Fans who support their favourite teams and players through attendance, viewership, and engagement provide the fuel for those teams to succeed.
This support and passion is the foundation of effective sport fan engagement, which aims to create a more personal connection between sports organisations and their audience.
By providing an end-to-end experience for fans before, during, and after events, sports organisations can build brand loyalty and increase revenue.
Today, technology has made it easier than ever to engage with fans, even from a distance, and sports organisations must adapt to this changing landscape to continue to thrive.
What is fan engagement in Sports?
Fan engagement in sports is the practice of providing a comprehensive and enjoyable experience for fans throughout their journey with a sports organisation.
This can include providing information and entertainment before, during, and after events, as well as creating opportunities for two-way communication between the organisation and its fans.
The goal of fan engagement is to build brand loyalty and strengthen the connection between fans and the team or league they support. This can ultimately lead to increased revenue for the organisation through ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and other fan spending.
Digital transformation in fan engagement
As technology continues to evolve, sports organisations must adapt their fan engagement strategies in order to maintain and strengthen their connections with fans. In the past, fan engagement primarily consisted of in-person interactions, such as cheering from the stands or buying team merchandise.
However, the rise of technology has enabled sports organisations to create deeper, more meaningful connections with fans, even from a distance.
This is especially important in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted traditional forms of fan engagement and made it even more important for sports organisations to adapt to new ways of connecting with their audience. By using digital tools and engaging with fans in a personalized and meaningful way, sports organisations can continue to thrive and build brand loyalty.
Sports organisations are constantly seeking ways to engage with their fans and create a competitive advantage.
This is particularly important for reaching younger demographics, such as millennials and Gen Z, who demand a personalized and engaging experience from the brands they support.
By engaging with fans, sports organisations can increase their revenue through ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and other spending.
According to a 2018 Sports Fan Engagement Marketing Report by Gameplan Insights and Magid Associates, about 60% of sports fans are willing to spend more on experiences with their favorite teams and athletes.
However, this willingness is not guaranteed and sports organisations must understand their fans' desires, wants, needs, and motivations in order to create a successful engagement strategy.
To engage with fans effectively, sports organisations should consider conducting research to understand their audience, creating personalized experiences, and using social media to connect with fans.
In addition, organisations can host events and promotions to keep fans engaged and provide opportunities for them to interact with the team.
By implementing these strategies, sports organisations can build stronger relationships with their fans and increase their revenue.
Digital sponsorship activation
One challenge that sponsors of sports teams and leagues face is the need to adapt to the increasingly digital landscape of sports.
In the past, sponsorships were primarily focused on physical elements such as LED banners at stadiums and shirt sponsorships.
However, with the rise of digital media and streaming platforms, sports organisations are now able to offer more dynamic and engaging sponsorship opportunities.
This shift presents both challenges and opportunities for sponsors, as they must adapt their strategies to take advantage of the new digital landscape.
To successfully navigate this changing landscape, sponsors must be willing to explore new and innovative ways of engaging with fans.
This can include sponsoring social media campaigns, creating sponsored content for streaming platforms, and developing personalized experiences for fans.
By embracing these new opportunities, sponsors can continue to build strong relationships with sports organisations and their fans, and create a competitive advantage in the crowded market of sports sponsorships.
Digital banner ads, gamification, and other app-based campaign activities can be a highly effective way to activatedigital sponsorships.
Digital banner ads, for example, can be a powerful tool for promoting a business's products or services to a targeted audience.
These ads can be displayed within afan appor on a website, and can be customized to showcase the business's products or services in a compelling way.
By incorporating a call-to-action, such as a discount code or a link to the business's website, digital banner ads can drive traffic and engagement for the business.
Gamification is another effective approach to digital sponsorship activation.
This involves using game-like elements, such as points, rewards, and challenges, to engage and motivate a creator's audience to take action.
For example, a business could sponsor a contest within an fan app that rewards users for completing certain tasks, such as sharing content on social media or making a purchase.
This can not only drive engagement and excitement, but also help the business achieve its goals, such as increasing brand awareness or driving sales.
Other app-based campaign activities, such as Man of the match votes and Goal of the season, can also be effective ways to activate digital sponsorships.
These activities can create a sense of community and engagement among the creator's audience, and can provide businesses with an opportunity to promote their products or services in a more organic and authentic way.
Overall, app-based campaign activities like digital banner ads, gamification, and contests can be powerful tools for activating digital sponsorships and promoting a business's products or services. By incorporating these strategies into their digital sponsorship plan, businesses can effectively reach their target audience and drive more value for their business. See some of our fan engagement examples ondigital sponsor activation.
