CHALLENGE BRIEF WHAT IS THE I N N OVA ION HUB? The European Tour has teamed up with their Official Global Connectivity supplier and industry leaders in innovation, Tata Communications, to create a compelling challenge that will allow for a continuous flow of new ideas to flourish within the world of golf. Through the Innovation Hub, we aim to… Create new, transformative Create a platform that Place the European Tour initiatives that improve our allows great ideas and at the forefront of offering for fans, sponsors concepts to flourish innovation within golf and players through providing support, and sport expertise and access to a global business network 2 INTRODUCING OUR CHALLENGE. We recognise that fan engagement trends are changing, and consumers are beginning to expect much more from rights holders when it comes to experiencing their product. Therefore, we would like to invite ideas, concepts and innovations that focus on bringing the fan closer to the game. Your solution can address one or all of the statements below… IMPROVING THE ONSITE FAN EXPERIENCE AT EUROPEAN TOUR EVENTS 1 With over half a million fans attending our events annually, we want to leverage our course-wide wifi, which is the foundation of the “connected- course”, utilise our real-time shot-by-shot data collection, which creates over 700k data points per tournament, and monitor and track crowd behaviours and analytics. Through creating these smarter environments and personalising our approach for fans, we want to ensure we provide the best spectator experience in sport. ENHANCING OUR MEDIA CAPABILITIES TO DRIVE VIEWERSHIP AND ENGAGEMENT 2 Leveraging a tournament footprint of up to 110 cameras and a crew of up to 300 TV staff, our world feed broadcast has a vast global reach of 670 million people and is one of the first touch points for fans engaging with the European Tour. In 2018, we generated over 1.2 billion social media impressions and received an average of 5 million weekly page views on our website. We must continue to invest in new innovations and technology such as remote and auto production techniques, Top Tracer, augmented graphic displays and improved back end fibre technology to ensure our global media product is best in class. ADDING VALUE TO OUR “CONSUMER PRODUCT PORTFOLIO” 3 We engage with our consumers on a daily basis across a number of platforms and content areas, and we have a number of early stage consumer focused products that drive engagement, e.g. fantasy golf, social aggregator and interactive digital tuition products. We are constantly looking to broaden our appeal to new fans and deepen our engagement with current fans and are looking for new products and enhancements to our existing product portfolio to help us do this. *Official challenge T&Cs from page 12 onwards. 3 THE OPPORTUNITY. The Innovation Hub presents multiple opportunities for the winning entries. DEVELOP EXPOSURE EXPLORE The winner will have the Top three entries to receive an The winner to meet and present chance to develop a proof of all-expenses paid trip to London their concept to industry decision concept in collaboration with to meet with the European Tour, makers and the media at the Hero the European Tour Tata Communications and Indian Open 2020 venture capital funds to further develop the concept 4 TIMELINE. The Innovation Hub will start with a call for submissions at the end of September 2019 and finish with a proof of concept for the winning idea midway through 2020 and include a host of activities and events in between… Winning idea will be informed of Declaration of the top 3 the results by the Challenge opens shortlisted ideas end of February Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun 2019 2020 Deadline for Immersion workshop Potential to run a submissions on with European Tour, Tata proof of concept 10th November Communications and with the European Industry experts in Tour midway February 2020 through 2020 5 ENTRY REQUIREMENTS. As part of your submission, you are required to answer the below questions (max 4000 characters per answer). You can also submit a video, and upload a supporting document. Provide a summary overview of your solution Outline the key technical components of your solution Describe the benefits your product/solution would provide to the European Tour Summarise how your product/solution proposition is unique Produce a short video (max 90 seconds) introducing yourself and explaining more about your idea, concept or innovation (optional) Attach any additional supporting information in a single document, including descriptions of case studies where appropriate (optional) * A link to the landing page can be found on page 11 of this document. 