San Francisco 49ers season ticket holders received a piece of wearable technology courtesy of Avery Dennison and Levi’s.
The materials science and digital identification solutions company worked with the San Francisco-based denim giant to make a commemorative iron-on patch celebrating 10 seasons of the National Football League team playing in Levi’s Stadium.
The embroidered patch has an embedded NFC chip that unlocks a “Thank You, Season Ticket Holders” video message from San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch featuring highlights from the past 10 seasons. The patch uses AD TexTrace Heat Seal technology to embed the chip.
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The patches were sent to all season ticket holders in their annual gift boxes at the beginning of the regular season.
Both companies have ties to the 49ers. Avery Dennison is “The Official Cutting Edge Embellishment Partner” of the 49ers and Levi’s is the team’s marquee sponsor.
“This effort is a prime example of partner cross-collaboration,” said Kevin Hilton, VP of corporate partnerships at the 49ers. “We’re grateful to Avery Dennison for their proactive offer of NFC technology to Levi’s, and thrilled that all sides came together to create this commemorative patch as a way to thank season ticket holders in a distinctive, relevant way.”
Avery Dennison said the digitally enabled garment landscape offers a white space opportunity for brands, teams and leagues to foster fan engagement. The company has made several acquisitions over the past year, including Lion Brothers, Thermopatch, and RTV Print that support Embelex, its platform for on-product branding, graphics and trims footprint in the team sports marketplace.
In September, Avery Dennison inked a deal with NBA Properties, Inc. to manufacture on-court and retail apparel embellishments bearing the National Basketball Association’s team marks, logos, fonts and other intellectual property. Other clients include Major League Soccer, Real Madrid, the English Premier League, the Sacramento Kings and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“In a competitive landscape such as professional sports we anticipate further adoption of these one-to-one fan engagements and new lines of communication to open. Possibilities are endless,” said Steve Mason, VP and general manager Embelex, Avery Dennison.
