When the Spanish soccer superclub Real Madrid—the world’s most valuable sports franchise, according to Forbes—decided to beef up their official mobile app, they turned to Sportech Interactech, the Spanish subsidiary of the Israeli company Interacting Technology.
Sportech Interactech plans to use its tech expertise to acquire more users, enhance interactions among Real fans, develop a “freemium” game catalog—that is, games in which customers pay for bonus features, and other tools to keep people engaged with the app for longer.
“We are happy to take part in this activity and see it as a unique opportunity to help develop the next stages of the Real Madrid App,” said Interacting Technology CEO Liav Eliash in a statement.
Launched in May 2015, the app already offers its international community detailed coverage of matches, summaries, interviews, and game footage within 24 hours. The new features are expected to go live later this year.
Eliash founded Interacting Technology in 2012 and created the successful digital platform MOOVZ for connecting the LGBT community around shared interests. The idea was then expanded to any type of community wanting to connect over content of mutual interest to the group. In this case, the group is Real Madrid fans, who number some 450 million.
“Our ability to generate localization and to reach fans in different countries will allow Real fans to take a more active role in the online activities of the club,” Eliash told the Israeli business daily Globes. “Our platform is based on generating traffic and on monetization, but its emphasis is on gamification – which is adding the gaming experience for the user, and games are fun. A fan who downloads the app, for example, is greeted with a round of applause the first time he or she opens it. It makes them feel popular and loved.”
The app agreement is just the latest Israel-Real connection. Three-time FIFA world player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo, the highest-paid soccer player in the world, recently starred in an advertisement for the Israeli cable company HOT.
(via Israel21c)
[Photo: Jan SOLO / Flickr ]