences
By Joshua Hudson
In an exclusive interview with Ministry of Sport, ECAL CEO, Patrick Barrett, said COVID-19 has created a new audience for a lot of traditional sports with the acceleration of esports, and that audience won’t go away.
“I think they were doing it anyway, they were all largely dipping their toes into the water with a good degree of success, but it certainly wasn’t their core business,” Barrett told Ministry of Sport, discussing how traditional sports integrated esports events during the suspension of live sport due to COVID-19.
“The changes you will see is that COVID-19 has fast-tracked the development of a significant new audience for a lot of those traditional sports, and esports has quickly become a very valid events program and one they will continue to run in parallel more frequently than they otherwise would have.
“If you think about what consumers are doing in these lockdown periods, they’re on the internet.
“The rise in gaming is huge, it was already happening, but this has certainly fast-tracked a new generation of sports participants and fans that are highly engaged in esports content, I don’t think that audience will go away.
“I think pairing with other esports offerings is going to be a key driver going into the future, the media landscape and rights are going to change dramatically, there’s a lot of brands that pay a lot of money for sports rights and I think that dynamic is going to change,” he said, when asked how the sports industry will look in the post-COVID-19 world.
“I think the way people consume content on media and streaming will change.
“It will become much more personalised and much more bite-sized.
“I think you will see a lot more hyper-personalisation and in-moment transactions for rights holders.
“I don’t think COVID-19 and what’s happened will disappear anytime soon, the businesses have been really quick to prepare themselves for COVID and the return to sport under different conditions.
“You’ve seen the concept of virtual fans from the likes of the NBA which is really interesting, that could develop further and have ticketing elements added to it and have all different sorts of interactivity added to it,” Barrett said.
When COVID-19 forced the majority of sporting competitions around the world to close their doors, suspend, or cancel their seasons, ECAL, the global calendar communications and marketing platform, saw an even greater success in the use of its platform, helping the English Premier League, Formula E, and the NBA launch their esports tournaments.
In Australia, the AFL and NRL in particular have used ECAL’s platform to handle constant interruptions and rescheduling since their returns to actions, something Barrett said might not have been successful with traditional communication methods.
“ECAL makes it a whole lot easier, the danger with rapidly changing schedules like we’ve seen since sport has come back is keeping consumers up to date,” Barrett said.
“By having that direct line of communication with the calendar, that event may have been rescheduled but will pop up at the exact time a consumer needs to know so they can engage and plan for that event.
“The danger with other communications is it can be a hit or miss, 80% of the people you send an email out to might not open it.
“ECAL provides publishers with a direct line of communication to their users that is the most suitable for event-based communications.
“70% of adults rely on their digital calendar most to manage their lives.
“When you’re trying to market and communicate your events, they logically live within a calendar, so to publish and communicate those, and at the right time to the right people, they certainly have a greater cut-through and a greater deal of business success from those communications.
“It is very applicable for the sports industry.
“It’s got to a point for a lot of sports organisations where its seen to be a must-have feature, the demand from the consumer side is that this feature is expected for the sheer convenience of having their favourite events synced into personal calendars.
“The calendar communications are quite different to email communications in that the sense of control sits with the consumer.
“As the consumer you have the control to choose exactly what content you want to have from the publisher and sync that with your personal digital calendar.
“The control risk with the consumer, is you don’t have a public calendar address the publisher can sort of spam and use more of a scatter gun approach to communications, you get 100% relevancy of communications and I think that’s really key,” he said.
The digital calendar is evidently adding even more personalisation value for sport consumers, but also adding more flexibility for rights holders, something undoubtedly appreciated by everyone in the new digital age of the sport industry.
Article first published on the Ministry of Sport website
Strategic acquisition and funding sets ECAL for Success
By Marc Roufeil, Head of APAC & EMEA, Sports Tech World Series
Melbourne-based tech company ECAL has secured $1 million in additional capital as a part of a strategic acquisition by Singapore based startup HyperKu.
