Episode Seventeen of the Fan Engagement Pod is in two parts, and is a conversation with Mario Leo, CEO of Result Sports, a Platform for Digital Media in Sports. He’s also a UEFA Grow Mentor, and a director of Digital Sports Africa and a University lecturer. 

He’s one of the leading experts in digital sports communication, but he’s undoubtedly a leading expert in communications full-stop.

This is part one, which looks at:

• How to generate loyalty via digital 
• The role of social media as a way of narrowing choices & generating loyalty for fans, but how it causes damage in other areas of society
• How Mario expects changes to the broadcasting model to escalate over the next few years as a result of Covid19
• How digital hasn’t properly integrated itself into the football club business model, and is still too focused as a broadcast media/comms function
• And how clubs can avoid pitting fans against each other (digital versus in person, abroad versus domestic). 

You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re launching some exciting new services for members only soon, so join up.

Episode Links: https://result-sports.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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Episode Seventeen of the Fan Engagement Pod is in two parts, and is a conversation with Mario Leo, CEO of Result Sports, a Platform for Digital Media in Sports. He’s also a UEFA Grow Mentor, and a director of Digital Sports Africa and a University lecturer. 

He’s one of the leading experts in digital sports communication, but he’s undoubtedly a leading expert in communications full-stop.

This is part two, which looks at:

• How CEOs/senior business managers need to be more on top of what those running social accounts are doing
• How buying cycles are shrinking, including how weather apps mean people from buying tickets.
• How clubs who aren’t listening and engaging online can’t communicate with fans about ticket availability effectively
• How clubs change from content-pushing to integrating digital as part of the business model
• How Stevenage’s sponsorship by Burger King contains both threat and opportunity
• And Mario’s book, Kaufen si Ronaldo, which is being published shortly in English 

You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re launching some exciting new services for members only soon, so join up.

Episode Links: https://result-sports.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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This one’s a bit special, and is with Gavin Megaw, Managing Director, Corporate and Brand at Hanover Communications in London, and former Director of Marketing & Communications with the EFL under Lord Mawhinney. He started out at the Conservative Party, where he held a number of senior media roles, including heading up the Party’s rapid rebuttal operation. He now advises organisations and blue chip companies and their leaders on communications and reputation. He understands intimately the critical nature of stakeholder relationships with companies and organisations.

This conversation looks at how important it is for both clubs and leagues to treat Fan Engagement as a branch of stakeholder engagement, much as he advises any other company or organisation to do, and at strategic leadership of the leagues and FA. 

Don't forget to rate us in your podcast app, and join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re launching some exciting new services for members only soon, so join up.

Episode Links: https://www.hanovercomms.com/team/gavin-megaw

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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Anthony Emmerson is Supporter Growth and Services Manager at Stoke City FC. He's a great example of someone using their insight as a fan themselves in a professional context.

Anthony takes his role incredibly seriously, and is very respectful of the important voice that fans have at Stoke specifically and at clubs everywhere. He was previously at Middlesbrough, where he started in a Community Engagement role, then took on a Fan Engagement role. He’s a native of Hartlepool, and his first love in football is of course Hartlepool United. 

Anthony’s role is not just important, but respected by Stoke City, and this is represented most clearly in the fact that he reports directly to the board of the football club, and isn’t just regarded as someone who deals with fan complaints.

You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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When we spoke, during lockdown, Dan was Marketing and Commercial Director, but is now Chief Operating Officer, and the important part that his vision has played which has seen Bohs recovery from their near-death in 2011, to being a widely respected institution in the Phippsborough area of the City itself, Ireland, and for people in football generally.

The real secret has been the dedication and passion of the fans, not least groups like the Gypsies Supporters Trust and fans and activists like Gerry Sexton. It’s truly a joint effort.

Sincerity, openness and recognising that football clubs of any type are collaborations - between those who run, own, support and sustain them - is what has led to their rebirth and growth. 

Key Insights

1. Football clubs and those who run them are not an island, and need fans to work with them, to co-create
2. Fan Engagement is also about civic and local pride, and we need institutions like Bohemians do in their local area, to act as a focal point for that
3. An obsessive focus on trophies and results is unhealthy, and doesn't build a club that is resilient, nor relationships with fans that last. Run the club as it should be run, and the effects of both winning & losing become far less extreme

Episode Links

Bohemian FC: https://bohemianfc.com

“None of us are trained in anything except kindness” https://irlfootball.com/2020/08/06/none-of-us-are-trained-in-anything-except-kindness

You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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Alan Russell is Chief Executive of SD Scotland - which has looked after supporters' trusts in Scotland since 2001, and also runs the Scottish Football Supporters Network, the voice of Scottish football fans in the game, and sits on the Scottish Football Association's Congress representing fans.

We discuss how Fan Engagement works nationally, the difference between their relationship with the SFA & SPFL and the role of Supporter Liaison Officers North of the Border. For those interested in how the Scottish game is evolving after a period of financial problems post-the collapse of Setanta, this brings some useful insight.

