When more and more people travel thousands of miles to participate in a sporting event, the trend of sports tourism rises.
A sports event can often attract a large number of people to participate in a short period of time. If the event is arranged in or around the scenic spot, what can it bring to the scenic spot? In addition to the most intuitive passenger flow, there is also a longer-term brand promotion effect.
Judging from the trend in the past one or two years, sports events have undoubtedly become a new growth point for scenic spots.
Sports Events + Scenic Spots
When talking about sports events, Huang Sichen became eloquent. As a financial turtle, he founded a sports company called “Skron”.
The first time I heard “Skron”, it is easy to think of the creature “dung beetle”. The reason for such a strange name is the first project with Skron Sports – X-Mudder Muddy Obstacle Race (formerly known as Mud Run) related. “What animal reminds us of crawling and rolling in the mud, and then we think of the creature dung beetle.” Huang Sichen said in an interview with the media.
The X-Mudder muddy obstacle course is the first product launched by Square Sports. It is an 8-10 km outdoor obstacle course. The contestants have to pass about 30 checkpoints in the competition. Contains many militarized experience elements.
According to public information, in 2015, the X-Mudder muddy obstacle race started its first competition in Beijing, with a track length of 10 kilometers and 19 checkpoints. In 2018, the X-Mudder muddy obstacle course underwent a comprehensive brand upgrade. On the basis of the original competition system, there are classic competitions, challenge competitions and ultimate competitions. The classic competition is an entry-level competition with a track length of 6-8 kilometers and an 18- 25 levels; the challenge track is about 12-15 kilometers long, with 30-35 levels; the ultimate level is the highest, with more than 40 levels set on a 20-25 km track, and the logo of the event brand is also replaced with a A rhinoceros in camouflage pattern, emphasizing its military genes.
In 2018, the X-Mudder muddy obstacle course held 5 games in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Kunming, and Puzhehei, the last of which was the 2018 X-Mudder muddy obstacle course year-end grand ceremony in Puzhehei, a national 4A-level scenic spot in Yunnan. Held, nearly 2,000 people participated in it. Holding the X-Mudder muddy obstacle race in or around the scenic spot is the most direct way of cooperation between Square Sports and the scenic spot.
According to Huang Sishen, when cooperating with scenic spots, Square Sports is generally responsible for the planning and execution of the entire event, and the scenic spot is responsible for providing the competition venue. Due to the outdoor nature of the X-Mudder muddy obstacle course, the original ecological natural scenic spot is the best cooperation target. The scenic spot not only has an open field that can accommodate thousands of people, a track of 8-15 kilometers or even more than 25 kilometers, but also can Provide sufficient water source and conditions for excavation construction, etc.
So what can an event bring to the scenic spot? Huang Sichen said that the first is the source of tourists. A one-day competition can attract 2,000-5,000 people to participate. Most of these people come with friends or even family members. After participating in the competition, they will play nearby. It can stimulate the consumption of tickets, accommodation, catering, etc. in scenic spots; the second is marketing. Marketing and publicity should be started several months or even half a year in advance for an event, and the scenic spots will be exposed throughout the publicity process. “On the day of the competition, the WeChat index and Baidu index of Yunnan Puzhehei were higher than those of the National Day.” Huang Sichen gave an example.
In addition to the event IP of the X-Mudder Muddy Obstacle Race, Square Sports also developed the second event IP in 2017 vertical to the shooting field – the Medal of the Brave. This is a WARGAME (war game) competition with real-life immersive experience. Participants have to wear military equipment and fight in simulated military scenes. They can enjoy a highly simulated shooting experience.
The Warrior Medal and tourism also have a good combination . For example, the film and television base is a good landing scene for the Warrior Medal. In the scene design of the Warrior Medal, the scenes in the movie can be integrated into it, and the real scene of the film and television base can make the participants more immersive. It is understood that the 2017 Warrior Medal National Standard Competition was held at Nanjing Shiqiu Film and Television Base. Nearly 200 professional players and military enthusiasts from 15 teams participated in the competition. Square Sports named this event “Jinling Action” because Nanjing was called Jinling in ancient times, and the venue of the competition was also the shooting location of “Jinling Thirteen Pans”.
Combining sports events with scenic spots has long been a successful case abroad. For example, the ESPN Sports World in Disney World in Orlando, USA, ESPN Sports World holds more than 200 events of all kinds and levels every year, with 400,000 athletes participating, 1.5 million spectators, and direct operating income of more than 250 million US dollars; at the same time, through With the holding of these events, ESPN Sports World contributes 750,000 hotel reservations and more than 1 million theme park ticket sales to Disney Resort every year.
Through comparison, it can be found that Square Sports still has a lot of room for development. At present, it holds less than 10 events every year, and the number of events and the number of people it attracts is equivalent to one-twentieth of ESPN Sports World.
IP authorization
In addition to holding events, Huang Sichen has also started a new exploration: authorizing the IP of events to scenic spots to develop projects that can be operated for a long time.
Compared with traveling to various cities to hold offline events one by one, IP authorization is obviously much lighter. According to Huang Sichen’s plan, through IP authorization, Square Sports will be able to obtain two incomes from the scenic spot, one is the authorization fee, and the other is the share of the project’s operating profits.
However, a sports event that ends in a short period of time and a long-term sports event cannot be seamlessly connected, and there are big differences in product form and operation mode. Huang Sishen said that the X-Mudder muddy obstacle course should be transformed from a kind of event into a long-term operation project in the scenic spot, and corresponding adjustments should be made in the length of the entire track and the setting of checkpoints. For example, the 8-10 km The track is shortened to reduce physical exertion, and the number and difficulty of levels should be reduced to increase the fun. This is because the participants and the purpose of participation are different. There are professional players among the participants of the X-Mudder Muddy Obstacle Race, and the event is highly competitive, so the intensity and difficulty will be relatively high, but the project that has been landed in the scenic spot for a long time , most of the participants are ordinary tourists and employees participating in the company’s team building, most of them are for leisure and entertainment.
When the Warrior Medal landed in the scenic spot, it was more in a customized way. “Competitions can be copied quickly, and they are all standardized things, but the long-term projects are different and need to add local characteristic elements.” Huang Sichen said that before landing the project, Square Krona will have a professional team to carry out the links according to local characteristics Design, provide customized services.
At present, the Warrior Medal has built a base in Daxing, Beijing, which is mainly used for regiment building and military training. The base was transformed from an abandoned school. Huang Sishen said that most of the companies that cooperate with Square Sports to build the Warrior Medal Base have available sites, such as abandoned factories and schools. Therefore, in terms of project investment, it is mainly soft decoration (clothes, props, scenes), and the required funds range from several million to tens of millions.
In addition to events and brand authorization, Square Sports has also established a sports women’s team, and has extended its tentacles to short videos and long programs related to outdoor sports.
“We will integrate a resource package. There are events in scenic spots that can be held, programs that can be filmed, and fixed facilities that can be landed.” Huang Sishen said that Square Sports is no longer just an operator of high-quality events. From the perspective of the industrial chain, there are more and more points that can cooperate with scenic spots.
