There is a new hackathon all set to kick off in Bengaluru and it aims to improve fan engagement for cricket fans. The first ever hackathon organized by ICC is in partnership with the fintech Nium, the global leader in money movement. Jeremiah Glodoveza, the architect of the ‘ICC-Nium Next In Hackathon and SVP, Global Head of Marketing and Communications at Nium responds to a few questions.
ICC has never done a hackathon before. What is Nium’s focus behind organizing this?
In recent years, the ICC has been on the forefront of sports technology innovation – both on and off the pitch. These innovations have brought fans closer to the game. Whether it is an interactive voting experience in-stadia, or choosing the music played at matches, or NFTs of iconic moments to own a piece of cricket history, these fan-first technologies have helped to energize a new generation of fans. ‘ICC-Nium Next In Hackathon' is a continuation of this move towards modernization. Nium is an innovator in financial technology, hiring some of the best and brightest. We champion all avenues where talented technologists can exercise their creativity and this hackathon gets fans directly involved in building solutions that will engage the next-generation of fans.
2. What has been the highlight of your association with ICC?
The highlight of our partnership has been to watch the amount of tech-innovation that the ICC and Nium have implemented in such a short period of time. We set out to engage cricket fans with this partnership, but more specifically, to place a spotlight on the millions of tech-savvy fans for the game. It’s been amazing to see developers around the world take part in this hackathon, play our mobile game, take our coding challenges, or simply watch our technology in cricket videos. Our highlight as a company has been how we’ve captured the imagination of tech-loving fans across the globe.
3. To what extent has India's tech talent pool contributed to customer-engagement-based innovations?
Significantly. Few are as passionate and as knowledgeable about cricket as the billions of cricket fans in India. Nearly 7000 of the 12500 entries to the ICC-Nium “Next In” Hackathon come from the subcontinent. This talent pool is coming up with some incredible ideas, including new applications for artificial intelligence in statistical analysis, through to modernizing payment systems for fans using mobile devices. India’s tech talent pool drove much of the ICC’s foray into NFTs, with Indian companies such as Fan Craze creating Crictos, the official NFTs of the ICC.
4. Could the ICC, at some level (via the hackathon), be thinking about how to engage non-cricket-playing countries in the future, using technology?
Yes. The Nium-ICC Hackathon has had participation from teams in more than 110 countries, including many where cricket is still in its nascent stages. Many of the ideas being born out of the hackathon have been around how to access and engage with more cricket content off-the-pitch, whether it's online, in the metaverse, or on social platforms. We’re already seeing the popularity of cricket content on platforms, such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and the appeal extends far beyond the countries that play. Providing broader exposure of the athleticism in the sport will not only serve to engage non-cricket playing countries, but could motivate a new generation to play. We’re seeing this phenomenon play out, especially with the growing popularity of the women’s game in countries, such as Rwanda and Thailand.
5. What kind of fan experiences or fan zones are advertisers looking to create to promote entertainment for cricket fans during matches?
In-stadia, the opportunities for advertisers are about providing experiences to engage with the brand. Whether it's pointing your camera at a QR code on the big screen to download an offer to sampling consumer packaged goods in a fan zone type setting, the possibilities of delighting a consumer before, during, and after matches is limited only by imagination. However, for B2B brands, such as Nium, we see very innovative ways to build relationships with prospective customers or employees in the digital realm. We believe we can engage in ways that are entertaining, but also informative. For example, we recently sponsored a behind the scenes look at cricket technology, hosted by legendary cricketer, Ricky Ponting. We’ve hosted coding challenges ahead of the release of a mobile game. We’re focused on not only engaging fans in the stadium moment, but to create a long-term association with Nium as one of the world’s leading technology companies.
Jeremiah Glodoveza is the Senior Vice President and Head of Global Marketing and Communications for Nium, a global leader in cross-border money movement. His experience in consumer and B2B brand marketing spans the globe, including leadership roles at Microsoft, Zelle, and Samsung. He holds an MBA from the University of Washington.