Australian sport’s first fully integrated Facebook Shop

IMG Sports Technology Group (IMG STG) has developed the first fully integrated Facebook Shop in Australian sport for the Carlton Football Club, allowing fans to purchase merchandise without leaving the dominant social networking site.

Melbourne, Australia - May 24, 2011

IMG Sports Technology Group this week launched the Carlton Facebook Shop. In a first for an elite Australian sporting club Carlton fans can now shop online for merchandise, memorabilia and equipment without ever leaving the social networking site.

IMG Sports Technology Group has worked closely with Carlton to provide the club with the tools to meet the demands of their supporters no matter how they engage with the navy blues.

"We are well aware of the growth of social media, particularly in the sporting world. Social media, in particular Facebook, is where people are, and we have recognized we need to be where our supporters are. This enables us to stay connected with our supporters and also for our supporters to be connected with each other." said Ian Coutts, General Manager, Communications, Carlton Football Club.

Facebook currently has 500 million active users of which 50% log on in any given day. The average user has 130 friends and people spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook.

"By providing Carlton with a fully self contained shop that operates on Facebook, IMG Sports Technology Group helps keep the club at the forefront of a highly competitive space." Said Glen McGoldrick, CTO at IMG Sports Technology Group.

"We understand that providing world class online tools to sporting clubs such as Carlton helps them maximise the return they can expect from the social media space. And with more than 70,000 fans of the club on Facebook already we expect them to kick more than a few goals with the new shop."

Not only does the shop application allow seamless transactions within Facebook, it also provides a way for Carlton to get to know their 70,000+ Facebook fans. When visiting the shop users are asked to grant permission for the club to access their contact details, hence growing the club's database. This helps solve one of the problems of how to turn their large following on Facebook into a tangible asset that helps the club achieve its business objectives.

You can access the Carlton Facebook Shop by visiting: http://www.facebook.com/OfficialCarltonFC?sk=app_191997040825549
 

For further information regarding this please contact
Brad Paton, National Account Manager - 0411 601 084 - bpaton@imgstg.com