Indianapolis Colts
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Client: The Colts have called Indianapolis home since 1984, but the way they’re woven into the Hoosier fabric would lead one to believe they’ve called the crossroads of America “home” for far longer. With the support of the city behind them, the Colts have brought home several division titles in addition to a Super Bowl victory in the 2006-2007 season.
Challenge: The Colts sought a third-party perspective on their digital properties to ensure they were maximizing their potential. They hired Bohlsen Group to evaluate the team’s digital landscape to determine strengths and areas for improvement and to brainstorm new ways to monetize, extend sponsor values and create new initiatives in the digital space.
Solution: Bohlsen Group performed a careful and thorough analysis of the Colts websites, social channels, communication mechanisms and mobile technology. The analysis covered the following areas:
- Aesthetics, usability and effectiveness of communication on websites
- Analytics and data tracking
- Usage of best practices on social channels and communication mechanisms such as e-newsletters and SMS
- Usage of Colts media (past and present)
- Ideas for further monetization
Prior to sharing our findings, we participated in several discussions and reviewed NFL-issued policies regarding digital technologies (both current and emerging). Additional sponsorship and areas of further monetization were uncovered, discussed, fine-tuned and included in our final assessment.
Our DMA efforts were broken out into three phases:
Phase I (education/information gathering): Conducted meetings with the Colts to gather information on the Colts digital portfolio, inspected league documents, determined goals and identified potential pitfalls.
Phase II (analysis): Performed a thorough analysis of the Colts digital inventory as referenced and highlighted above.
Phase III (presentation/implementation): Provided findings and recommendations based on information gathered. Assigned a priority ranking to each action item and developed an 18-24 month plan for implementation.
Results: The Colts received a complete and valuable assessment of their digital properties from Bohlsen Group. The assessment revealed unused assets and suggested plans for fully utilizing them. New potential revenue-generating digital initiatives we uncovered led to subsequent discussions and research for potential development and deployment. Recommended communication mechanisms and best practices for social outlets immediately began to increase digital “chatter.” The assessment led to the use of such new technologies as QR codes to engage and further identify Colts fans, and plans for developing mobile applications got underway. Finally, the organization began considering our recommendations for hiring and increasing utilization of staff.