Brains and Bytes: PlayCom 2025 on Balancing AI and Human Insight in Sports

AI in Sports Marketing: Balance, Seasonality, and Owning the Fan

At PlayCom 2025 in New Delhi, leaders from CricViz, GSIC Powered by Microsoft, and Sportz Interactive shared direct lessons for sports marketers. The message was clear: blend machine intelligence with expert judgment, build owned fan experiences, and treat technology as a growth engine for both business and public good.

AI plus human: accuracy over hype

Alan Davis, Marketing Head at CricViz, stressed the need for balance. "With anything to do with AI and technology, it's about accuracy, depth of data… we're trying to maintain the balance of utilising technology and AI with human intelligence."

He pointed to CricViz's database of 75,000 cricketers: models can flag patterns, but experts must contextualize them. That's the standard marketers should set-AI for scale, humans for sense-making.

• Set a "human-in-the-loop" rule. Define where analysts, editors, and coaches review or augment AI output before it reaches fans or partners.
• Prioritize data depth. Map your highest-value data sources and close gaps before spinning up more models.
• Be transparent. Tell fans when insights are model-driven and when experts weigh in. It builds trust and keeps your brand credible.

India's seasonality: turn downtime into demand

Chintan Shah, SVP at Sportz Interactive, framed India's unique challenge: short league windows with long off-seasons. "During the off-season… build digital stadiums where you can give those experiences to the fans."

He cautioned against relying on social as the primary hub: "Most of the teams are trying to do this on social media… It's important to shift the focus to your own platforms, where you can track user behaviour and drive meaningful conversation."

• Own your audience. Move key experiences to your app, site, or community platform. Use social to acquire, not to retain.
• Program the off-season. Weekly challenges, archived match replays with new angles, AMAs with analysts, skill drills for youth-give fans reasons to return.
• Instrument everything. Tag events, build cohorts (prospects, casuals, superfans), and personalize content and offers by segment.
• Launch value loops. Reward watch streaks, referrals, UGC, and predictions with status, access, or merchandise credits.

Technology as public good: health, inclusion, and growth

Iris Cordoba Mondejar, Managing Director at GSIC Powered by Microsoft, pushed marketers to think beyond commercial value. Tech in sport is also a public need-reducing obesity, extending healthy years, and making sport a family habit.

She cited Spain's Olympic run where women led in medals even though fewer girls play sport, underscoring a drop-off around age 15. With better scouting tech and open-school policies for families, participation grew through shared, accessible activities.

• Build cause-based campaigns. Partner with schools and cities on family fitness nights, girls-in-sport pathways, and community skill clinics.
• Measure what matters. Track participation, retention of girls 12-17, and health outcomes alongside brand metrics.
• Package proof. Publish outcomes to attract sponsors who care about impact, not just impressions.

Playbook: from insight to execution

• Data standards: Create a source-of-truth for player, match, and fan data. Document freshness, accuracy, and access rules.
• AI guardrails: Define approved use cases (content suggestions, segmentation, prediction) and required expert review steps.
• Owned platform UX: Rapid load times, clear value on day one, and simple login. Build rituals: daily picks, weekly quizzes, monthly drops.
• Monetization: Tiered memberships, sponsor-led challenges, premium analytics for superfans, and commerce tied to moments (milestones, records).
• Stakeholder alignment: Clubs, leagues, schools, and municipalities share incentives. Set joint KPIs and data-sharing agreements upfront.

Why this matters for marketers

AI without expert context erodes trust. Social-only strategies hand your community to an algorithm you don't control. And ignoring public impact leaves growth on the table. The opportunity is to stitch these together: precise data, human judgment, owned fan experiences, and programs that improve lives.

Next step for your team: build a 90-day plan that shifts one marquee experience to your own platform, sets two AI use cases with clear review, and launches one community health or inclusion initiative with measurable outcomes.

If you're leveling up your team's AI skills for marketing, explore this practical pathway: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.

Moderator: Mahesh V. Panchagnula, Head, IIT Madras Center of Excellence on Sports Science and Analytics.