Fan Intelligence: May 2017

FAN INTELLIGENCE THE BROADCAST ISSUE MAY 2017

TM

Th i s m o nt h Welcome to the first edition of Fan IntelligenceTM, Ear to the Ground's run down of the trends, movements and shifts in fan culture that should be on your radar.

This month we're looking at how the rapidly evolving world of digital broadcast is impacting the way that fans consume sport and music. We all know that brands need to adopt a comprehensive content strategy, but in the often chaotic world of digital media understanding what that strategy actually looks like has never been more difficult.

We've picked out seven items that we think illustrate how the broadcast landscape is fundamentally changing and fragmenting. From audacious record attempts to live streaming album launches to using the Amazon Echo to help keep fans up to date with their club, here's what's caught our eye in May.

#1 Nike : Breaking 2 May kicked off with Nike's hugely ambitious "moonshot" at breaking the hallowed sub 2 hour marathon, with the attempt live-streamed on the brand's social channels. Runners Lelisa Desisa, Eliud Kipchoge and Zersenay Tadese took to a 2.4km loop at the Autodromo Nazionale complex outside Monza, Italy, which according to Nike's research team possessed the optimum conditions for running the grueling 26.2 miles.

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While Nike may have just missed out on the world's first sub 2 hour marathon, the campaign shows that the brand knows the secret to a successful live stream: BIG, shareable moments.

Live streaming may be a new phenomenon in the digital space but creating old school "big event TV" still pays off when it comes to creating buzz.

#2 Arsenal launches Alexa skill to connect with fans Arsenal FC have become the first Premier League club to launch an Amazon Alexa Skill that allows fans to stream live matches. Linked to the club's digital channels the Arsenal Skill for Alexa allows fans to listen to live commentary for games as well as access line-ups, stats, pre-match build-up and post-match analysis. Fans can install the skill via their Alexa app and, once downloaded, can open it with their voice by saying "Alexa, open Arsenal" O u r v i ew

We speak a lot about the mobile and content revolution, but innovations like the Amazon Echo mean that when it comes to communicating with fans brands need to be channel (and device) agnostic. The Arsenal Alexa Skill shows that clubs and brands should always be seeking new ways to connect with their fans and always be mindful of the way they're connecting with technology.

#3 Rio Ferdinand and Calfreezy team up to launch Rebel FC Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand and YouTuber Calfreezy have teamed up to create their own football club, Rebel FC. The team will operate independently outside of existing leagues, allowing them to explore 'creative ideas' outside of the normal environment of football. The aim of Rebel FC is to give fans more intimate involvement in the football club to the extent of being able to design kits and sometimes even pick the team.

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Online content, particularly on YouTube, is fundamentally changing what it means to "follow" a club or a sport. Loving your club is not necessarily all about performance and results but about entertainment and intimacy. The rise of "social media" clubs like Rebel FC and Hashtag United offer football fans a closer look and a greater say in how they interact with the sport.

#4 Kasabian launch their new album with Twitch/Amazon music partnership Kasabian promoted their new album "For Crying Out Loud" through an exclusive partnership with live streaming platform Twitch and Amazon Video. The lad rockers played a live streamed gig at cult venue the Kentish Town Forum, playing the album in full. The band then stepped off stage to take questions from fans and have a quick game of Fifa (live streamed on Twitch, of course) before their beloved Leicester City took on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter finals.

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Having worked on crossover campaigns for UEFA, Umbro and Nike, we've always known that there is a fundamental connection between the worlds of music and sport. Add gaming and live streaming into the mix and you're able to engage with new fans across more platforms and properties than ever before.

#5 Amazon and Tough Mudder co-create original series As part of their sponsorship deal with Amazon, global endurance event Tough Mudder will create a co-branded miniseries, distributed on the US web giant's digital platforms. Under the terms of the partnership Amazon will launch a Tough Mudder online health and personal care resource which will offer customers training content, workout videos and guides featuring Tough Mudder's fitness and active lifestyle experts.

