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It's no secret that Man City is now an international brand and a commercial entity and the goals it is focused on aren't only the ones that hit the back of the net. It must chase revenues too and one way that it is doing this is by recognizing that it has not one, but three fan bases: the regular match goers; and the national and global armchair followers who watch the games either on a large screen or on a small mobile screen.
"One of our priorities is engaging with our fans and a significant number of these are global fans who can't experience directly the live games at the Etihad Stadium," explains Nuria Tarré, the chief marketing officer of City Football Group, the parent company of Manchester City (Man City), New York City Football Club and Melbourne City Football Club. "Finding innovative ways to engage with our fans globally and locally is very important to us and it is one of the areas where we are always experimenting."
The Amazon Prime All or Nothing: Manchester City documentary, where the Club let a camera crew get behind the scenes of its '17/'18 season, was one new way that the Club helped to open itself up to its local and worldwide audiences. "The Amazon documentary changed the rules of how content can be captured and used to engage a global audience," highlights Tarré.
The Man City Cityzens digital membership platform was also relaunched last year with a greater focus on rewarding fans and providing them with exclusive and individualized experiences. "When you become a member you receive a personalized video and a personalized welcome message from our coach Pep Guardiola," reveals Tarré to illustrate just how tech can individualize content.
"We also experiment a lot with augmented reality and virtual reality (VR) 360 videos," she adds. "We were one of the first clubs to launch a VR app, and this season, as part of our winning moment's celebrations, we had 360 videos and VR operations on the top of the parade bus, so that fans who couldn't be there in person could connect live and almost feel that they were on the top of the bus carrying the trophy."
There is a drive to nurture the next generation of fans too. A new free app-based platform Man City Kids, offering content tailored to Man City's youngest fans, was launched in April 2018. "This app is aimed at pre-social media children, aged between 7 and 11," explains Tarré.
"It features fun content that we capture across the Club, but with a tone of voice, graphics and designs that are very much targeted at children. It provides a safe environment for parents and for kids. Instead of allowing children to post their own comments, for example, they can only comment using emojis.
"The content that we give children becomes part of the know-how that they use as part of their social currency in the playground. By providing children with additional content that is very much targeted at them we develop a much deeper engagement with these children and the next generation of City fans."
In the future, technology will be used to customize the game even further for specific fan bases. Real-time customized highlights of games, personalized highlights, analysis and stats are not far off.
"I truly believe in using technology to bring the right content to the right fans to serve better their needs," says Tarré. "Being able to differentiate the content we push, whether we know you are going to be coming to the game and we can help you in bringing traffic information, for example; or, if we know that you are watching the game, say from China, we would be suggesting other ways to engage with the game on the day, even where to watch it depending on the city that you are in."
While the fans have their eyes on their games, whether it's live or via a screen, the Club is watching them to see how it can continue to improve their viewing experience.
