How do marketers perceive fan engagement, how do fans and brands benefit from it? AUTHENTICITY, LOYALTY and DIALOGUE are attributes often mentioned. Build your own opinion and share any best practices with the author.

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Helps building your ideas about what fan engagement can
mean for your business and different stakeholders. Enjoy.
Yes Occasionally No
Responses 94.29% 5.71% 0.00%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SPORTS?
Yes Occasionally No
Responses 91.43% 11.43% 0.00%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
DO YOU FOLLOW ANY SPORTS
ONLINE AND ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
Yes Occasionally No
Responses 62.86% 14.29% 22.86%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
DO YOU WORK IN SPORTS?
*A short survey on Fan Engagement

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Q. For quite some time, fan engagement has become
a buzzword in the sports world. How do you define
fan engagement in your own words?
Top takeaways:
Combination of online and offline interactions
Bring fans closer to the sport, reward their passion, create a
sense of belonging
Engage fans through their love of the sport, qualitative
relationship. Improve, increase and intensify the relationship with
fans.
Compelling experiences to users who are willing to invest their
time, data or money into
Make the fans feel part of it, listen to them, give them a voice
Real deep fan engagement is not for sale

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Q. What are the benefits of fan engagement for both
fans and a company running it?
For fans
For brands

4. 4 | 7
Q. What are the 3 key ingredients to make fan
engagement work?
Top three most mentions:
1. Understand your audience 2. Value added experience 3. Key business priority
Authenticity Access to assets Respect fan culture
Social Media Transparency
Feedback/two way comms Fan-centric
Honesty Data driven
Commitment
Innovation
Listening
Creative content
Rewards
Listen

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Q. Can you think of no-go's in relation to fan
engagement?
Top three most mentions:
1. commercialisation 2. Unequal chance 3. Overdoing it
pay-to-join
cynical

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Q. Any best practice examples of fan engagement
project you want to share?
Social content from USWNT FIFA WWC.
Inter Miami storytelling to build a
community of fans for a club just created.
Keeping us fans close to the action.
There should be provision in the future
for a Fan based committee with a
representative to put forward ideas,
thoughts and opinions on how to make
Football a better experience for all no
matter how they engage.
Ajax Amsterdam social media.
adidas tango league series.
Chinatown Invitational.
The Australian Football League (AFL)
has delivered a series of fan activities
and studies which actively engage
juniors and women to source
information and then integrate in to
future activations.
Dutch football clubs.
Chennai Super Kings in IPL.
Man City.
FIFA Stadium DJ and Russia World Cup
- bringing fans from all over the world
together.
Fantasy sport is the ultimate fan
engagement tool (e.g. FPL).
FIFA Fan Fest.
AS Roma and Swahili Twitter channel. Follow Blair Hughes.
Real Madrid. AZ Alkmaar.
Super Bowl Experience – NFL. The Absa Pride at the Absa Cape Epic.
Lewes FC. Build growth around beliefs &
principles & create experiences to reflect
them.
Fanzones provided by many
Scandinavian football clubs.
FIFA Fan Movement. Enabling young fans to generate
content through the clubs content.
Great way for clubs to engage with
fans and create the next generation of
lifelong fans.
“Sonho de Garoto” 2014 FWC project. The Bundesliga.
FIFA Fan focus group - a great example
that is still evolving and continuing.
TRFC SLOs, Trust and Supporters Clubs
- murals, banners and all round
improved young fan experience.
A giant good luck postcard which children
use to send messages to the team which is
then delivered to the dressing room pre-
match by a couple of the children.
Brentford FC in the EFL who have a
young fan from both clubs announcing
their respective teams over the PA
before every game.

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Appendix
o Informally shared on LinkedIn and Twitter in Q4 2019
o Total number of respondents 35
o 70% male, 30% female
Feel free to share any comments or input with the author.
Sandra Stucki