Supporter Engagement Program Assignment

Running head: MARKETING
King power Tasks (Supporter Engagement Program)
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Fan Experience as a LCFC supporter.........................................................................................3
Key drivers of Fan experience...................................................................................................4
Development of a proper communication channel....................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The following report is based on the discussion of the fan engagement programs that
are carried out by the Leicester City Football Club in England. Fan engagement is one of the
hottest topics in the modern day sports culture. A club with a tremendous fan engagement
program is bound to get profitable and enjoy business success. A modern term of 360 degree
fan engagement programs has been doing the rounds since the last couple of years and most
of the clubs have started implementing them (Hambrick and Kang 2015). The example of
Leicester City fan engagement program provides a great platform for the discussion on the
same. The report has mainly discussed on the angles of development of the fan engagement
program in the process.
Fan Experience as a LCFC supporter
The fans experience in Leicester City Football Club has been one of the best in the
business as because the management of the club presents a 360 degree fan experience for its
supporters with all the modern day amenities and all other different facilities. The fan
engagement efforts have been one of the major activities for earning a considerable sum of
profit (lcfc.com 2019). The development of an attractive and personal experience for the fans
of the club is no doubt the best brand activation of the football club that it can do.
Talking about fan experience in clubs it can be said that whether its local club or with
a group of friends on their own, the management of Leicester City Football Club has been
trying to make the experience of the fans the best. The management of the club has a host of
packages in place to deliver an enchanting fan experience and develop new ways of fan
engagement. The club management has arranged for match day mascots for all the supporters
and the junior supporters having a season ticket is randomly selected for each and every game
of the season (lcfc.com 2019). The club management also provides special fan engagement

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programs for the children as the players of the club pays a visit to the house and enjoys the
party with the fan. This apart the club holds interactive seasons of the fans with the club
players where the players interact with the fans and engage in different programs (lcfc.com
2019). The fans also enjoy this kind of experiences as they are able to interact with their
heroes.
Key drivers of Fan experience
The sports marketing literature always have the suggestion that the customers of
sports share a unique bond with their favourite teams. The more the fandom, the more will be
the demand from the customers for engagement with the team (lcfc.com 2019). These kinds
of the engagements help both the club and the fans as the emotional attachment they share
with the club gets enhanced. Some of the major drivers of fan experience as a Leicester City
fan are as follows;
a. Interactive programs- The interactive programs of Leicester City football club involve
the interaction of the fans with the players of the club. The interactive sessions are
held every now and then and fans are allowed to ask different questions to the
footballers and also click pictures with them or take autographs (lcfc.com 2019).
These kinds of interactive sessions serve as a boost for the players and also serve as a
great means of fan experience and engagement.
b. Match day experiences- As said earlier the children of season ticket holders are
selected by the management of the club for acting as mascots or the player escorts.
The experience of these children as escorts helps them to develop a special experience
for the club and turns them more loyal to the club (lcfc.com 2019).
c. Social media Presence- The social media presence of the club in the form of the
twitter profile, instagram profile, facebook profile and other social media accounts

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along with its official website helps the management of the club to interact in a much
enhancing way.
d. Merchandise- The merchandise of the club is another major driver for fan interaction.
The online shop of the club is filled with a large variety of sports and fashion products
along with other different gift items (shop.lcfc.com 2019). This apart, Adidas the kit
manufacturer of the club provides fans with latest club merchandise which helps in a
better fan engagement (shop.lcfc.com 2019).
Development of a proper communication channel
The management of Leicester City can undertake some major strategies to better
engage with the fans. Some of the major strategies include the likes of;
a. More mobile engagement- The modern age is the age of mobile engagement. Fans
like to stay connected through mobile and thus the management of Leicester City
football club can create new and innovative mobile applications that can help them
engage with the fans in a much better manner (Vale and Fernandes 2018).
b. Community build up programs in off season- The community build up programs like
engaging in community events like different charitable events, cultural events or
helping out a special community can help to increase the fan interactions and create a
large market for the club.
c. Appointing expert fan engagement professionals- The appointment of expert
professionals can help in the development of the fan engagement programs. The
appointment of different expert professionals is key to the development of the
business of the club in a proper manner (Vale and Fernandes 2018).

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Conclusion
The following report of Leicester City fan engagement program and future
development has been one of the best in line that provides a clear explanation of the total
process of engagement with the fans. The report has provided the current activities as well as
the recommended activities that can help in the development of the fan interactions.

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References
Hambrick, M.E. and Kang, S.J., 2015. Pin it: Exploring how professional sports organizations
use Pinterest as a communications and relationship-marketing tool. Communication &
Sport, 3(4), pp.434-457.
Kang, S., 2017. Mobile communication and pro sports: motivation and fan
loyalty. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 15(6), pp.604-627.
Lcfc.com. (2019). LCFC - Leicester City Official Website. [online] Available at:
https://www.lcfc.com/ [Accessed 24 Dec. 2019].
Lcfc.com. (2019). Matchday Experiences | Leicester City. [online] Available at:
https://www.lcfc.com/king-power-stadium/matchday-experiences [Accessed 24 Dec. 2019].
Lcfc.com. (2019). Supporter Groups | Leicester City. [online] Available at:
https://www.lcfc.com/fans-community/supporter-groups [Accessed 24 Dec. 2019].
Nishio, T., Larke, R., van Heerde, H. and Melnyk, V., 2016. Analysing the motivations of
Japanese international sports-fan tourists. European Sport Management Quarterly, 16(4),
pp.487-501.
Shop.lcfc.com. (2019). Leicester City - Official Store. [online] Available at:
https://shop.lcfc.com/ [Accessed 24 Dec. 2019].
Vale, L. and Fernandes, T., 2018. Social media and sports: driving fan engagement with
football clubs on Facebook. Journal of Strategic Marketing, 26(1), pp.37-55.