November 23, 2021 / Feature ‘Absolute godsend’: Why the Lion Richlands loves Sportsyear

By Bella Shepherd

After difficult times in lockdown, planning around live sport has never been so tough.

With staff hard to come by and a complicating sports broadcast environment, it was a task that had become increasingly challenging for the team at The Lion Richlands.

A partnership with Sportsyear has since solved all of those problems for the venue’s Marketing Manager Kerri Ashbrooke, who is now saving hours each week.

“It’s been an absolute godsend.” she said

Ashbrooke says Sportsyear’s automated sports scheduling and planning service, coupled with its range of engaging branded promos supplied weekly, ticks all the boxes.

“We don’t claim to be experts in sports - but [now] we get into work on a Monday morning and all the information we need for the entire week ahead is supplied to us.”

“It is just a case of uploading it to the various platforms whether it be internally via all of our POS platforms, or on our social media platforms.”

Kerri Ashbrooke at the Lion Richlands. (Pic: Ray Cash)
Kerri Ashbrooke at the Lion Richlands. (Pic: Ray Cash)

Coupled with Sportsyear’s automated website schedule integrations and an in venue QR code schedule for fans, Ashbrooke says managing live sport is now a breeze.

“People are coming in to see what we have going on in the sports bar. It’s just so convenient.”

It’s a strategy that has merit.

According to leading sports insights group Gemba, point of sale looms as a critical new driving force of foot-traffic for the hospitality industry.

“Leveraging the power of digital signage benefits both guests and venue operators,” said Andrew Goodieson, Effectiveness and Fan Insights Manager at Gemba.

Relevant point of sale signage helps create all important atmosphere for live sport venues. (Pic: Oscar Coleman)
Relevant point of sale signage helps create all important atmosphere for live sport venues. (Pic: Oscar Coleman)

Goodieson says it enables operators to effectively promote key sporting events in the right environment, at the right time, which leaves a more lasting impact on customers.

“Digital signage is multi-purpose,”

“Sportsyear’s tactical approach to this innovation … by promoting key upcoming events based on a venue’s fan demographic, with interactive features of animation, motion graphics and touch-screen technology [will] personalise the guest experience.

Sportsyear Co-Founder Patrick Galloway says the team at Sportsyear pride themselves on tailoring Sportsyear’s powerful data to suit specific customer needs, ensuring greater commercial benefits.

“Saving time is a key driver of value for the industry here in Australia,”

“We’re excited to be using our powerful data and sports expertise to allow our partners to spend more time delivering a more relevant live sports experience for fans.”

"Australians have never loved sport so much and thanks to emerging visual display technologies, the time is right for venues to capitalise."