Liverpool Reveals Digital Strategy At #sibc

Speaking at the Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club, Liverpool FC’s managing director Ian Ayre has outlined further plans to expand the club’s global digital offering, which will underpin its international brand and commercial development.

Speaking to a high-profile audience at BAFTA’s headquarters in London, Ayre reinforced the club’s long term strategic plan to grow its digital platforms by offering the global fan base more interactive and intuitive ways to engage with Liverpool FC.

Central to Liverpool FC’s digital expansion strategy is to deliver compelling TV and online content which is tailored to specific markets and accessible in local languages. 

Ayre shared the stage with Mark Wilf, owner and president of the Minnesota Vikings, whose team will take to the Wembley pitch on Sunday to further promote the sport in the UK.

Asked by on-stage interviewer Mark Pougatch what the strategy behind building the fanbase of the American sport was, Wilf replied: ‘If we’re going to export the sport, it needs to be real. The real players. The real teams. The real matches. Let’s do the real product and not dance around the edges, let’s do it right.’

On revenue share, a topic that Ayre has been vocal on in the past, Wilf explained that the NFL’s strategy in the area is to increase the competitiveness of the league.

The Vikings’ president elaborated: ‘It’s equal. All 32 teams have a chance of winning. There should be parity in the league, so everyone gets the same share.’

‘Every team has a salary cap too. That’s how we keep the competitiveness in the sport and it’s worked very effectively in the league.’

As part of this coordinated global digital strategy, Ian Ayre announced to the Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club members that Liverpool FC is set to launch a third dedicated local language website – this time for fans in China. As of August 2013, Liverpool FC now has more followers on social media platforms from China than any other country in the world.

Liverpool FC launched an official Weixin (WeChat) account on the first day of the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season with a mixture of audio messages in English and Chinese delivered directly to fans by players including Club captain Steven Gerrard. The new Weixin account follows the launch of an official presence on the Tencent Weibo platform in December 2012 – an account now followed by over 765,000 fans. 

Liverpool FC now has 34 official social media accounts including 17 official international Twitter profiles – 12 of which are local language accounts and five which are country specific. The Club also has an official Russian-language presence on VK.com and five international Facebook profiles localised for individual markets – making it the world’s most digitally engaged football club.

Ayre added: ‘Liverpool FC is a Premier League pioneer for innovation, brand development and international fan engagement. Central to our international brand strategy is the Club’s revolutionised digital output, which is interactive, inclusive and localised to individual territories – delivering content which is tailored to specific markets and accessible in local languages.’

‘We are one of the best known football clubs globally and it is a great source of pride that our fans come from all areas of the world. Liverpool FC wants to show its commitment to bringing the Club closer to our fans, whatever age they are wherever they may live. They are the foundation of Liverpool FC and we need to engage with them by embracing new technology and creating appealing and exciting digital content.’

‘Extending the Liverpool FC brand beyond borders and connecting with our 200 million global fans also makes good commercial sense for the Club and will help us achieve a competitive advantage on and off the field. We can create added value for our corporate partners and maximise the international commercial opportunities that benefit everyone at the Club, including the players, coaching staff and the global community of fans across the world.’

The Barclays Premier League has seen a growing number of American owners take on clubs in the last few years, and Wilf did not rule himself out of one day crossing the Atlantic again, but for now had his focus on football teams closer to home.

‘We’re business people so certainly any opportunity is one to look at and we know what a great sport soccer is. It’s a possibility one day but for now our hands are pretty full with the Vikings. We’re doing a multi-sport, billion dollar facility with the state of Minnesota. Within that deal, we actually have a right to bring a MLS franchise to Minnesota, and hopefully that might happen one day,’ added Wilf. 

The final Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club will witness a Best of British panel, that will see senior figures from major international events coming to these shores in the next few years.

The panel, on 6th November, will feature Brian Barwick, Chairman of the Rugby Football League and former CEO of the Football Association; David Grevemberg, CEO of Glasgow 2014; Debbie Jevans, CEO of England Rugby 2015 and former Director of Sport for London 2012; and Ed Warner, Chairman of UK Athletics.