6 EVALUATION CRITERIA. It is important to understand what we are looking for in the innovations. Any submission should… SHOW UNDERSTANDING SHOW OF THE CHALLENGE ORIGINALITY Conformity to the challenge is advised and It is encouraged that submissions applicants are encouraged to show a good demonstrate original thought that has the understanding of the European Tour, its potential to deliver a transformative impact business and the challenge framework. for the game of golf. INCLUDE TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATE CONTENT FEASIBILITY The technical dimension of your submission The panel will make a viability assessment should demonstrate an understanding of of each submission and applicants are the technical architecture required to encouraged to clearly outline the feasibility deliver the proposal. Applications should case from a technical perspective for their reference any proprietary technologies concept. Although no statement of used and outline the function and financial viability is required, the panel will specification of any bespoke development. consider the high-level financial viability of each entry. BE OF HIGH QUALITY BE CREATIVE AND PROFESSIONAL AND INNOVATIVE Due consideration will be given to the The panel will give clear preference to quality of each submission, the clarity and submissions that clearly show unique presentation of concepts and the degree propositions with innovative thought and to which objectives are clearly stated and creative application. met in both written and visual materials. In addition, evidence of underlying research to validate concepts will also be rewarded. 7 THE PANEL. The Innovation Hub’s Panel of judges is made up of a professional golfer and experts from across the industry… MEHUL KAPADIA Mehul Kapadia is the Global Head of Marketing at Tata Communications. In this role, he is responsible for bridging the customer-centric operations of the company’s Customer Success Group (sales & client services) and the innovations of the company’s product team to build Tata Communications’ brand by creating customer awareness and advocacy through a multi-dimensional marketing strategy that fuels future growth. Mehul has held various positions within Tata Communications including Vice President of Product Marketing, Head of Marketing and Strategy for the Small and Medium Enterprise Business in India, and Head of Sales and Marketing for the Retail Business Unit, which he helped set up. Whilst working for the Retail Business Unit, Mehul played a key role in the acquisition and integration of various businesses for Tata Communications. MICHAEL COLE The man behind the delivery of BT Global Services highly successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games technology programme, Michael took up the post of the European Tour’s Chief Technology Officer in November 2017. Widely recognised as a foremost expert in technology-based sports delivery, Michael’s experience in the sector has led to various strands of development for the Tour, including the creation of a Technology Centre of Excellence that will deliver a range of sustainable and future proofed services. With more than 25 years of experience in technology, marketing and commercial partnerships, Michael is a highly accomplished senior technology director with a wide range of knowledge spanning international corporate sectors, the sport industry and Government. OLIVER WILSON Oliver Wilson is a European Tour winner and Ryder Cup player, who has also worked in broadcast media. The Englishman represented Europe in the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla following a superb year in which he finished runner up four times on the European Tour and broke into the top 40 on the Official World Golf Ranking. He won his maiden European Tour title in the 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews and has finished runner up a total of ten times on the European Tour, most recently in the 2019 Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March, and twice on the Challenge Tour. Prior to turning professional he enjoyed a successful amateur career, earning a scholarship to Augusta State University where he went on to become the Number One ranked collegiate player in the US, and he also represented Great Britain & Ireland in the 2003 Walker Cup. On a charitable front, he is a proud patron of the National Club Challenge and the Armchair Club. More recently, Oliver has featured on the BBC Golf Podcast: The Cut and commentated for BBC radio 5 Live on The Open Championship and The Ryder Cup. RUFUS HACK As Chief Content Officer of the European Tour, Rufus has overall responsibility for the Tour’s broadcast and digital platforms. He joined the Tour in 2015 and has overseen the development of the team which produces the Tour’s innovative content, including highlights such as the Content Committee, Aaron’s Big Day, the Awkward Reporter and the Fastest Hole of Golf, which has helped the Tour win several industry awards. He is also responsible for managing PGA European Tour Productions. In that realm he has responsibility for overseeing production, editorial, distribution and media rights. He also oversees the Tour’s marketing and strategy functions, and more recently, business development. Prior to joining the PGA European Tour full-time, he was a Partner at OC&C Strategy Consultants working with other sports bodies to drive strategic growth.