fan engagement Archives - Performance Communications

Whilst sporting life as we know it cannot continue, professional sports teams and associations have been engaging with fans to help take their minds away from the current troubles, if only for a moment, and use the influence their players provide to drive home the #stayhome messaging.

I’ve created a top five, from professional teams and associations, that have caught my eye during the first couple of weeks of lockdown.

While some have made the news for all the wrong reasons*, everyone has had to rip up their structured content plans and start again.

My top five, in no particular order:

Rugby – Harlequins

Harlequins is providing fans with a real insight into their players’ lives with a simple but effective briefing for players to send in their videos completing their hobbies at home. Paul Lasike sang a variety of songs for Mother’s Day and has since followed up with a host of tracks – potential X Factor 2021 contender? James Chisholm, in full kit, played a game of Xbox Rugby 20 and then followed up with a post-match ‘interview’. (Harlequins beat Saracens 10-0 by the way.) Marcus Smith nailed the Toilet Roll challenge, of course he did. ? More of the same please Harlequins!

Cricket – ECB

England cricket has taken a similar mantle to Quins by providing free rein to their players to provide content to share with their followers. I’d love to know what entries weren’t deemed fit for sharing! If you didn’t already know what a character Mark Wood is before, his dance lesson leaves no doubt. Stuart Broad demonstrates his love for golf by setting a chipping challenge, Heather Knight’s push-up-to-breakdancer challenge is much more exhausting and England captain Joe Root updates fans on his guitar playing skills.

Golf – The European Tour

The European Tour asked golfers for their funniest moments on tour. Simple but very effective, almost addictive. Lee Westwood gets the nod from me at the moment for his ‘Ant or Dec’ tales from Augusta. Dougie Donnelly is a close second.

Football – Most Clubs

Good to see an abundance of clubs organising players to call their at-risk supporters to check they are OK during the Coronavirus crisis. A five-minute call can make all the difference and raise the spirits during this time. Well done Port Vale, Bournemouth, Brighton, Everton, Wolves and all the others.

Special thanks to Arsenal for providing some Invincibles’ inspired maths and English lessons to keep my son occupied while I write this.

Multi Sports – Virtual Challenges

One thing for sure is that there is no shortage of sporting challenges to tackle during lockdown, set by teams, associations and players. To name just a few, the toilet roll keep uppy #StayAtHomeChallenge has inspired thousands (my son included!). Team GB is using its athletes, including Olympic champion Max Whitlock, to provide exercise tips and workouts. And who better to fine tune your golf game than Padraig Harrington? I might shave a few shots from my score when the courses are back open.

Seph

*Seriously Liverpool, New@st1e and Tottenham, what were you thinking? At least Liverpool has since come to its senses.