But just like in the business world, Bayern Munich also has to contend with competition. Not so much from other clubs, because if you are a fan of one club, you are not likely to switch to another. But from other forms of online spending, such as Netflix. In order to bind its international fan base as strongly as possible, the club focuses on a distinctive digital experience and is therefore a global leader.
Fan experience
In order to further improve this experience in the near future, Bayern Munich held an international hackathon together with the Technical University of Munich at the end of January . Tech and football enthusiasts from 42 countries came together in the Allianz Arena in Munich to work on new fan experiences for four days . The football club wrote seven challenges, each focusing on a different part of the fan experience. From the living room to the road to the stadium, to the experience in the stadium itself.
Watching linear football vs. social media
Before the hackers got to work, various speakers explained the challenges that a football club faces in the current era. The biggest challenge is that linear viewing of a football match via television is decreasing. Social media is becoming increasingly important in the way fans experience the match.
During and around a match, a huge number of messages are shared via Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc., and the fan experience is increasingly determined by social posts such as memes that fans share among themselves. In this way, the viewers at home are simultaneously in direct contact with the people in the stadium. How the stadium audience shares its experience is therefore becoming increasingly important for the club – and for the sponsors who are a major source of income. No wonder that Bayern Munich's largest sponsors, including Audi, Siemens, SAP and Adidas, also participated in the hackathon.
Gamification of football
Another trend that emerged is the gamification of football. Game developers used to do their best to make football games like Fifa and Pro Evolution Soccer look as close to reality as possible. Now reality is starting to look more and more like those same games. With the introduction of new camera perspectives like the referee korean phone number whatsapp cam , the match images are starting to look more and more like a game. Of course also because the graphics are getting better and better.
A third trend is that the time frame in which fans search for information online about a certain match is becoming increasingly limited. Due to the abundance of information that young people in particular are exposed to, there is soon something else that gets more attention than the last match. This is something that both the club, sponsors and football media have to take into account.
FC Bayern Munich hackathon
To stimulate the creativity of the participants, the organization had put together a hardware library that every tech lover would drool over. From hololenses , raspberry pi’s and the most diverse sensors to drones and smart footballs : everything was available to create the perfect digital fan experience.
Also read: What the football world can learn from Twitter
Other options that were available (among others.