Kiekko-Espoo and TPS offer their supporters new mobile services – This is how Liiga teams and Digia develop mobile applications

"We are in the experience business, where digital is already involved in everything and will be even stronger. At the arenas, mobile supports the match experience, and our clear goal is that in the long term, we will make more augmented reality services and artificial intelligence available via the phone to deepen the experience," says Jukka Sundquist, Chief Digital Officer at Liiga.

According to Sundquist, cooperation in application development brings teams cost efficiency and speed. New functionalities are constantly being developed and released.

"I am thrilled that we at Digia can be involved in enabling this cooperation, which is still rare on a global scale and benefits everyone. We are forerunners in this area in Finland," says Sami Paihonen, Digia's SVP of Digital Solutions.

Kiekko-Espoo: "We wanted the best option"

When Kiekko-Espoo was informed of the Liiga entry for this season, the possibility of replacing the previous mobile application with a new one arose.

"When you play the main league, expectations rise – not only in terms of games but in all areas, including digital services. We wanted the best possible option for us," says COO Juuso Holtari.

"We saw that moving to the same platform with other teams brings us new development opportunities. The fact that 16 responsible parties are involved guarantees that the application will be continuously developed further," Holtari says.

The application's users have given positive feedback on new features, such as the possibility to borrow a season ticket. Kiekko-Espoo's personnel have praised the easy-to-use dashboard.

"Now that we have played a third of the season, we can already say the decision was right. We have a high-quality application that looks like us. Everything has been going great," Holtari says.

Mobile strengthens match experiences and offers life partnership

Functional digital services, such as mobile applications, significantly influence how Liiga teams can reach and serve the ice hockey audience. This, in turn, impacts the appeal of the sport as a whole and, ultimately, the teams' income.

One example can be found in Turku: At the Gatorade Center, you can now order refreshments during a game directly to your seat using the TPS mobile app. The solution has increased the restaurant's sales, and the average purchase made via mobile is higher than at the counter, TPS says.

Jukka Sundquist and Juuso Holtari see that mobile applications will be developed in an increasingly personalized direction in the future.

"When we think about developing the customer experience, it's not just about individual match situations, but more broadly about Liiga and teams as life partners for our customers. We can be constantly involved in people's lives through mobile and other digital channels," Sundqvist describes.

"It is essential for us to listen to our customers, whether active or casual followers of Kiekko-Espoo. With the help of the data collected by the platforms, we can better consider the wishes and needs of individual customers. There is a lot of work ahead, but now we have reached the development phase at the Liiga level," says Juuso Holtari.

Facts: Mobile apps of Liiga and Liiga teams
• The mobile applications of Liiga and 16 ice hockey teams can be downloaded from the most common app stores (Apple iStore, Google Play Store)
• All 17 applications have been implemented using the same technical platform (AWS, Java) as native development, i.e., with the platforms' tools.
• In mobile development, the partner of Liiga and the teams is Digia.

Further information:

Jukka Sundquist
Chief Digital Officer, Liiga
jukka.sundquist(at)liiga.fi
tel. 040 587 4128

Juuso Holtari
Chief Operating Officer, Kiekko-Espoo
juuso.holtari(a)kiekko-espoo.fi
tel. 050 323 8615

Sami Paihonen
Senior Vice President, Digital Solutions, Digia
sami.paihonen(a)digia.com
tel. 050 502 1111

Digia's Communications