With round one of the AFL footy season set to kick off this week, the Hawthorn Football Club is transforming the way they connect with their fan base by being the first club to deploy personalised interactive video technology.
Created for members and un-renewed members, as well as Facebook fans, the video enables fans to create a truly unique experience outlining their lifetime as a Hawks fan that can then be shared with friends and family.
Created by Data Creative, the innovative technology is used as a means to get current members excited about the new season, while also reconnecting with previous members and those who are yet to become a member.
The personalised video was sent via email and SMS to all existing members and un-‐renewed members from both last year and previous years, with an email then rolling out to all “fans” that contains a link to the Facebook app.
Chief executive officer and founder of data creative Renece Brewster said although video on its own is a great tool for engagement, by making a video personalised to an individual it becomes even more powerful.
“Football plays such an emotional and passionate part in many people’s lives and this will give Hawthorn the ability to really play to that before the season kicks off.
“The video uses the birth date of members and former members to create a personalised video targeted at them, while the Facebook app enables anyone to enter details to create a personalised video experience,” she said.
Personalised lifetime Hawthorn stats include winning percentage, total wins, losses and draws, total goals kicked and total premiership cups during your lifetime.
“The part we’re noticing everyone get quite competitive with is the amount of premierships won during their lifetime, as everyone wants the most trophy’s to pop up at the end!”
Membership, community and fan development manager for Hawthorn Football Club Jeremy Millard said he has never seen a campaign of this calibre throughout his decade long career in the sporting industry.
“Every year before the season kicks off we look at how we can further engage with our fans on a deeper level, but trying to cut through in this kind of market is difficult.
“This is the first year we’ve tried something different that we feel is highly innovative and that no other club in the sporting industry has done before.
“Some football clubs get savvy in the way they present statistics but they have never been presented in such a personalised way before. Besides finals, the height of emotion is really now for the fans, so being able to tap into their emotive side has helped us get such a strong response rate,” he said.
Hawthorn Football Club chief executive officer Stuart Fox said as members invest heavily in the club, it is the club’s responsibility to provide the ultimate fan experience and find innovative ways to connect with them.
“We want everyone to have a strong sense of belonging and ownership through their involvement with Hawthorn Football Club.
“We place huge importance on our fans and members and how we communicate with them on a daily basis and this campaign has enabled us to connect with our fans and members on a very unique level.
“It is the first time we have seen this level of personalisation in our communication and are excited to see the cut-‐through it generates,” said Fox.
Renece said open rates for email campaigns tend to fluctuate around 15 per cent, however previous personalised video campaigns have reached as high as 90 per cent as they connect with the audience on a deeper level.
If sport is right up your alley, you need to come along to our Ministry of Sports Marketing conference in July this year.
