Could GetFugu Be A Killer App for Sponsorship ROI?
In all of the recent talk about SpongeTech's business dealings, one of the legal disputes lost in the noise surrounding SpongeTech was a recent lawsuit with mobile search company, GetFugu.
Originally, SpongeTech had agreed to invest $4 million in GetFugu, but to date only $1,750,000 has been received by the mobile start-up.
What is GetFugu? Check out this Getfugu demo with SpongeTech. GetFugu helps advertisers deliver content and sell products to consumers in non-traditional (OOH) venues via services like voice recognition.
Today, SpongeTech announced that the aforementioned lawsuit will be dismissed, SpongeTech will proceed with their investment and the brand will be one of the first to test GetFugu's platform.
"We are pleased that we can move forward with GetFugu and see their platform in action," commented COO of SpongeTech, Steven Moskowitz. “Our marketing strategy has placed the SpongeTech brand name in various sporting venues across the U.S. and we believe GetFugu will increase the excitement in our brand and help bring our brand to the next level.”
GetFugu says that its 'unique “See It,” vision recognition ”Say It,” voice recognition; ”Find It,” location recognition; and “Get It,” Hot-Spotting services are targeted at the growing surge of the world’s population that regularly utilize mobile phones to search for entertainment, news, sports, shopping, and every other thing available on the Internet.'
The technology allows consumers to hear an announcement or take a picture of an ad and automatically be led to an e-commerce platform on their mobile phones.
In sports and entertainment terms, could sponsors like SpongeTech apply this to their accorded PA's and signage to measure their investments, at least in part, by actual sales generated at the venue?
Whether properties want to or should be held accountable for actual product sales, is another question. However, with the sponsorship spotlight so squarely focused on ROI and business outcomes from marketing expenditures of all kinds, a new revenue-generating platform could add a new dimension to measurement and valuation.
Could GetFugu, and mobile recognition software like it, be sponsorship ROI's best friend? With nearly 40 deals in major venues, SpongeTech may be the best positioned company to offer an initial case study.
