It’s increasingly important for professional clubs and major events organisers to keep fans connected and engaged. The battle for consumers in a crowded, tech-driven marketplace – where gaming and other forms of entertainment are available at the press of a button – has resulted in sport having to reinvent the traditional customer journey.

Buying a ticket at the turnstile, queuing for half-time refreshments and leaving at the final whistle is an experience which only exists at smaller clubs – and even there things are changing. See page 34 to read how Stockade FC, a newly created club in the US is yet to play a game – but has already launched an online shop and a attracted a social media following.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
A number of elite clubs are investing time and effort in the way they are engaging with their fans. English Premier League (EPL) club Manchester City FC (MCFC) has been able to create a fun personality to its brand by its readiness to interact with fans. It regularly maintains conversations on social networks through replies and retweets.

MCFC’s cross-city rival Manchester United, meanwhile, was a latecomer to Twitter – it only joined in April 2012 – so had to play catch up. By using Twitter to break exclusive news and offer unique content to fans, however, United has now become the platform’s most followed EPL club with 7.2m followers.

While top clubs prefer to do their own engagement work, there are now a range of companies offering specialised fan engagement services. One of these is global marketing agency VML, which In 2011 was tasked with building a new EPL website. Today, VML’s work covers many of the league’s digital needs.

“Over the past three years we‘ve provided the Premier League with a new platform to engage football fans through online/digital which they didn’t have before,” says Cameron O’Brien, one of the VML team members working on the EPL project.

“Central to this strategy is the dramatisation of every moment of Premier League action online. We used an enormous database of match data – from more than 20 years of Premier League history – to create three primary states for digital properties: pre-game, live game and post-game.

For O’Brien, the run up to matches is an ideal moment to “hook” supporters and get them involved. “The pre-game engagement is all about building anticipation and excitement – using historical results, current form, expert analysis and fan opinion to create predictive analysis.

“When it comes to channels, we’ve developed each channel differently for the delivery of this strategy. Mobile is the first access point for match updates, while social media forms the centre point for discussion and debate.

“Adding to that, we created a website which acts as the rich and immersive experience.”

While the Premier League is now a global brand – and so can undertake fan engagement activities outside its geographical market – it doesn’t mean it can take its “home market” for granted. Other global players are already moving into its territory with their own engagement activities.

One of these is the National Football League (NFL), which has organised regular “International Series” games in London since 2007 and is now planning a permanent franchise in the capital.

As the regular NFL season is relatively short – the teams play just 16 games – each match is seen as a major event. This is reflected in the way the London-based games are marketed to potential UK audiences.

A five day-long “NFL Week” takes over central London each October and in 2015 the entire length of Regent Street – a major artery for transport – was cut off to make space for fan zones, entertainment areas and a large stage on which player interviews and live music were performed. Each of the six teams playing in London had their own area and the week-long festival was supported by an NFL UK Fan Pass app, further engaging with fans who might not have a match ticket but wanted to join in.

The mobile Fan Pass – which remains active after the International Series – allowed fans to create, organize and customise their experiences at fan events around the city. Created in partnership with tech firm Crowdtorch, the app offered fans a chance to schedule events they were keen to attend, utilise maps to find their way around each event and share experiences across social media. For those attending the game, it built up excitement by offering a chance to win exclusive NFL experiences.

The International Series is an important part of NFL’s strategy to expand into new markets and the fan engagement initiatives are seen crucial to its success. NFL UK’s head of marketing, Sarah Swanson, says the Fan Pass is an example of how the league is planning to expand globally.

“In September 2015, we hired an international content manager,” she says. “Not just for the UK market, but to cover other international markets too. His job is to bridge the gap between what’s coming out of Los Angeles (the NFL HQ) and what we’re trying to do internationally.”

BOTTOM LINES
Having an engaged fanbase is important for even the most established of brands. “Fan engagement initiatives have a huge impact on the Premier League’s bottom line,” O’Brien says. “At the most direct level the more time fans spend interacting with the league, the more exposure they have to sponsors and partners, which makes the media offering more valuable.  

“Deepening relationships with fans also means they are less likely to lapse in their support when results are bad – and far more likely to watch and attend games, which ultimately increases revenue through ticket sales and broadcast rights.

O’Brien adds that efforts to connect with fans is crucial when looking to expand a club’s or league’s reach. “In more engaged fans the league is also more likely to be front of mind and associated with positively, leading to greater advocacy, which helps to spread fandom. This is particularly important in the developing world where fans have less of a regional affinity to any one team or league.”

ADVICE
There is plenty of help available for those wanting to improve their engagement initiatives, with entire events now concentrating on the topic. February 2016 marked the third anniversary of the Annual Sports Fan Engagement Conference – held in Charlotte, US – while this year’s Sports Fan Summit in Melbourne, Australia, has chosen “Fan engagement in the Digital Age” as its theme.

O’Brien says the key for any successful initiative is to place the identity of the club or event at the very heart of engagement. “Start with your product and work from there,” he says.

“The sport itself is your biggest asset, so make sure the focus is on that and you never deviate too far away from it. Fans love to talk to each other about their passion and will always be your biggest advocates.

“Make sure you give them the tools to aid those passionate conversations by delivering insight and analysis – which they can then discuss, use and share with each other.”