Jul 8, 20203 min
A growing number of sporting entities are grappling with an ageing or even declining
fanbase which could eventually threaten their very existence. It is not just the audience
that have become more selective, media, brand and community partners are all
demanding more of rights holders. Ultimately, they want to invest in a product that
better reflects the diverse make-up of society, provide opportunity for growth and
strengthen their own relevance with the audience.
It is not a new phenomenon for rights holders to actively want to grow their
fanbase and with that, gain a greater understanding of ‘the fan’. However, there appears
to be a steady shift in the behaviours and actions of rights holders, to paraphrase the
lyrics of the Eurythmics, they are now more than ever, “doing it for themselves”. From marquee events to teams and leagues, the opportunity to securely
capture first party data and create a more dynamic structure of the rights and assets is
giving them back greater control of their product and by immediate extension, the
narrative.
Key to all of this is the fanbase - without an audience, and more importantly
without a clear plan to grow and merchandise that audience - maintaining the health and
wealth of sports is going to be an uphill battle. Solely operating on the basis that your
product or partners are enough, will inevitably lead to being left behind by competitors
and new platforms who are already starting to steal a march by broadening their appeal,
diversifying their offering and breaking down barriers to entry. However, the premise of
directly investing more into the tangible fan experience is seemingly an area that
continues for many to play second fiddle to building a network of commercial partners!
This approach seems somewhat counter-intuitive, if the fan is king and experience
is the currency of fans, then why isn’t a higher value being placed on fan experience? If
a rights holder can feasibly create a pipeline of more tangible fan touch points, both
physical and digital, the output of this would seem to naturally feed in to and leverage
the wider ecosystem of the media, brand and community partner activities and interests,
increasing their value chain.
We are starting to see some movement on this and in the past year alone, three
mainstream sports rights holders varying in size and reach have all gone out to market,
looking to re-invent their live out of stadia/event fan experience. This arm of their
business is no longer seen as a nice-to-have but it is becoming a must-do commercially, a
supplementary fan experience that can bring fans closer to the game, keep them
engaged for longer and start to build a more regular two way conversation. Creative and
relevant fan experiences that are built around the core product can provide rights holders
and their commercial partners with a complimentary platform that perfectly intersects
sport, popular culture and the media.
As more rights holders start to adopt and apply their own specific brand strategy
to how they activate through putting greater faith in the power of fans and their
experience, the broader industry will also start to reap the longer-term benefits. From
grass roots and community activations to more strategic brand partnerships, all the way
through to credible, fan centric content that will better service the digital and social
landscape.
Like brands, rights holders should be building experiences in the image of their
fanbase and the target audience, tapping more into popular culture as well as fostering
the fan behaviours and rituals that can attract new fans, create greater loyalty amongst
the avid supporters and drive advocacy so the value of their fan community continues to
grow.
The very instinctive and basic needs of fans have not changed. Sport is tribal in nature, it
plays a significant role in our lives from schools to communities and all the way up to the
elite, professional level. Therefore, at the heart of every sport’s business needs to be the
fan experience.
Against a background of unprecedented challenges, it may not feel like it, but now could
be the best time for rights holders to really interrogate how they are investing in their
fans and at the core of that, the fan experience.
Knowing the fans better through owned data is a key first step, providing them greater
access and equity in the sport can deliver more sustainable growth and stability, right
across the board. This is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but the process surely starts with
braver rights ownership. It is a process that will require increased collaboration and a
more agile suite of assets to complement the core product. Finally, it is an approach that needs to command better stewardship of how these assets are co-created with, and disseminated to, the most important people in all of this: the fans.
Rob O'Siochain is a Client Partner for TRO.