It’s no secret that the digital transformation is changing the way sport markets itself to fans. It doesn’t matter whether you are a small operation still developing a communications roadmap, or the Olympic Games and reach billions of supporters worldwide, investment in the organisation’s digital footprint is fundamental to sustainable growth across your business.
If you consider that the majority of fans – and especially Gen Z’s digital natives – engage with content via mobile, it would be hard to believe that any team, league, or federation isn’t looking to migrate their operations online. Whether that’s in-house or via a third-party consultant, make no mistake, there is a lot to be gained from making the transition.
However, there are still several barriers holding businesses back on this journey. One of the primary concerns among directors is return-on-investment (ROI) and whether they have the necessary capital to integrate a dedicated digital workforce. The other is whether your organisation has the existing infrastructure to go fully digital. They are both valid questions.
Nevertheless, when you consider the opportunities available to the business long-term, the investment you make now could have a dramatic and positive impact on your fan relationship, the basis of sport as we know it. By adopting a cloud-based infrastructure that captures customer data in real-time, you unlock new revenue streams that were previously unattainable.
Among the most exciting is the chance to grow an ecommerce offering, and one which allows the fan to pre-order tickets, food and beverages, merchandise, and other venue amenities at the click of a button, ready to collect upon arrival at the venue. In addition to great customer service, this also collates valuable data which your organisation can use to tailor the individual fan experience based on their personal interests and individual needs.
The investment you make now could have a dramatic and positive impact on your fan relationship
Christiaan Page, Legacy Sport co-founder
Furthermore, if the dataset is captured in-house by your very own digital strategy team, those fan engagements become part of your organisation’s digital legacy and will help the rights owner to build stronger links with fans on a global scale and establish loyalty among members going forward. It sounds technical but, simply put, digital transformation removes limitations on your ability to market to fans, both close to home and in overseas territories.
A good example of this is the work going on behind the scenes at Volleyball World (FIVB), the sport’s global governing body, which continues to accelerate its digital transformation and grow its social media presence. In response to the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, this strategy also saw fans receive unlimited access to the federation’s Volleyball TV over-the-top (OTT) streaming service and presented an opportunity to stay connected with audiences and to keep them engaged during challenging times.
While this model gives FIVB greater control over the sport’s relationship with fans, this also draws inspiration from the IOC’s Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which puts forward recommendations for the development of all digital transformations at federation and national governing body (NGB) level, including the growth around digital engagement with spectators.
In a similar fashion, the International Olympics Committee (IOC) recently launched its own new-look Olympics.com website, which now houses all Games-related content, including its popular Olympic Channel OTT service.
As a result, fans are now able to personalise their Olympic experience all under one roof, helping to grow the IOC’s engagement between subscribers and its TOP sponsors. In return, the Olympics evolving digital transformation presents a “one-stop-shop” for all Olympics content, and drives value for the athletes, stakeholders, and fans as part of a truly digital experience.
Words by Christiaan Page, with the collaboration of Steven Impey. Image courtesy of Imago.
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