Conceptualizing A Digital Bridge in Sports Entertainment

Sammanfattning: The Covid-19 pandemic was detrimental to many industries and the sports industry was no exception. Due to ceased activity and financial deficit, sports organizations now look towards directing resources to developing digital technologies to enhance the customer experience. Jägersro Trot & Gallop is one of Sweden’s leading figures in the trotting industry, but they are suffering from financial decline and interest from customers. With no concrete plans on how to reach certain demographics, this study explores how digital technologies can help with reaching these demographics. This study introduces a new concept called Digital Bridge, which is prototyped in the form of a digital arena and then tested in two different qualitative focus groups. With a phenomenological approach, the study aims to understand the participant’s experience with the newly introduced concept. Findings show that the demographic between ages of 24-30 are prone to digital experiences presented in the prototype, with a high emphasis on socialization. Findings also show that the digital bridge can attract this demographic, even when individuals do not have prior experience with the sport. This study concludes that the concept of digital bridge can be beneficial for organizations who have difficulties in attracting new demographics.