FOOTBALL CLUB INNOVATION AWARD 2019

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club

Brighton & Hove Albion wanted to show its unwavering support for women’s football and build on the growing momentum in the sport, by starting a movement for other clubs in England to take women’s football to their Premier League and Championship football grounds.
In hosting the club’s final home FA Women’s Super League match of the 2018/19 season at the American Express Community Stadium, we hoped to attract a new audience, achieve a record top-flight crowd and at the same time encourage other clubs to do the same in future seasons.

Chelsea Football Club

Although Chelsea have developed a base of fans throughout the States scaling regional support can be challenging across the Atlantic.

In 2018/19, we set out to bridge that gap by better celebrating the rituals and behaviours U.S. fans associate with Chelsea through leveraging key cultural moments.

The Thanksgiving holiday is a secular day Americans take to give thanks for the many blessings in their lives. There was no better an opportunity for us to show sincere appreciation to our many Stateside fans and showcase to opportunity fans that we are the only club to support.

Intentionally, we wanted to recognize the diversity of our fan base and promote our message of being a club of inclusivity. We wanted a marketing initiative to engage all, urban and rural cities. Male and female. Old and young. Multi-racial. Die-hards and newcomers.

This was just one campaign across the season to demonstrate our commitment to the market and continue to improve our US fan base.

Everton Football Club

Founded in 1878, Everton Football Club is known as The People’s Club Our motto is ‘Nothing But the Best is Good Enough’ – T this is especially important when it comes our fans, who are at the heart of everything we do. Every fan’s voice is important at Everton. No matter what age, race, background or ability, we want our fans to be heard and their needs to be met.

Our All Together Now campaign, launched in December 2018, brings together players, fans, employees and visitors under the banner ‘a football family for everyone’. It is against this inclusive backdrop that we have undertaken a concerted effort to further improve our engagement with our younger fans, ensuring that they are heard and are fully enveloped in the Club’s history and ethos, with a full understanding of our values – authenticity, determination, ambition and family. As a highly ambitious club, and with exciting plans for a move to a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, we know that our younger generation of fans are the key to our future, the longevity of our values and our impact in the wider community.

Manchester United Football Club

Manchester United is one of the most recognised football teams in the world, with over 659 Million followers and 150 Million+ social media connections.

We aimed to deliver a bespoke digital platform to connect fans, partners, players and the club whilst enhancing the business impact, plus serve as the foundation for future innovation.

Built in association with our technology partner HCL, we have “Reimagined Business in Digital” for the club. Planning and implementation followed the Agile methodology, including a range of internal and external stakeholders.

A core part of The Club’s official direct to consumer app is “Match Centre” which makes innovative use of Opta live performance data through unique visualisation and graphics. This truly unique feature allows fans to follow the ebb and flow of the game live, providing an unrivalled second-screen matchday experience.

Launched in over 220 global territories, it became the most downloaded football club app in the last 12 months, reaching no.1 in the UK, no.1 in Sports categories in 89 territories and top ten in a further 58. So far it has exceeded all KPI expectations.

The innovations made and results achieved have convinced the business that it is the cornerstone of our future success.

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club

Wolves have taken an innovative approach to the world of esports. A deep review of the market and collaboration with a specialist esports agency has resulted in the recruitment of two Brazilian FIFA starlets, who have both qualified for the FIFA eWorld Cup Grand Final.

With the opportunity to reach over 260 million players, the club has successfully been able to find a new source of media exposure and revenue, which sits outside of the traditional football P&L.