Digital Transformation - Fraser Read, Head of Consumer at BlackBurn Rovers Football Club
Amidst the evolving landscape, the traditional approach of clubs relying on video rights, player trades, and ticketing has encountered a significant setback. The disruption of these conventional revenue sources has prompted clubs to seek new avenues. In response, digital transformation has risen as a pivotal solution for football clubs. It not only facilitates rapid growth in specific domains but also introduces fresh revenue streams.
This strategic shift isn't exclusive to industry-leading clubs; it resonates across every sports organisation, regardless of their developmental stage. Through this series of articles, our aim is to spotlight the proactive initiatives and projects undertaken by diverse clubs within the sports ecosystem. By illuminating these endeavours, our goal is to provide insights into the various ways digital transformation is shaping the future trajectory of sports organisations.
Digital Transformation at Blackburn Rovers Football Club
How is digital transformation perceived at Blackburn and how do you ensure successful implementation in all operations? How is the digital acculturation within a club and to what extent has it been accepted by the club’s employees?
Football is a very traditional sport and thus the staff tend to have a more traditional mindset. As we have filtered down more modern, digital activations, the culture has begun to shift to a mindset which is open to utilising technology and digital channels in all departments. There is still plenty of room to improve and continue to push the boundaries but it will be a collective effort to get there.
By that, I mean all departments have to buy into what we are trying to achieve and promote through digital activations - which is increased engaging content, a return on objectives for the associated brand and sponsorship revenue for the Club. Our commercial team need confidence and understanding in the digital 'products' to be able to effectively sell them. Our marketing team need to be able to utilise our current or new content to support the sponsors objectives and our media team need to be committed to delivering when publishing content.
Having worked in English Football for over 5 years now, can you share some insights on how digital transformation has impacted the landscape of football club marketing, especially in England?
As mentioned, tradition has allowed football to relax and avoid embracing change as quickly as other industries. The pandemic accelerated sport and football into a more digital mindset and this has continued hereafter. Clubs have gone from a traditional first approach to a digital first approach, changing their priorities to suit the consumer/supporter and partner brands.
What challenges have you encountered while integrating digital solutions in a traditional sports environment? How were these challenges overcome?
The biggest challenge is converting supporters who have staunch habits. The approach we take is to educate and demonstrate how they can enhance their experience by moving more digitally. We use video-guides, FAQs and have staff available to support this transition and it seems to be working.
How has data analytics and digital insights influenced decision-making processes within the marketing department of the club?
We monitor a wide range of metrics to evaluate our success. Our most used metrics are impressions (to gauge eyeballs on a product/sponsor), engagement (to assess how well we have activated the content) and media value (how much monetary value do those two metrics combine to create and how does this stack up as a ROI for the sponsor). We also look at new vs returning users to see how our content impacts our audience and how that then feeds back into our future strategy.
Understanding our audience means we can develop our strategy and base decisions on what we know as fact, rather than what we anticipate based on previous experience. We use tools like Horizm and Google Analytics to monitor base figures and behaviour which gives us a data-led approach to what we do.
Virtual Reality Kit Launch in collaboration with partners Rezzil
The digital landscape is constantly evolving. How do you ensure that Blackburn Rovers stays adaptable and continues to adopt new technologies and trends effectively?
Working with innovative partners helps. Utilising our platform providers who can support us in being at the cutting edge of digital transformation allows us more time to analyse and use the data rather than trying to collect it.
We are currently in our second season with a partner called 'That Prize Guy'. They started off as a relatively simple sponsor last season with a smaller investment and after seeing positive results based upon the metrics previously mentioned, they have upped their investment and increase their activity with the Club.
We regularly review our partnerships to ensure they are serving us to our requirements and we like to review roadmaps each year to see where development and progress can be made.
Blackburn Rovers is one of the founding clubs of the Premier League. As digital transformation continues to evolve, how do you maintain a balance between innovation and maintaining the club's rich historical legacy and traditions?
The Club is steeped in tradition and we need to lean into that. Using digital doesn’t take away from our past but I believe it helps us to tell our stories to a wider audience in many different formats, based on reliable data informing our strategy for doing so. Our three recent kit launches went from celebrating the famous blue and white halves of our kit which have stood the test of time, through to launching in a virtual reality world with partners Rezzil, a VR company who have supported us with in-person gameplay opportunities with multiple departments, rehabilitation programmes for players and our popular kit launch concept. - that’s the blend we try and bring to campaigns throughout each season and across all departments.
Blackburn Rovers - 3rd Kit: Season 2023/2024
The global reach of English Football presents unique challenges. How do you tailor your digital strategies to cater to both local and international fan bases of Blackburn Rovers?
Local audiences need to feel connected to the Club in a very tangible way. We play in the stadium, the experiences and the feeling that is evoked when engaging with the Club on a local basis. Internationally, we draw on our connections to players from various nations, the importance of supporters watching and supporting from abroad, and we make a lot of content and activities accessible wherever a fan is based. We are better at engaging a local audience, but are always looking to strengthen our ties overseas.
Fan engagement extends beyond matchdays. What key strategies has Blackburn Rovers implemented to leverage digital platforms and technologies for fan engagement and outreach to maintain a continuous connection with fans?
Social media is the most obvious and creating engaging content which entertains and informs is key. We use quizzes, video content and our comment sections as key drivers for this, aiming to be social-first in everything we do. We also value the user experience across our commercial channels too so we have to ensure that the purchase process is smooth for our range of commercial products from retail to ticketing. User experience is king.
What pieces of advice would you like to give to football clubs or any digital manager who wants to start their digital transformation journey?
The best way to start is to research and audit. Research what other industry leaders are doing and how they are approaching it - don’t copy as this will appear disingenuous, but take inspiration and mould good strategic ideas into your Club’s core values and ideologies.
Auditing happens from within and requires you to assess your own data and numbers to see what works and what doesn’t. If you can’t give the fans what they want, when they want it in the format they want it in, you’re never going to make progress. Start with those two areas, and build slowly but surely.
Blackburn Rovers Away Jersey - Season 2023/2024
How do you envision the role of digital communication in sport governing bodies evolving over the next 5–10 years?
I think brands can be as big and innovative as they want, but they need to remain loyal to their brand values. Create content, develop digital strategies, enhance user journey as much as possible but ensure that you do it in a genuine way with evidence based decision making. Many more opportunities will arise in the next few years but knowing which will resonate with your audience is hugely important for success.
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