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Best Practices Case Study

Dolphins Make a Splash with a Mobile App

For the Dolphins, it started as an idea to promote the team on mobile phones and ended up working like a strategic game plan on a Sunday afternoon. They didn’t ask “what will this app do for me?” but instead “what will we do for this app?” The difference is obvious. Breaking out each section of the app, the Dolphins were able to organize a large amount of content into easy to access categories.

News updates, player and coach interviews, cheerleaders, live pre and post-game shows and a special section for The Finactics. Sounds like a normal Dolphins game right? It’s actually their first mobile app. Released 2 days after the first pre-season game; it has taken the Dolphins from the field to the fingertips of over 130,000 people around the nation in less than 60 days.

Miami is not only one of the first NFL teams to offer a mobile app on both iPhone and Android, but the first to make a rather large impression, being featured in the Android market for over 2 weeks and now in the top 75 free sports apps in the App Store. But 2 things stand out: 1.) The downloads have shown to be an even split between the two platforms and 2.) The user interaction levels are soaring with the Top 5 super fans accumulating over 75,000 points via the Top User system. Both are unheard of in the Mobile Roadie world and have created quite a stir in the NFL as other teams are starting to realize thee importance of a mobile presence.

For the Dolphins, it started as an idea to promote the team on mobile phones and ended up working like a strategic game plan on a Sunday afternoon. They didn’t ask “what will this app do for me?” but instead “what will we do for this app?” The difference is obvious. Breaking out each section of the app, the Dolphins were able to organize a large amount of content into easy to access categories. Miss a game? The apps “Game Center” brings you quarter-by-quarter key stats and a scoreboard to help you relive the action. Forgot if the next game is home or away? Check the schedule so you don’t look like a fool in front of your friends. Bored at halftime? Get your heart racing by checking out a couple cheerleader videos. For the more discerning fan, there are over 10 other video channels including exclusive practice footage and player interviews. In total over 85,000 views have been logged in the video section alone.

But it doesn’t stop there. Get pumped up before the game by blasting Jimmy Buffet’s “Fins For The Fish” or the classic “Miami Dolphins #1” team song from the audio section, which also contains a complete library of the popular radio show – “The Finsiders.” Combined they’ve tallied over 100,000 plays so far this season. And with special pre or post game shows that are video streamed live through the app, you can stay connected while making that last minute beer run before kickoff. Don’t worry about missing them, because the team will send you a push notification straight to your phone to give you a heads up!

With a new app and a great start to the season, the Dolphins are making a splash in 2010. Cheer them on by posting comments, finding fans near you or uploading photos on the Finatics Fan Wall.

If you don’t have the app, become an official “Mobile Roadie” of the Miami Dolphins by clicking here: http://road.ie/dolphins-app

 

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