The unique structure of the deal was developed over the last 12 months, and is designed to create a clean vessel from which the calendar communications and marketing platform company can capitalise on their recent growth, and better leverage the funding, and expertise of their new investors.
“Business has been on the upward trend for the last 3 years, anywhere from 30-50% growth year-on-year, so this capital growth is capitalising on that, and supercharging it.” Said ECAL CEO and co-founder of HyperKu, Patrick Barrett.
In addition to funding and expertise, the new deal has also provided ECAL with access to their investor’s existing portfolio of companies. This was part of the broader strategy and will enable ECAL to create new strategic partnerships and platform integrations; the first of which, an integration with PayDock, has already been announced and means ECAL will be able to create their own payment gateway and facilitate real-time sales within users calendars.
ECAL was established with the simple goal of creating a platform that enables rights holders to communicate information about events, or fixtures, directly to their fans, members, or audience. What has made ECAL unique is their ability to continue to innovate and develop their solution; ultimately creating a truly dynamic platform that enables rights holders to not only create events that are delivered directly to the users calendar, but also make real-time changes to the events, at the same time as collecting valuable user information throughout the process.
It’s these dynamic capabilities that have been a game-changer for rights holders in the sports industry, and is why ECAL now works with global sporting giants such as the ECB, Premier League, Formula E and more. ECAL’s innovation enables sports rights holders to successfully navigate the questions, and challenges that surround the IP ownership of fixtures, learn more about their audience, and ultimately create deeper engagement with their fans.
“In the eyes of the courts once a fixture is published it is deemed to be free in the public domain. ECAL allows publishers to retain control, and ownership of that data… they can provide information that is exclusively in their control straight to the consumers, offering them additional products or services, and collecting key consumer data” Mr Barrett said.
This dynamic nature has also meant that in a year that has been so turbulent for the sports industry, ECAL has been able to provide a reliable, and adaptable platform to help organisations pivot quickly to digital formats, and keep their audiences informed in real-time of new events, and ever-changing schedules.
Mr Barrett said as the pandemic hit, ECAL quickly became the channel of choice for the delivery of new digital events schedules for the likes of the NBA with their 2K Players Tournament and Formula E’s Race at Home Challenge.
“ECAL has also been vital for the rescheduling of sport as it returned, and ensuring fans were updated with the latest information. For example, in Australia the return of the AFL and NRL has included weekly schedule updates, and changes, all of which are managed and communicated through ECAL.” He added.
On the back of this year-on-year growth, a unique solution during the pandemic, and the recently announced acquisition and capital injection, ECAL is perfectly positioned to grow rapidly. Mr Barrett said the short-term focus will be on strategic regional growth, with a particular focus on Asia. This is evident in their recent appointment of former DAZN SVP, Alex Peebles as Chief Revenue Officer who will be based in Singapore and lead ECAL’s Asia expansion.
“They (Asian region) are at the beginning in terms of digitising their sport marketing and communications, and ECAL has a great opportunity there.” Said Barrett.
Long term, the sky is the limit as ECAL looks to reach into more verticals including conferences, esports, and streaming providers and platforms. However, it’s the payment sector that excites Barrett the most; “when we look beyond the 12 months, I think the payments, billing and banking side of things will become more and more interesting, and a more integral part of the business as well.” He said.
In a world that is moving at a rapid pace, ECAL is a great example of a young Australian company that started out by simply focusing on solving one core problem. In doing so, they were able to develop a targeted, but dynamic solution, that has been able to adapt to rapid change across multiple industries. Their success and growth, despite the challenges of 2020, should be a lesson to all that at the heart of any successful business should be a focus on a solving one core problem.
Article first published on the Sports Tech World Series website
HyperKu acquires ECAL and fuels global growth
At a time that is proving difficult for most Australian businesses, ECAL’s global calendar communications and marketing platform is thriving, having been acquired by Singapore start-up HyperKu, and securing $1M in additional capital to fuel growth.
