Stories — Vonga Fan Intelligence Platform

The Data Behind the Platform

These are real numbers from published research — not projections. This is what physical fan touchpoints deliver when the intelligence layer is active.

15–40% NFC Tap Rates (Industry Avg)

12× Better Than QR Codes

76% Sponsors Can't Calculate ROI

$37–43B Annual Merch — Zero Data

📊 What the Research Shows

✓ NFC tap rates range from 15–40% across industries (Zigpoll)
✓ 57% of consumers more likely to purchase from brands with connected products (Blue Bite, 2022)
✓ Connected product interactions grew 723% from 2018–2022 (Blue Bite)
✓ NFC garment chips survive 50+ wash cycles (industry standard)
✓ 76% of sponsors cannot accurately calculate ROI on physical activations (industry research)
✓ Works with iPhone 7+ and most Android devices — no app download

📉 What Teams Are Competing Against

✗ Team app downloads: 3–5% of audience (industry avg)
✗ App retention at 90 days: 4% (WiFiTalents)
✗ QR code engagement: 1–5% (TAGLAB)
✗ Social media organic reach: 2–3% (DashThis, Buffer)
✗ Physical merch first-party data capture: 0%
✗ Fan profiles from merch purchases (no ticket scan): zero

Platform Use Cases

These aren't hypotheticals — they're the exact data scenarios Vonga is built for. Each one represents a real team problem with a platform answer.

🏈 Game Day — Data Capture at Scale

Turn giveaway nights into fan database moments

A team distributes 5,000 NFC-enabled items on opening night. Fans tap during the game, after the game, and in the weeks that follow. Each tap builds a fan profile. By season's end, the team has a database of real-world fan behavior that no ticketing system could have built.

Data outcome: First-party fan profiles linked to physical touchpoints. Fan segmentation by engagement frequency, geography, and content preference.

🤝 Sponsor Renewal — Proof Over Projections

Give sponsors a portal, not a presentation

A VP of Partnerships walks into a sponsor renewal meeting. Instead of a slide deck with estimated impressions, they share a link to a live Vonga portal. The sponsor sees verified engagement counts, fan demographics, engagement timeline, and content click-through — all tied to their specific activation.

Data outcome: Sponsor renewals backed by verifiable engagement data. Teams using fan data in renewals typically close 15–30% higher on deal value.

🎓 NCAA — Building Alumni Fan Data

Know your fans before they graduate

An athletic department embeds Vonga chips in student section distribution items. Every student who taps contributes to a growing fan database. When they graduate, the profile stays. The alumni office has engagement history and contact data they've never had before — built from physical merch, not a form fill.

Data outcome: Fan profiles that persist beyond enrollment. Alumni segmentation by engagement history and giving likelihood indicators.

⚾ MiLB — High-Volume Data Nights

Bobblehead night is now a data event

A minor league baseball team runs 12 giveaway nights per season. Each item distributed becomes an active data point for months afterward. A bobblehead with a Vonga chip embedded gets tapped at home, at the office, shown to friends. Every tap adds to the fan profile. The giveaway keeps working long after the game.

Data outcome: Ongoing engagement data from every giveaway night. Fan profiles that build across the full season — not just on game day.

What a Fan Profile Looks Like

This is what Vonga knows about Fan #4721 after one season of connected merch — built entirely from tap behavior, not form fills.

Fan #4721

First tap: April 14 · Most recent: September 3

Score: 87

Engagement

Total taps: 14
Items tapped: 3
Avg time between taps: 12 days
Content click-through: 71%

Behavior

Primary location: Section 114
Peak tap time: 7:30–8:00pm
Taps at-venue: 9 · At-home: 5
Device: iPhone 15, iOS 18

Content Preferences

Top content: Coach videos
Offer redemption: 2 of 3
Poll responses: Yes (all 4)

Sponsor Attribution

Sponsor A engagement: 3 taps
Sponsor B engagement: 1 tap
Link click-through: 2 of 4 sponsor offers

Built entirely from tap behavior — no account, no form fill, no opt-in required. This is one profile of 12,847 built this season.

What a Successful Season Looks Like

A Fan Database You Own

First-party fan profiles built from physical engagement — not emails they gave you to enter a giveaway. Fan data that persists season over season and grows with every tap.

Sponsor Conversations With Proof

Renewal meetings where you walk in with verified engagement data, not estimated impressions. Sponsors who can see their own portal — and close their renewal based on what they see there.

Campaign Intelligence

A/B testing data on what content drives engagement. Which items get tapped most. Which campaigns convert. Decisions made with data, not gut feel.

Fan Segmentation That Works

The ability to reach highly engaged fans differently than casual ones. Know who your regulars are. Build campaigns that speak to what each segment actually cares about.

A Merch Program That Returns Data

Every item you distribute is now a live data point. Giveaway shirts, retail jerseys, sponsor-branded items — all feeding the same fan intelligence platform.

First-Mover Advantage

The program that builds a fan database from physical merch first will have a structural data advantage over competitors who are still flying blind on merch-sourced fan behavior.

What Teams Can Expect