In the sport sector, we are seeing digital transformation efforts targeted at gathering and efficiently categorising personal, behavioural and demographic data – for example, into fans who want to see men’s first team content, or women’s first team content, or concerts and other third-party events, or partner offers, or merchandise, and so on (or a combination of any of the above) – as organisations look to leverage the swathes of information at their fingertips. Where this information can be utilised efficiently, the benefits are obvious:

1. Develop a deeper understanding of your audience – and reach new ones.
2. Maintain existing relationships by building more meaningful connections with fans and participants through more personalised ads and content.
3. Use insights to predict and spot future opportunities, showcase value to prospective partners and drive internal efficiencies.
4. Demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements, such as UK data protection laws, more efficiently.

To reap those benefits, organisations need the right building blocks in place to really take their fan engagement to the next level. As an organisation, it is crucial to understand:

• The importance of interoperability and avoiding contracting “own goals”.
• How to stay ahead of the game with a compliant data collection strategy.
• What is consent in respect of direct marketing and how to compliantly collect it.

Interoperability and the avoidance of contracting “own goals”

You may have asked yourself, what is interoperability? Put simply, this is the ability of computer systems or software to exchange and make use of information between existing systems and other new systems. It’s critical that new technologies integrate seamlessly with the existing ecosystem. Failure to do this can result in your organisation not being capable of using the technology to its full potential; this can mean accepting certain (unplanned) limitations or incurring extra spend to fix the problem.

Accordingly, when you are implementing any new tech solution or tool, it is always important to:

1. Consider whether a trial period is necessary to fully understand the solution.
2. Understand what solutions you already have in place.
3. Ascertain the requirements (if any) for connection with existing solutions or other new solutions.
4. Particularise the deadlines for any implementation and connection with existing or other new solutions.
5. Detail the consequences and remediation of any failed implementation and connection.

Staying ahead of the game with a complaint data collection strategy

In order to build and maintain their own audience databases, clubs are consciously collecting data from fans, customers and visitors in numerous ways – be that ways you commonly expect (e.g. surveys, reviews, promotions and mailing lists, to name a few), or new, inventive ways (e.g. sign-ups to receive personalised birthday messages from their favourite current or former player).

The organisations that are doing this really well give advance consideration to the different categories of data it wishes to collect and, crucially, develop a business-wide strategy to best harness that data.

For a football club, this may mean identifying opportunities (current or future) to enhance their offering to fans – whether that be:

• drawing their attention to news relating to the club’s women’s team, third-party events (such as concerts) it is hosting or its charitable foundation’s latest initiatives;
• offering personalised purchasing opportunities – for example, in-stadium or at the retail store – that are tailored based on that supporter’s preferences (such as a favourite player); or
• telling them about key partnerships/sponsors that they may be interested in and their activities.

Once these objectives are established, a strategy can help navigate the requisite tech solutions and systems as well as identify where data protection compliance steps should be taken (for example, obtaining express marketing consents).

Laying the foundations at the outset will allow you to better understand your fan or customer base and show greater value to prospective partners by demonstrating why your organisation is the right fit. Experience shows that failure to do this can make it very difficult and costly to rectify or reconcile at a later date.

Consent: receive, record, and refresh – Being conscious of the rules around direct electronic marketing

As an organisation’s fan/customer database grows, so do the opportunities to send marketing-related communications. Before sending any direct marketing to individuals, it is (in the majority of circumstances) important that you receive the express and clear consent from that individual. That means the individual actively provides their permission to receive marketing from you. For example, this may look like ticking a box or filling out an e-form.

Likewise, it is also important for an organisation to:

1. Keep a clear record of these consents and ensure your database clearly outlines what can be marketed to particular individuals.
2. Regularly refresh these consents from time to time to ensure that they are up-to-date.

Getting this wrong can have financial as well as reputational consequences to your organisation. By sending marketing to an individual who has not consented to receive such marketing may make your organisation liable for:

• A fine up to £500,000.
• A fine up to the greater of either £17.5m or 4% of the organisation’s global turnover.
• A publicly made reprimand, enforcement notice or action by the ICO.

It can be difficult sometimes navigating these waters of procuring a tech solution which will meet the needs of your organisation on balanced terms and conditions. Similarly, it is equally hard ensuring that your organisation is meeting the requirements when it comes to collecting and organising marketing consents and following the rules relating to direct electronic marketing. Luke Jackson or Kyran Clarke in the Sports Tech & Data Team are able to provide thorough advice on all elements of procurement of tech solutions as well as compliance with UK data protection laws and the requirements surrounding direct electronic marketing.