The rise of vendor activity in the K-12 sports technology world – mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, integrations – is leaving many athletic directors and coaches wondering:
How are these big changes going to impact my program and my student athletes? Is there anything I can do?
Many of you know that while some of these new developments will provide short and long term value, some will decidedly not. Here is a sneak peek and high level explanation of what’s going on in the space. Plus, check out 3 easy ways to limit impact and address the changes.
Some school sports tech developments in the last 2 years:
PlayOn! merged with GoFan
PlayOn! acquired rSchool/VNN
Hudl acquired BluFrame
Hometown acquired Ticket Spicket
Snap! Raise acquired 8to18
Snap! Raise acquired From Now On
Aktivate acquired Register My Athlete
…
While this covers some of the major consolidation in the space, there are hundreds of other developments and collaboration between vendors that have impacted school athletics. Some of these moves happen behind the scenes and just appear with little impact, while others can be either incredibly disruptive or super helpful.
Here’s what we’re dealing with at a high level and some key questions to ask:
Marketing partnership – Companies promote each other to help grow collective sales/revenue and credibility.
Upshot: Often harmless to the athletics office, sometimes involves revenue sharing, helps two companies build trust and brand loyalty among a shared customer base. It also demonstrates a level of faith and trust between the partners, because while they stand to benefit from positive brand association, they also risk fallout, brand harm, or lost sales as a result of bad partner behavior. While this relationship may result in an increase in unsolicited sales messages, for the most part, you can rest easy that your tech and service will remain largely unchanged.
Questions to ask: How does the partnership affect my pricing or agreement terms (exclusive discounts, fees, obligations)? Are you sharing any contact information or access to me, my staff, or my team families?
Partnership integration – Two or more companies combine their technology in some way, often through the use of an API (application programming interface).
Upshot: Largest range of potential impact. There are two main considerations when evaluating the potential impact on your program:
1) The primary strategic objective: a. Better customer experience and value proposition b. Increased sales/revenue
2) The breadth of the integration (how big a change to the normal function, flow, and usage of the solutions). An integration could be as simple as an upload function specific to a partner’s template, or as complicated as combining tools and functions within the same dashboard.
Although the objective of integrations often include a combination of a. and b., one is always the primary goal and can be advantageous to find out which one. Best case for you is clearly a better customer experience and value proposition. In this scenario, the integration often simply streamlines the tech and service for existing joint customers and makes for a better story and value proposition when pitching new customers. For example, game schedules you input using one company’s system populate your team website or app hosted by the partner.
Questions to ask: Is there a fee? Will I be forced to use the other company’s tools now or down the line? What is the biggest, potentially disruptive change so I can prepare? [Marketing partnership questions since an integration is usually accompanied by a marketing partnership]
Acquisition – One company purchases and gains control of another.
Upshot: This is typically the most disruptive and the impact on customers rests largely on the controlling company leaders’ mission/philosophy, knowledge of the space, and strategic plan. You and your staff may gain an increase in functionality and efficiency (and that will certainly be the focus of marketing messages), but that may come with restrictions and obligations to use the company’s software exclusively. Unlike in the partnership integration, there is no question that the company’s primary objective in an acquisition is increased growth and revenue. Shareholder interests typically come first and larger companies have more leverage and staying power, so sometimes service and support suffers. However, it’s not always all doom and gloom! If the joint company retains and promotes leaders who have been in the space a long time, built relationships with administrators, and hold a true understanding and passion for serving school athletics, it could mean more upside for you and your programs.
Questions to ask: How will my contract terms change at the end of the term (pricing, obligations, restrictions, exclusivity)? How will my service and support be affected? What does the new leadership team look like and what is their experience and philosophy about serving the school athletics space? [Partnership Integration questions]
Merger – Two companies become one.
Upshot: This is less common in the school athletics tech space because there is no chance of a “vertical merger” (the vendor can’t acquire their customer: you/schools) and because the school athletics tech space is small: very few competing companies are equal in terms of market share and financial support. Usually, it’s easy to identify a potential acquirer vs acquisition target.
Questions to ask: [Acquisition questions]
Although it may feel like you have no control whatsoever over what happens, remember that you hold a lot of power as the customer, especially when combined with your fellow administrators and coaches across the country. The best corporate plan in the world doesn’t work if it isn’t what you and your student athletes need and want. So be sure to Review Your Vendors, at the very least! Here are the top 3 ways to advocate for your program with your vendors amidst all the changes in the space.
About the author:
Abby Emerson founded K12 Sports Tech after 11+ years experience working in the school athletics tech space, creating joint solutions with corporate partners, overseeing product launches and technical integrations, and collaborating with and serving hundreds of athletic directors and their school communities. She and the staff at K12 are AD advocates who understand that one size does not fit all in school athletics. K12 offers an array of services to help equip athletic departments and empower athletic leaders with the tech and support they need to succeed.