Why free to play gaming is an untapped fan engagement tool

With the advancement of technology Sports properties and clubs rely heavily on utilizing the latest fan engagement innovations and this is done with the objective of connecting with fans. In order to attract and retain a large potential audience, clubs have an array of innovative fan engagement tools to choose from however the most cost-effective way of encouraging fan engagement is through the use of free playing games.

Recognizing the value of free to play products

In order to meet the demands of modern fans, clubs have a wide range of tools and platforms which they can use. Game-powered content that focuses on team statistics and video highlights plays a central role in how clubs engage and interact with fans.

With a sharp rise in fan expectation and competition among clubs to draw a larger audience, right holders have invested in creating free-to-play games. Free-to-play games provide a year-round long content cycle that tests and gamifies the fan’s knowledge at each stage of the season hence clubs can choose to create daily and season-long fantasy platforms or they choose to create lighter touch products such as predictor games etc.

Free-to-play games ask fans to predict the results of upcoming matches or the end of the season standings in the table. The clubs can utilize historic data to test fans’ knowledge about a specific competition such as who is the all-time top scorer of the competition, which team has accumulated the most points in a single season or who has the most assists in a single campaign etc. By incentivizing their fans with rewards and other prizes, the club can create a more immersive fan engagement experience.

Developing a deeper understanding with fans

Personalization plays a pivotal role in determining how a club delivers a compelling value-based product to its fans. With the intention of retaining a user’s attention, personalization is a tool that can be used effectively.

The one way through which respective clubs can understand the behavior of their fans is through the acquisition of first-party data and this can be achieved with the help of interactive fan engagement tools.

Free-to-play games is another avenue through which fans can test their knowledge, challenge their friends, share opinions and compete for prizes and other rewards. Avenues like this offer strong incentives for exchanging key user data such as email addresses or locations.

When fans create their own account on the platform, they usually provide additional information such as their favorite team or competition, etc. The facilitation of this data would help in having a better understanding of fan behavior.

The more time they spend on the platform, the more data the league can extract hence they would have a better idea of how to personalize the end product.

Democratizing the fan engagement landscape

Irrespective of a club’s audience size or existing fan engagement capabilities, right holders can take the decision to deploy free-to-play games in order to create a more meaningful connection with their fans.

Learn more about City Football groups fan engagement strategies