Harnessing data to drive fan engagement
In 2024, it’s no longer enough for sports clubs and organizers to fill large venues and award media rights to carefully-selected sponsors and broadcasters. Fans are looking for ever richer, more personalized experiences in the stadium and on their devices.
We have seen the progression of digital fan engagement this year. The UEFA EURO 2024 app offered personalized feeds and minute-by-minute updates. Fans could pick their dream teams to play fantasy football against their friends for prizes. Supporters attending the tournament could manage their tickets and make the most of their time travelling to matches, right from the app.
In the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, fans could join Le Club to get inside information on the Olympic Torch Relay and volunteer programs, tickets, and special offers. They could download the official Paris 2024 app for a personalized experience designed to bring them closer to the Games than ever before.
All sports have embraced social media channels to stay engaged with fan bases through stories, chats, quizzes, video clips and live appearances. With the advent of AI-powered customer relationship management platforms, sports organizations can now automate the delivery of highly targeted experiences any time, via any device. Through partnerships with digital media giants, they can push content and gather even more data about what fans are watching and saying. Bigger clubs now have their own mobile apps and exclusive streaming channels.
This ever-changing blend of personalized, omnichannel, on-demand and grassroots content has become the norm. So what’s next for fan engagement? And how will data help?
The shift to fan-generated content
Sports organizations and their partners already draw on huge volumes of data from registration and ticketing portals, volunteer and fan accreditation systems, and sports interest groups around the world. The arrival of generative AI (GenAI) will accelerate the shift towards increasingly fan-driven engagement. Fans will be able to curate their own individual experiences, combining the precise location, athlete, soundtrack and breathtaking, record-breaking moments of their choice.
In response, sports organizations and their stakeholders will need to adapt the way they manage data and generate content. We know that attention spans are shortening, so condensing the thrill and heightening enjoyment will be key. Given that fans are increasingly accustomed to platforms where their voices are heard, developments will continue in opinion-based gamification — such as live polling, in-app games, rewards and rankings.
Rights to exclusive content will be particularly valuable, such as a vox-pop between a star player and a superfan, or inside footage during or after the game. As this model evolves, clubs and organizers might even tap into original fan-produced content to create a collective experience that reinforces brand recognition and loyalty.
With cloud and AI, the opportunities for data-driven fan engagement are virtually limitless — fueling the passion of fans, driving revenue and shaping the nature of sport itself.
Building momentum and sustainability
Before they attend an event, GenAI will create more opportunities for fans to orchestrate their own travel plans, including fun and novel activities during their stay. Ahead of any opening ceremony, digital channels help build momentum and excitement while — with fans’ consent — deepening organizers’ understanding of individual supporters and fan communities.
This is particularly important in an era when organizers and sponsors are laser-focused on financial, environmental and social sustainability. Effective knowledge management is essential. In the future, we will witness more AI-powered processing of fan engagement data to inform important investment and event planning decisions. By understanding the habits, preferences and behavior of fans, organizers can make responsible choices about infrastructure, public safety and accommodation, such as where to locate fan zones and transport links.
Grass roots and new shoots
Once an event is over, fan engagement data still has immense value — enabling clubs and federations to forge long-lasting bonds with fans. With fans’ consent, data can be shared for sport community-building and events at a national and local level. The Terre de Jeux platform created around Paris 2024 is a good example of this. Its stated purpose is to enable everyone at all levels to experience the emotion of the Games, to build a lasting legacy and help change the lives of all French people through sport.
Every edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games looks to stay current and introduce new events. At Paris 2024, breakdancing and skateboarding were included in the competition for the first time, in part due to their popularity with younger audiences. The data collected from onsite attendance, online viewership, social media and other channels will give federations, clubs and organizers insight into how fans engaged with these new events. In the future, we may see parkour or even video gaming at the Games, with sports organizations leveraging GenAI to identify and harness new frontiers of fan engagement.
Fan experience without limits
The powerful cloud-based digital platforms required to gather, securely store, govern and leverage data for fan engagement already exist. With the recent advances in AI, there are more opportunities to innovate in blended physical and digital fan experiences. Cybersecurity and confidentiality are mission-critical; systems must be secure by design and compliant with data privacy regulations.
Externally, the governance landscape is evolving. A range of different policies and laws have been developed, including the UN AI Advisory Body and the AI Executive Order in the US. The EU AI Act, which came into force in August 2024, is hailed as the most comprehensive AI regulation in the world to date.
Working within these frameworks, there are virtually no limits for sports organizations and their partners. Data-driven fan engagement will be at the heart of every sport – fueling the passion of fans, driving revenue for the industry, and shaping the nature of sport itself.
Posted on: September 23, 2024
