Fan engagement: It’s about more than sports

The evolution of fan engagement in sports at the Olympics

The Olympic Games have seen quite an evolution since the first one held in 776 BC, from cart races and olive leaf crowns to skateboard competitions and designer medals. Now a global phenomenon, the Olympic Games attract and unite fans worldwide and bring together the legacy of ancient sports—the long jump, marathon, and horse racing—with popular athletics of today.

Much has happened since 776 BC, and the needs of fans, partners, and stakeholders have evolved immeasurably. Imagine if fans of Coroebus of Elis, the winner of the first recorded Olympics, could track and congratulate him in real time from the comfort of their own city-state. Imagine women all over the world getting an alert that Hélène de Pourtalès of Switzerland, the first woman to compete at the Olympic Games in Paris 1900, was about to win a competition. It could have been a game changer to bring these moments to the world as they happened—and in today’s digitally enabled world, it’s hard to imagine all the groundbreaking moments fans may have missed in the past.

Today, most of Gen Alpha has known nothing but a digital world. Fans not only watch sports content but also engage with it. And while large-scale sporting events, teams, and leagues have taken steps to evolve with their viewers and fans, the needs of their target audiences have evolved rapidly. The good news is that the ability to create long-lasting customer relationships and communities looks very different today as shifts in insights and consumer behavior redefine the way fans enjoy sports—both at home and in person.

Today’s fans expect a personalized digital experience, and nearly 70% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand that delivers this experience than a brand that doesn’t¹. Organizations that gain a deeper understanding of their audience can secure stronger sponsorships, naming rights, and media deals². And, with a projected value of $31.4 billion in 10 years³, the global sports analytics market potentially holds huge value.

However, many sports organizations face challenges when it comes to using fan data, understanding what matters most to different audiences, and creating personalized experiences for customers. Converge™ by Deloitte for Sports has been working with our clients to change this—and while there have been vast improvements in sports experiences, there are new opportunities to enhance fan experiences and to create and serve content to the right audiences at the right time.

Transforming fan experiences during the Olympics with sports data

As the Worldwide Digital Transformation Consulting Partner, Deloitte is helping the IOC transform fan experiences with a reimagined digital engagement strategy and Fan Data Platform.

The strategy aims to ignite and sustain meaningful connections with the Olympic Movement—before, during, and after the Olympic Games—as well as open new possibilities for sports fan engagement with digital transformation capabilities and tech-driven solutions and experiences. The platform, which enables personalization of fans’ favorite athletes, teams, or sports, can keep attendees and viewers informed of key moments, updates, and highlights, and provide users with customized content, campaigns, and promotions to drive deeper connections and engagement.

Today’s fans can input their preferences for favorite sports, teams, athletes, and more, as well as where they are enjoying the experience (in person or remotely) to curate content that’s most relevant to them. Our solution also helps segment audiences based on these preferences to serve even more individualized messages, offers, and alerts. For example, if someone is a fan of gymnastics and is based in the host city, the app can alert them if tickets are available, share where to find their favorite athletes for photo ops, and offer discounts or exclusive merchandise.

Deloitte helped the IOC deploy the Fan Data Platform in time for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 with impressive engagement results from sports fans locally and worldwide. In fact, the IOC has shared record-breaking fan engagement and digital figures, including more than 12 billion engagements on Olympics social channels and approximately 300 million people using the Olympics app or website. With engagements more than double those of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and usage of the Olympic website and app higher than any previous Olympics, Paris 2024 has set high benchmarks.

In addition to the increase in audience figures, the Fan Data Platform is opening new opportunities to engage these fans with the content that matters most to them. The IOC was able to identify four key drivers for why fans connect with the Olympic Games: performance, inspiration, community, and entertainment. Having a strong understanding of what fans want to experience allows organizations to drive deeper connections with their brand. Converge by Deloitte for Sports embraces this future of fan engagement, empowering people to focus on the sports they love, the athletes they follow, and every nail-biting moment.

Contact us

Are you interested in how we can help you reimagine the future of fan engagement and create a competitive advantage for your organization? Contact us to learn how Converge by Deloitte for Sports can help.

Endnotes

¹ https://www.deloittedigital.com/content/dam/deloittedigital/us/documents/offerings/offering-20220713-personalization-pov.pdf
² https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2023/12/11/nfl.aspx?publicationSource=sbj
³ https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/12/13/2795820/0/en/Sport-Analytics-Market-is-expected-to-reach-US-31-4-billion-by-2034-Future-Market-Insights-Inc.html