Tag Archives: Ryder Cup

Wow. Still coming down after a wild Ryder Cup weekend. I knew exactly what I wanted to blog about and I’m kicking myself. I didn’t take a photo.

American Express was offering mobile video players to card members for $1. They were EVERYWHERE on the course. The units were streaming the tournament broadcast live. Totally cool.

Video is a part of mobile

I blogged last week about being ready to watch the same broadcast through the Ryder Cup iPhone app, but it didn’t happen. Too much mobile phone traffic overloaded the system. I spent a lot of time trying to look over the shoulders of American Express card holders.

All it did is reiterate the rise of mobile. It’s not all about Facebook and photos, there’s a real role for video in mobile. The trick will be figuring out how your company leverage it.

–Tony Gnau

I mentioned Wednesday about downloading the Ryder Cup app for my iPhone. When I’m out on the course I’ll have instant access to scoring, but that really isn’t that big of a deal because there’s a gazillion scoreboards all over the course.

No, the best part of having the app means I can watch highlights because the NBC broadcast will be streamed live through the app. I might be watching one group at the eighth tee, and hear a roar coming from the sixth or seventh green. Now I can see exactly what happened.

Mobile Video is huge

The takeaway… mobile is going crazy right now, but not all mobile apps include video and they should. eMarketer predicts more than 54-million people will watch video on their mobile devices this year. 54-MILLION!

What does this mean to you and your business? It means people are finding all sorts of ways to watch the content they crave, whether it’s on their desktop, laptop or phone. It means your video has the chance to be seen and shared across multiple platforms. It means you need to take your company’s video production seriously.

–Tony Gnau

Okay… I’m officially declaring this Ryder Cup week. With golf’s biggest event taking place in our backyard at Medinah Country Club, a lot of my interest is focused out there but I’m still finding blog material.

My wife, daughter and I made a family outing of it at yesterday’s practice round. I was struck by something. It’s a blending of old and new school.

Old school vs. new school

Golf loves its traditions, so head to a major tournament like this and you’ll find manual scoreboards. At the same time, you’re find huge video boards all over the course.

While walking the course yesterday I downloaded a Ryder Cup iPhone app, allowing me to see real-time scoring and video right on my phone.

Don’t get left behind

My point… you can find a place for tradition, but at the end of the day you better be on cutting-edge. Your PR/marketing/event planning better reflect what consumers are demanding.

In other words, you better be producing video.

–Tony Gnau