ECAL’s calendar communications and marketing platform enables any event-based organisation to deliver rich, dynamic content, straight to their audience, via their personal digital calendar.
With the onset of COVID, their clients were quick to develop new and interesting ways to keep fans engaged using ECAL’s adaptive technology. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and English Premier League (EPL) both launched highly successful eSports tournaments, whilst Formula E organised a 9-week ‘Race at Home Challenge’ simulator series, featuring professional drivers up against the best Sim racers and celebrities.
Closer to home, the Australian Football League (AFL) and National Rugby League (NRL) season restarts have faced huge challenges, with constant interruptions and continual rescheduling due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID outbreak.
Performing Arts organisations are also turning to ECAL for solutions, such as The Australian Ballet with the launch of their ‘Digital Season’.
The importance of the ECAL platform in engaging and activating fans is what made them attractive to cofounders, Patrick Barrett and Remon Gazal at HyperKu.
“The ECAL acquisition makes perfect sense for us at this time. Some of the biggest event brands in the world are turning to ECAL to manage customer communications through this period of great disruption”, said Remon Gazal, former APAC President at Brightstar.
HyperKu’s capital partners for the ECAL acquisition include a Singapore-based Family Office who invest in highgrowth technology platforms, some of which have already signed partnership agreements with ECAL.
“We have entered a new era of digital engagement and entertainment, with a blending of exciting new digital events, and traditional live events. Uncertainty and change are the main constants, and the power of ECAL’s smart, dynamic communications for events is proving to be critically valuable – in sports, entertainment, media and beyond,”, says Patrick Barrett, who is also the CEO of ECAL.
During this COVID period, ECAL has won new business in eSports, virtual conferencing, and streaming services. Payments are also a major focus, with the recent announcement of a partnership with payments orchestration company PayDock, and impending announcements with two other key strategic partners in the marketing and events space.
“The new ownership structure for ECAL will provide the capacity for continued growth into new industries and territories, as well as a support network of people, portfolio business and capital to help make it all happen”, says Barrett. “This is an exciting time for us. Already, we have announced the appointment of sports media executive Alex Peebles as Chief Revenue Officer, who will lead our Asia expansion and help us go deeper into media. We expect to share more exciting news in the coming weeks.”
For further information, please visit https://ecal.com
About ECAL:
ECAL is world-leading calendar communications, marketing and data platform, used by 300+ major brands globally across sports, entertainment, media, ticketing and payments. Headquartered in Melbourne, with a presence in London, Los Angeles, Manila, Delhi and Singapore, ECAL’s smart ‘sync to calendar’ technology enables rich, dynamic, event-based communications straight to calendar, for better business outcomes.
About HyperKu:
HyperKu is a Singapore based start-up, co-founded by Patrick Barrett and Remon Gazal, and the owner of ECAL. They are currently seeking similar post-revenue enterprise platform businesses that have proven use cases, clear product differentiation and robust technology, and are ready to scale.
For all media enquiries, interviews, and imagery please contact:
Olivia Novello
Public Relations Specialist
OM Digital
+61 431377114
olivia@omdigital.com.au
Sports Media Veteran Joins ECAL to Lead Revenue and Territory Charge
Melbourne, Australia / Singapore: ECAL, the leading provider of smart calendar communications and marketing, has announced the appointment of Alex Peebles as its Chief Revenue Officer. Based at ECAL’s new Singapore office, Peebles is a key pillar in the company’s global expansion strategy.
Before joining ECAL, Peebles was SVP Southeast Asia at sports streaming service DAZN, and prior to this held various senior executive roles at Perform Group in Australia and the UK, including Managing Director of the Perform NFL Partnership.
“At this time of unprecedented change and unpredictability, the power of ECAL’s smart, dynamic communications solution for events-based content is proving to be critically valuable – in sports, entertainment, media and beyond,” says ECAL CEO, Patrick Barrett. “It has also fast-tracked growth in relatively fresh areas such as streaming, conferencing and payments. So we are thrilled to have someone of Alex’s experience and talent join us, to support our global expansion.”
