The Fan Engagement Pod

Episode 26 of the Fan Engagement Pod is a chat with Wycombe Wanderers Head of Media, Matt Cecil.We looked at whether being a fan of a club like him is beneficial in roles like his, how he focuses on what the numbers tell him, and how not to spend too much time reading Twitter or messageboards.We also chat about how he’s moved seamlessly between three different models of ownership, helping the transition between each and how things changed. former Cronulla Sharks, Wycombe and Notts County's Damian Irvine, interviewed in Episode 19, talked about Matt as someone he admires professionally.Don’t forget we’ve got the new Bas Chat launching this coming Thursday, and every last Thursday of the month. We take a particular look at activations, sponsorships and partnerships between brands and rights holders with a real expert in the field..Listen via the usual channels.You can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.

Welcome to a new, monthly episode of the Fan Engagement Pod which we call Bas Chat, where Kevin Rye and new co-host, Bas Schnater, go into more detail about Fan Engagement, tapping into Bas’s vast knowledge of what’s happening in Fan Engagement now. We take a particular look at activations, sponsorships and partnerships between brands and rights holders. I’m hoping to pick up some new ideas and learn from one of the best in the business.It’ll be out on the last Thursday of every month.We’ll still be publishing the usual Pod with a different guest each Tuesday, and find out about their approach to Fan Engagement, what motivates them to do it the way they do, and why.Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.If you want to find out more about the title track to this episode, it’s called Exotica, and is by the Juanitos. You can find their albums at freemusicarchive.org/music/Juanitos#contact-artist

Episode 25 of the Fan Engagement Pod is an interview with the CEO of Rugby League club, Warrington Wolves, Karl Fitzpatrick. Warrington is itself close to football hotbeds, Manchester and Liverpool, so you can’t just do ‘more of the same’.Under Karl they’ve become known for their innovative approach to marketing a sport and a club that has to work far harder than football for eyeballs and money. He manages to walk the fine line between the club as an institution with stakeholders, and an entertainment product that needs to excite people.He’s had a really interesting career to date, having played Rugby League professionally for Widnes and then Salford City Reds between 2000 and 2010, then studied for an MBA, worked on the playing side, eventually becoming football manager at Warrington, then CEO in 2016.Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.Episode Links:Warrington Wolves RLFC

Welcome to Episode 24 of the Fan Engagement Pod, and this is a bit of a special: it’s a pretty free-ranging conversation between myself and Paul Musa, who runs the What the Footie podcast, with this episode published by both What the Footie, and the Fan Insights Fan Engagement Pod.Paul’s podcast was set up to help crack open some of the secrets in the game, and is worth a listen: he looks at loads of issues around player trading, club ownership, finance, governance, and broadcasting - a real mixture.Paul’s podcast series clearly reflects him as a person with an eclectic background, and it’s worth taking a look at his LinkedIn page to see what he’s been up to for the last few years, including a recent move into law, as well as the Young Entrepreneurs Foundation. His LinkedIn page is below in the Episode Links.We touch on a lot of Fan Engagement issues such as the 50%+1 rule, the role of supporters’ trusts, who does Fan Engagement well, as well as project Big Picture, Fulham’s player trading, Premflix and on-demand services and how the FA does and doesn’t get involved in regulating clubs.I really enjoyed this episode, which you can tell I’m sure, so have a listen.Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.Episode Links:What the Footie podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/what-the-footie-podcast/id1497422772Paul Musa’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-musa-a6a958105/

We return this episode to football activism, in a chat with Niall Couper, Head of Media, PR and Supporter Communications for Amnesty International UK, playing an important role to promote activism in the UK.It’s critical for anyone running a club or working in football in a Fan Engagement role to understand how activists think and work, which make this, and Episode 6, with Fulham, Spurs and Liverpool activists, required listening. The word ‘activist’ can make some people quite uncomfortable, and that’s why understanding that they’re just people, like you and me, who decide to do something to change a situation is so important.Aside from being a former sports journalist at the Independent, Niall is also something of a football activist. A Wimbledon fan, he ran the media campaign for the Plough Lane Bond earlier this year that raised £5.5m in a matter of weeks, completing Wimbledon’s new stadium at Plough Lane. He also co-founded and ran the alternative programme, Yellow & Blue, which Wimbledon fans published during their campaign against being franchised to Milton Keynes in 2001/2002, outselling the official programme by a reputed 3-1.We talk about how you don’t change people’s minds by shouting, how football fans are not outsiders, and how you should never be scared of taking on the big boys. We also touch, briefly, on Amnesty’s work around the attempted takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi consortium.Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.Episode Links: The Plough Lane Bond: https://ploughlanebond.com/Introducing Yellow and Blue, the alternative matchday programme for Wimbledon fans (2002): https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/sep/06/footballfanzines.sport1

Episode 22 of the Fan Engagement Pod is with Julian Tagg, Club President and Director of External Affairs at Exeter City FC - the club that finished top of the first Fan Engagement Index in 2019. The 2020 edition will be out in the next couple of months.He talks about the challenge of operating what are in effect several businesses in one, resilience, whilst keeping fans involved and committed. Although their fan-ownership model is of course critical to their culture, they do I think they share similar characteristics with other clubs like Norwich City, because of their culture of Fan Engagement and involvement in decision making, something that has been as critical in keeping the show on the road during some quite difficult times.I had a lot of fun recording this, as we really dug into the way that Exeter do things. Fan-owned since 2003, in my view they have avoided a lot of the pitfalls of other fan-owned clubs, and learned a huge amount from their own mistakes - and those of other clubs - and grown up as a result. They project a sense of confidence, determination, but with modesty. I think all clubs, from Premier League or National League, could do a lot worse than spend time talking to them.Julian’s a hugely impressive character, and his expertise in Sports Psychology has undoubtedly played a big part in what he does and how he approaches things - particularly relationships with fans. He’s held the roles of Chairman and CEO, as well as his current role.Don’t forget you can join the Fan Engagement Network at faninsights.co.uk/network/join We’re introducing some exclusive member services soon.Episode Links: Fan Engagement during Covid19