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We're seeing more brands, especially in sport, dip their toe into original online programming. What was once seen as a gimmick is now an established trend, with players like Amazon and Google searching for partners to populate their platforms with exclusive content. As long as it's part of a wider strategy, we think this could be an interesting way to provide fans an insider view of an event or sports property.

#6 Twitter partners with Live Nation to stream perfromances Twitter has inked a deal with Live Nation to exclusively stream concerts on the platform, announcing the partnership at a news conference in New York. The deal makes commercial sense for Twitter with musicians making up 7 out of the 10 most followed users on the platform. The announcement follows a number of successful partnerships including live streaming the Grammy award ceremony in February.

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With atrophying growth and slowing revenue this is Twitter's latest roll of the dice to keep eyes on the platform. We're not surprised they've gone big on live streaming music but it remains to be seen whether it can compete with the likes of Facebook, YouTube and Twitch which have long-established capabilities in live broadcast. Only time will tell...

#7 Esports ad industry to be worth $1 billion by 2021 Esports is continuing to grow in popularity, with analysts estimating advertising revenue to breach $1 billion by 2021. Recent research found that eSports was primarily an online phenomenon but some mainstream broadcasters are beginning to purchase broadcast rights to the big-ticket events. The rapid growth of the market, especially in Asia has already attracted partners, including Amazon and Google, to invest heavily in the sport.

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Already a medal event at the 2022 Asian Games, this news shows that eSports isn't an emerging quirk, but firmly part of the mainstream.

Attracting a young, tech-savvy audience in (crucially) emerging markets in Asia it's hard to see eSports' growth slowing down any time soon. Maybe it's time for established brands to start taking notice?

Key Insights 286,235 YouTube subscribers for Hashtag United (compared to only 195,000 for Spurs' channel).1

38% of young mobile users want to watch music performances and events via live streaming apps.2

150 Million regular and casual followers of eSports worldwide.3

Owen Laverty, Head of Fanatic It's fair to say that the world of broadcast is transitioning faster than most brands and organisations can keep up, especially with the emergence and mainstream acceptance of live streaming and fan-led channels. There have been significant shifts in the media landscape, but what we need to remember is that sport and music fans are not only completely in control of these changes, they are also driving them. At Fanatic we're keeping abreast of how fans are consuming content so we can help our clients innovate and adapt to an ever-changing broadcast landscape.

1 https://www.youtube.com/user/spencerbets, 2 http://blog.globalwebindex.net/chart-of-the-day/trends-2016-rise-of-live-streaming/ 3 https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/technology-media-and-telecommunications/articles/tmt-pred16-media-esports-bigger-smaller-than-you-think.html

What you can do about it So how can your brand take advantage of the broadcast revolution? Yes, live streaming might be the latest shiny digital innovation, but old school rules still apply to the way you create big content campaigns. When it comes to the new world of digital broadcast we think there are three simple rules you should always apply: 1/ Don't be channel exclusive: The digital landscape has never been as fragmented so make your content work hard across multiple platforms, applications and devices.

2/ Shoot for the stars: When it comes to live streaming it's all about moments. What's the big event that your campaign is leading up to? Is it something that your audience REALLY cares about?

3/ Intimacy means as much as performance: Fans are always looking for an "inside look". Can you give them something that they can't get elsewhere? Make sure you involve them in the action from the get-go.

About Fan Intelligence

TM

Fan IntelligenceTM is the monthly trends report from our Strategic Planning and Insight department Fanatic, helping you to understand the forces that are moving fans in sport, music and beyond. From academic research to tracking rituals, dress codes and language our aim is to understand fan psychology better than anyone else. We feed this insight into our creative team in order to create great campaigns that achieve our client goals.

If you'd like to find out more about how we can get your brand or organisation closer to sport and music fans email katrenshaw@eartotheground.org