Connected Fanatics
Re-defining the value of merchandise in the football industry
SaaS Design
B2B Design
Platforms
Mar 12, 2022
Overview
"Being a fan of my club means its a bond for life, in the ups and downs wins and losses" - Arsenal Fan interview no.12
The challenge
Digital disparities in fan-team interactions can leave supporters feeling fragmented. This motivated Connected Fanatics to create a centralised digital platform for fans to engage with their clubs, fostering social togetherness and community. As the lead of the design team, I collaborated with researchers, designers, and developers from across the globe to bring this vision to life.
Diving deeper into fan archetypes - my research revealed insights into true football fans and their diverse affinities.
I summarised these findings with a matrix of football fan personas derived from data from 100 global football fans and five user interviews:
Digital Fanatic;
Fantasy Fan;
Football Hipster;
Old School Fan, and the
Generational Fan
Development
UX Development Focused on Blending Physical and Digital Jersey Ownership
The flow below illustrates the jersey's digital asset mechanism. The patent-pending technology uses NFC taps to save memories onto the physical jersey, reducing waste from annual production. This approach enhances sentimentality, creating a physical and digital heirloom to pass down through generations.
Solution
LOCKEROOM is a B2B CMS platform solution for football clubs of all league sizes that enables fans to engage with their club in a centralised manner.
It uses NFC technology to unlock exclusive fan experiences and save a user’s real-life memories in their jersey’s digital twin. The platform informs all of the content in the user app as well as managing the NFC-enabled products. Within the app there are four key features:
Clubhouse: An aggregated feed that collects content from multiple squad channels (e.g. a club’s male, female and junior teams);
Community Feed: A safe space where fans can discuss trending topics within their community;
Match Day: Live stream updates of team fixtures and player activity pre and post match. This is a gated experience that can only be unlocked through the user tapping their NFC-integrated football jersey, and;
My Locker: Where all of the user's digital assets are stored. The driving force for this particular feature was the environmental footprint currently posed by the manufacture of physical jerseys.
Matt Hymers - CEO of Connected Fanatics
The result
Lockeroom, the white-label platform developed by Connected Fanatics, was launched in November 2024 with the British and Irish Lions, marking a significant step in enhancing fan engagement and digital experiences in the sporting industry.
in expected revenue boost: Initial projections suggest that digital and physical jersey sales will significantly increase due to the innovative NFC technology - Sports Insight
With the accessible NFC tech, fan interaction is projected to rise by 20%, as fans engage with exclusive digital content linked to the jersey - Irish Rugby
