A Thriving Lifestyle Brand Looking to Deliver Online Experiences to a New Generation of Western Sports Fans and Athletes.
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Teton Ridge, a fast-growing player in the Western Sports and Lifestyle industry, had a vision to bring together fans and athletes who share a passion for Western Sports. The company was founded by a group of experienced professionals who recognized the need for a new point of view to enable experiences for a generation that was increasingly spending time online. At the same time, these experiences needed to cater to the unique needs of a tight-knit and multi-generational community of Western enthusiasts.
The Challenge
Connecting online engagement with offline events.
Recognizing that a new generation of Western Sports fans have different expectations compared to their parents, Teton Ridge made an early commitment to integrating a comprehensive digital experience that allows fans to stay connected with their favorite athletes and events in the Western Sports industry.
Melding the best offline experiences, like The American Rodeo, with a best-in-class digital experience has long been a priority for Teton Ridge. Creating that connection between online engagement and offline events proved to be a challenge until Teton Ridge approached Apollo 21.
The Plan
Develop an app that brings Western Sports fans and athletes together.
To deliver on this ambitious goal, Teton Ridge initially wanted to create two separate apps: one for fans and another for athletes. However, after conducting user research with both groups, Apollo 21 found that distinguishing between a "fan" and an "athlete" can be challenging.
An athlete who participates in a local Team Roping event could also be a fan attending The American Rodeo. Based on this insight, the Apollo 21 team advised Teton Ridge to develop a single application that caters to both groups.
The Solution
A flagship brand experience & mobile-first web app built to scale with Teton Ridge.
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As a starting point, the Apollo 21 team conducted in-depth market research to discover best-in-class digital fan experiences across other sports. This process was then followed by user interviews with both athletes and fans to understand and differentiate the key needs, functionality, and features that would benefit each audience on the Teton Ridge+ platform. Given the target market, Apollo 21’s product team chose to prioritize a mobile-first web approach instead of developing a native application. This decision allowed engineers to build and iterate rapidly while catering to an audience that tends toward slow adoption of new technologies. This fast, iterative approach enabled Apollo 21 to develop the core feature set for Teton Ridge+ in half the anticipated timeline, including the integration of Teton Ridge+ with Apollo 21’s proprietary Mission Control platform, Shopify, and a variety of other services to create a complete app-like experience on a website.
KEY FEATURES: A content feed that provides the latest news in the Western Sports industry and live video feeds from Teton Ridge sponsored events. Athlete profiles that allow fans to learn more about their favorite athletes and enable athletes to share their unique experiences in Western Sports. Access to current and past event results - previously unavailable in the rodeo space - to track athlete performance in real-time. Ticket purchasing for upcoming events, and eventually, athlete registration for events. Engaging game-play opportunities that test fans' knowledge of Western Sports and offer chances to win prizes at various events.
The Results
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The launch of Teton Ridge+ at the 2022 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) was a significant milestone for Teton Ridge and an immediate hit with fans and athletes alike. The platform introduced features that were notably absent from the world of Western Sports, enabling a dynamic relationship among fans, events, and athletes. New user registration continues to grow as more fans embrace the platform to discover, follow, and livestream events via Teton Ridge+. Athletes are also signing up at a rapid pace thanks to new features developed by Apollo 21 specifically for this audience, including the ability to find and share videos and photos from recent competitions. The platform also enables the sharing of detailed athlete profiles, fostering deeper connectivity with the Western Sports fanbase.
In Their Own Words
"Working with Apollo 21 on Teton Ridge+ could not have been better. We found their willingness to offer ideas and solutions refreshing after working with product teams that simply waited to be told what to do."