At ECAL, Peebles will be responsible for all revenue generating operations, with a focus on scoring transformative strategic partnerships, growing enterprise licensing, and productising ECAL’s data and insights business.
“ECAL is already a fantastic business and I’m delighted to come on board” says Peebles. “There is now a significant opportunity to both develop the solutions we offer and develop the breadth of our partner set. Further announcements will soon follow!”
Peebles has a proven track record of new product and territory growth, together with a strong commercial acumen, invaluable industry experience and a welcome, partner-based approach to business relations.
Peebles joins ECAL following recent announcements of strategic partnerships with SportsTG (Stack Sports) and fast-growing payments orchestration platform PayDock. The opening of the Singapore office further highlights the company’s global ambitions.
ECAL is a world-leading calendar communications, marketing and data platform, used by 300+ major brands globally across sports, entertainment, media, ticketing and payments. ECAL’s smart ‘sync to calendar’ technology enables rich, dynamic, event-based communications straight to calendar, for better business outcomes.
For more information, please contact:
ECAL
Patrick Barrett, Founder & CEO
Phone: +61 411 650 445
Email: patrick@ecal.com
Website: https://ecal.com
In conjunction with the NBA season restart on 30th July, we’ve launched our new in-game ⚡️ ‘Milestone Alerts’ feature!
Watch out for the ⚡️ symbol in game titles to uncover important player milestones for that game. Whether it’s Carmelo Anthony moving into 95th spot for All-Time total rebounds or LeBron James tying Paul Silas and Tony Parker for 32nd on the NBA All-Time games list, we’re harnessing advanced statistical analytics to give you more of the moment! How good is that!
Available for selected sports only, please contact us if you would like to find out more about adding Milestone Alerts to your ECAL experience.
Don’t miss it when the NBA returns, sync your team’s schedule and enjoy the moment here.
Players will return to the court in a very different looking NBA competition as the season resumes on July 30.
22 teams will participate (normally 30) in the re-start, including the top eight teams in each conference along with the six teams currently sitting within six games of the eighth seed in each conference.
The Arena, the Field House and Visa Athletic Center at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex will host all games for the remainder of the season, with no fans in attendance.
Upon the official release of the revised NBA schedule, basketball fans received updated fixtures straight into their digital calendar of choice, complete with localised broadcast information and direct access to advanced stats, latest video, NBA shop and more, all from the convenience of the calendar.
ECAL’s dynamic ‘sync to calendar’ functionality will continue to deliver the latest NBA fixture information, straight to the personal digital calendars of fans right across the globe, to keep them up-to-date and connected.
If the season structure or match information changes, so too will the digital calendars of subscribed fans. How good is that!
It’s going to be a massive re-start! Don’t miss it when the NBA returns, sync your teams schedule and stay connected here.
The Rugby League World Cup has been the pinnacle of International Rugby League since 1954. In 2021, for the first time, the Men’s, Women’s and Wheelchair competitions will be staged in a single, celebratory event, culminating in an epic Finals Weekend to crown the champions of each. The RLWC 2021 is set to be an unmissable event!
RLWC2021 will use the official fixture release on July 21st as a major promotional event, with ECAL’s dynamic ‘Sync to Calendar’ service providing connected fans with access to the schedule, along with important ticket release dates first!
ECAL’s state-of-the-art digital calendar service delivers RLWC2021 with a tremendous platform to ‘connect’, ‘engage’ and ‘activate’ its audience well before England and Samoa kick off proceedings at St James’ Park on Saturday 23 October, 2021.
ECAL is proud to be the official calendar marketing service provider of RLWC2021. Choose your team across the three competitions here and receive the schedule first, thanks to ECAL.
Stay tuned for more exciting news!
Instant payments in-calendar set to become a reality.