Key Insights

1. League bodies (the SPFL) and national bodies (the SPFA) have different priorities (Alan sometimes refers to them trading in 'different currencies', so the role of a fans body in consultation and decision-making by those organisations is different
2. The SLO role in a league structure like Scotland's is far less about liaising with fans organisations, security or policing, and more about playing a general role of engagement between fans and clubs

Episode Links:

SD Scotland: http://www.supporters-direct.scot

SFA Congress: https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish-fa/organisation/strategy-structure/who-we-are/congress/

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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This episode features Liam Scully, Chief Executive at Lincoln City FC. Liam arrived just as the club re-entered the EFL after a prolonged spell in the National League, and I'd advise revisiting Episode Four’s interview with Lincoln City Chair, Clive Nates, to remind yourself of the rebuilding job that Clive, his colleagues and subsequently, Liam Scully, had to do, and how impressive it is at all levels.

What is particularly stand out with Liam, is how thoughtful he is, and just how much you get the sense that he’s always learning, always trying to understand how to improve and do what he does better. He’s risen gradually in football, starting as a PFA/Football In the Community apprentice, who then moved into the operations side of club football. After plying his trade at Doncaster Rovers, he was chosen by Lincoln City to run the club.

Key Insights

1.Liam works on the basis of four pillars in a football club - if you can get the first three, and the final one falls into place - the playing side - you’ve hit the sweet spot! 

• Fans & first team football management
• Strong Fan Engagement & two-way dialogue between fans & club
• Club management (off pitch) & fans
• On the pitch success

2.He also points out that fans don’t want to win at all costs - winning with integrity matters more than you might think; and that fans appreciate that there’s been a process behind a decision, even if they don’t agree with the actual decision.

Episode Links

• https://www.weareimps.com/club/board-members2/board-members/liam-scully/

Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join 

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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This is a really insightful chat with Ryan Sparks, Director of Communications & Commercial at Bradford City AFC.

Ryan's background is in Rugby League, having worked for both Featherstone Rovers and city neighbours Bradford Bulls previously. As a result, Ryan learned his trade in a much tougher environment where techniques of persuasion of fans are more important to get right.

He talks about the hard yards he did at Bradford during a really difficult period at the start, and how he's taken that approach on and helped to rebuild the club's reputation around sincerity, honesty and straightforward dealing.

He's been a great exponent of taking the conversation to where the fans are - geographically as well as online - as the face of Bradford City to many fans, and has contributed a huge amount to the club's recovery as an organisation. This is evidenced in the recent virtual fans forum the club had, which was attended by several thousand fans, and broadcast live by BBC Radio Leeds, and which we've included in the links below.

He also talks a bit about pit ponies, which is more relevant than you might think. Have a listen - and don't forget to rate us in your podcast app, so others can find us.

Key Insights

1. Good Fan Engagement is about trust: can fans trust you. If the answer is 'no', go back and earn it
2. Trust in those leading your Fan Engagement is critical: City CEO Julian Rhodes has enabled Ryan to do his job by giving him the leeway to decide what works and when
3. It's always worth looking at other sports that traditionally don't have the draw of football, for good ideas. There's plenty out there to try!

Episode Links:

• Featherstone Rovers RLFC
• Bradford City AFC Virtual Fans Forum (Pt.1)

You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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This episode is a conversation with William Gaillard, until 2015 the Director of Communications & Public Affairs at UEFA. He is now a Senior Adviser at Burson Cohn & Wolfe, and also advises SD Europe and FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe).

This was a great chat that really got stuck into the big strategic issues around Fan Engagement, and why he believes that it has to be part of the structure & governance of clubs, as well as a practical way of involving fans in decision making. We even touched on 'Competitive Balance' in European football, and where the Premier League has got it right.

Key Insights

1. Good Fan Engagement is vital for the health of the game, not just individual clubs
2. The role of fans needs to be woven into the structure of clubs, not just used as a bolt-on
3. Clubs must think in terms of Fan Engagement, not Customer Service

Episode Links:

• Burson Cohn & Wolfe Sport
• SD Europe
• Football Against Racism in Europe (FARE)

And don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

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This episode is a chat with Bas Schnater. Until recently Bas worked for AZ Alkmaar in his native Netherlands, and is well regarded in the field. He's outspoken about the need to place the fan at the centre of a club.

I think what Bas does is often about trying to persuade CEOs and leaders using their own language - finance, and other finite resources - that Fan Engagement also yields a monetary return, as well as just being the right way to run a club.

We chatted about the place for data, tech-ethnographer Tricia Wang (she of the 'Thick Data' concept), and why it's important to learn from other industries about how they treat people.

Key Insights

1. Data can't solve the fundamental problem of poor relationships: In the end, good Fan Engagement takes time and listening
2. Ask, ask, ask: your fans help you direct your resources, so if you've got an idea you want to try, ask them first - survey, fans parliament or supporters' trust

Episode Links:

• Bas's Fan Engagement Consultancy: https://fanengagement.nl/
• Tricia Wang's Ted Talk on Thick Data: https://www.ted.com/talks/tricia_wang_the_human_insights_missing_from_big_data

And don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/fan-engagement-pod.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.