Build up the experience and the fans will come
“It’s an opportunity to get some of the best sports marketing in the world to Ireland, and to Kilkenny in particular,” says Keane.
“I’m a Kilkenny man and have my business here, and I think it’s great to have events outside Dublin. We have great industry in the country in the sports tech area, outside Dublin as well as Dublin, and it’s a great chance for them to present what they do.”
The clue’s in the title: fan engagement is the theme of the conference.
“It takes two angles - it’s not a ‘content is king’ kind of conference, I like to have panels and to have multiple sports on those panels. I like having rugby, GAA and Premier League representatives on a panel to share their experiences of trying to engage fans on match day.
“We live in an era where it’s not enough to just go to a game, people want an experience, and it’s good to understand what’s going right and what’s going wrong for them — warts and all, confession-box approach to what these organisations are doing on social media and on match day to give fans that experience.
“We have panellists coming from Germany, Hungary and the UK, for instance, and we explain about the GAA, how it’s a more community-based approach - but at the end of the day the GAA still wants its stadia full of fans.
“The way to do so is to understand your fans and to engage with them and to give them a good product, whether it’s Kilkenny-Tipperary or Mayo-Dublin. If you go back to the GAA itself, look at some of the things it does during the leagues: bands before games, double-headers. That all adds to the experience.”
Keane goes further with examples of how sport engages with followers.
“Look at AIB and what they’ve done with The Toughest Trade. What is that? It’s a bank which has partnered with the biggest sporting organisation in Ireland and leveraging off the people in that organisation, creating awareness of its brand.
“Brands want relationships with the fans, and who owns those fans? Not physically, maybe, but it’s the sporting organisations. Look at Aer Lingus with the Irish rugby team, Supervalu with the GAA - name all the top brands and they’re all working across sports because that’s where the fans are.”
Though one might imagine professional sports push the envelope on engagement, Keane says “you’d be surprised” by what happens even in elite organisations.
“I’ve been in Premier League clubs and the message has been a senior member of the board saying, ‘I’m not on Facebook, so that doesn’t bother me’ - but you also have Irish clubs wanting to break down their fan base so they can understand who they are and segment their audience. My view is you, and I might both be GAA fans, but I could be someone who gets his three kids to a big game early, they all buy scarves and hats at the ground, while you might be someone who has a couple of pints with your pals before strolling to the game.
“Those are two very different experiences, but unless clubs or organisations understand that, the psyche of fans, you can’t tailor the experience. In the above scenario, there’s no point in sending you an invitation to come to the GAA Museum, because you’re not that kind of fan.”
There’s always a way to engage supporters, he adds.
“One of the best stories I heard in the last year came from a Dubliner in Norway, who said the Norwegian FA looked at its international team and the match-day experience.
“They’d developed the theme of ‘we’re the underdog, so everyone has to get behind us’. How do you do that? By evoking pride, by making everybody feel they’re part of it. So they changed the music in the stadium from pop songs which didn’t resonate with the Norwegian fans to Norwegian songs which build to a crescendo all the way to the national anthems before the kick-off, so the supporters are stoked by the time the game begins.”
The final line-up of attendees has yet to be revealed in full, but Keane can offer a quick list that should entice those thinking of making a trip to Kilkenny.
“From Germany, we have Mario Leo of Resultsport, who work with the likes of Juventus, Stuart Rose, head of digital for Sunderland FC, Mark Brooks of Belfast Giants, Jeramie McPeek of the Phoenix Suns - who was also on the Super Bowl committee for Houston this year.
“Barry Cunningham is coming down from the IRFU, and Ben Smith, formerly of the BBC, is also coming, as is Ben Wells, former head of marketing of Chelsea, and Joaquim Cardona, former head of digital with Barcelona. There are some fantastic speakers coming, we’re really looking forward to it.”
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