London, UK / Melbourne, Australia: Payments orchestration platform PayDock has announced a multi-year agreement with ECAL, a leading calendar communications platform to offer seamless calendar-driven payment solutions. Currently relied on by 3m+ monthly active users, ECAL is a preferred pipeline for time-sensitive, actionable communications between brands and consumers. PayDock’s capabilities as a mature payments orchestration platform provide a strong foundation for ECAL’s payments roll-out during 2020.
Patrick Barrett Founder and CEO at ECAL
“Today, the calendar sits squarely at the forefront of the merchant-consumer relationship. Our success in driving consumer action and response from right-time communications will be elevated via seamless in-calendar payment capabilities. ECAL Pay powered by PayDock will offer consumers a simple, direct and timely way to pay bills, support charities or buy tickets to their favourite events instantly, and without leaving their preferred personal time-management platform. Merchants similarly benefit from improved cashflow, reduced costs and greater transparency within their customer relationships.”
Rob Lincolne Founder and CEO at PayDock
“Our mission at PayDock has always been to stand behind businesses that transform the merchant-consumer relationship. ECAL is at the forefront of value-added brand engagement. We are highly excited along with Pat and the team at ECAL to assist merchants in the dramatic enhancement of customer experiences through the provision of timely, actionable and efficient payment capabilities. Offering ECAL capabilities as part of the PayDock services ecosystem ‘out of the box’ will enhance the value our payment service providers, merchants and consumers receive from each other.”
PayDock is a payments orchestration platform serving an international merchant base and over 30 payment service providers globally. PayDock makes it easy for businesses to rapidly harmonise and deploy payment ecosystems for increased value.
ECAL is a world-leading calendar communications and marketing platform, used by hundreds of major brands globally in sports, ticketing, media and now payments. ECAL’s ‘sync to calendar’ technology enables smart, dynamic, event-based communications straight to calendar, for better business outcomes.
Clients include Premier League, NBA, LaLiga, Formula E, AFL, NRL, MYOB, and Ticketek to name a few.
For more information, please contact:
PayDock
Rob Lincolne, Founder & CEO
Phone: +44 7828 948 683
Email: rob@paydock.com
Website: paydock.com
ECAL
Patrick Barrett, Founder & CEO
Phone: +61 411 650 445
Email: patrick@ecal.com
Website: ecal.com
The Premier League is set to make its return after suspending its season due to the coronavirus pandemic, confirming the fixture schedule for the first three match rounds of the resumed 2019/20 season.
The League kicks back into action on Wednesday 17th June, Aston Villa hosting Sheffield United under lights at Villa Park and Manchester City tackling Arsenal at Etihad Stadium. Like with most live sports that are returning, there will be no fans.
Liverpool requires just two more wins to wrap up the title upon the season resumption whilst the at the bottom of the table Norwich City is four points behind everyone else and six points from escaping the relegation zone.
Premier League subscribers were instantly updated with all the latest fixtures straight to their calendar, and will continue to be updated as the fixture evolves. How good is that?!
It’s going to be a massive re-start! Don’t miss it when the Premier League returns, sync your teams schedule here.
So Binge, a website that delivers everything you need to binge and more is using ECAL’s Sync to Calendar technology to engage music, tv and movie trivia buffs via its Chatbot.
Throughout June, Tuesday night is Quiz Night, with participants testing their knowledge on a range of subjects including Taylor Swift, Noughties Music and the MARVEL cinematic universe.
The versatility of ECAL’s Sync to Calendar technology is showcased with So Binge, with the button integrated into its facebook messenger chat bot.
With the help of ECAL, fans won’t miss a moment of virtual quiz night, with the So Binge digital calendar providing up-to-date details on the trivia subject, instructions to participate, with handy alerts and direct access to join in, all from the convenience of your personal calendar.
Think you know your movies, tv and music? Jump online and chat with the So Binge bot or sync the Virtual Quiz Night schedule here.
