BLUESLOYALTY

CASE STUDY OVERVIEW

When judging the loyalty of your fan base, it’s fair to say Birmingham City Football Clubs supporters are certainly not fair-weather fans. The St Andrews faithful have stood by the Club through thick and thin, from gaining qualification to the Europa League, to getting relegated from the Premier League. However, the club understands they must pay attention to other key segments of their fan base to secure a sustainable future.

The Blues have successfully boosted average attendance figures, fan engagement rates and team interactions with a rewards-based program that represents a first of its kind!

With a long-standing reputation for showing fans their appreciation, the ‘Blues Loyalty’ platform provides fans with access to unique experiential opportunities which continues to bring fans closer to the team than ever before...

Using Technology to Improve Fan Engagement

BACKGROUND

“We always strive to push the boundaries of CRM and engagement here at St. Andrew’s and the Blues Loyalty Portal ticks that box. It allows us to reward supporters with genuinely unique and special experiences through the redemption of their loyalty points. Some of the rewards allow supporters to part pay with cash and points which will generate commercial returns as well as aiding engagement.

“

Tom Rowell, Head of Brand & Marketing,Birmingham City Football Club

Working with 4Sight Sport & Leisure, Birmingham City Football Club have created the ultimate fan rewards program known as ‘Blues Loyalty’.

Season Ticket Holders and ‘Blues Loyalty Members’ earn 10% of points on both tickets and retail. Fans can earn points in a variety of ways, including; buying match tickets, merchandise, providing deeper profile data, attending stadium tours, opening and clicking on club emails, and even checking-in at the stadium and participating at partner locations.

In return, fans gain access to an ‘unmissable’ selection of exclusive discounts, benefits and ‘money-can’t-buy’ experiences with the club.

The money-can’t-buy experiences include upgrading to hospitality packages, autographed memorabilia or getting a photo in the dugout at St. Andrew’s. Fans also have access to club offers, exclusive benefits and discounts from local and national partners; such as Go Ape, Sea Life Centre, Warwick Castle and Nandos.

Birmingham City Football Club actively promote the program to existing Season Ticket Holders and members, in-stadium, through targeted fan emails, their online web site and via the club’s various social pages.

The portal, which is built by Green 4, is driven by the Club’s CRM system, allowing BCFC to aggregate data from a variety of transactional and interaction based sources, whilst maintaining that all important single customer view.

THE TECHNOLOGY

4Sight Sport & Leisure help BCFC manage their bespoke portal which allows Season Ticket Holders and Blues Loyalty Members to view, track and spend their loyalty points via a mobile friendly website portal.

There are lots of ways to use the portal; through BCFC lottery tickets, auctions, buy it now items and competitions. This encourages fans to use their points, ensuring points are not wasted come the end of the season.

TRANSACTIONAL SYSTEMS

TICKETS

WEB

RETAIL

Integration Services

Data Services

Loyalty Calculations

Insight Level

CorporateSales

LoyaltyRedemption(API to Retail)

eComms

RESULTS

4Sight Sport & Leisure and Green 4s bespoke loyalty platform has significantly increased fan engagement, social activity and fan spend for Birmingham City Football Club.

Revenue Increases: With the loyalty platform integrated directly in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Birmingham City are now able to measure increases in individual fan spend as well as season ticket renewals. Figures show a 500% revenue increase in total Blue’s Loyalty memberships in the past two seasons!

Ticket Spend: The average ticket spend per Blue’s Loyalty member has increased by 66%, rising from £70 to £208, from 2014/15 to 2015/16 season.

Tickets Purchased: The total number of match day tickets purchased by a Blues Loyalty member increased by 293%, from 2014/15 to 2015/16 season.

Actionable Data: CRM & data experts, 4Sight Sport & Leisure provide Birmingham City Football Club a platform which has increased total Blues Loyalty membership numbers by 625% since the 2013/14 season.

Loyalty Portal Stats: 14,218 visits, 107,158 page views, 180 seconds average session durations and 72% of all visits recorded from mobile or tablet device for the 2015/16 season.

THE ORIGINAL SPORT, LEISURE AND ATTRACTIONS CRM SPECIALISTS

GET IN TOUCH TODAY TO FIND OUT MORE

+44 (0) 8455 088 149 marketing@green4solutions.com www.green4solutions.com

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