The Fan Experience EXPERIENCE Podcast: Recent Episodes
Mark Bradley & Darren Young
The home of Fan Experience where Mark and Darren (of the Fan Experience Company) address the Fan Experience (in football and other sports) with special guests and a focus on specific elements of the fan journey on each episode. Whether you're working in sport, looking for a job in sport or you're simply interested in the subject of Fan Experience, we reckon a regular dose of the Fan Experience EXPERIENCE will help you and your club thrive.The Fan Experience Experience Podcast is produced by Juan Luis Bradley.
Join Mark, Darren and regular guest Alasdair Crawley (of Fanbase) on this latest episode of the Fan Experience Experience podcast: the podcast that walks the fan experience.
This is the final episode of Season 3 and, to wrap things up, we explore what happens after the game. As you can imagine, a lot of this is about digital comms, so who better to add extra quality to proceedings than our good friend Alasdair!
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks as always for your support. It's great to encounter new friends who already stream or download our chats and we hope you'll be here for everything we do in 2024.
Darren, Juan, Ana, Andy, Gemma and I wish you a wonderful Christmas and a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/12/the-fans-journey-part-12-after-the-game/
Our Fan Journey Model (and accompanying blog) is here for you too.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and Juan Bradley - one of our most experienced fan experience assessors - on this latest episode of the Fan Experience Experience podcast: the podcast that walks the fan experience (and often trips up too).
On this occasion, we look at the experience of leaving the venue. If you thought there was little to discuss, you might be surprised at some of the issues and opportunities we cover.
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks as always for your support. It's great to encounter new friends who already stream or download our chats. It is appreciated SO MUCH.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/11/the-fans-journey-part-11-leaving-the-stadium/
Our Fan Journey Model (and accompanying blog) is here for you too.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and Sales Sharks' Operations & Fan Experience Manager Joshua Haywood on the latest episode of the Fan Experience Experience podcast: the podcast that walks the fan experience (and tries to make it the best it can be).
On this occasion, we look at the fan experience during the game with a practitioner who's taking one of Premiership Rugby's two northern teams to new heights off the pitch..
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks to our colleague Juan Luis for converting our little chat into what we hope is a very listenable conversation.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/11/the-fans-journey-part-10-during-the-game/
Our Fan Journey Model (and accompanying blog) is here for you too.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and our latest guest Anthony Emmerson (Head of Supporter Experience) on the latest episode of the Fan Experience Experience.
On this occasion, we look at the fan experience inside the stadium before the main event with a practitioner whose knowledge of supporter engagement and experience is unsurpassed.
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks to Juan Luis for production support.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/10/the-fans-journey-part-9-pre-match/
Our Fan Journey Model (and accompanying blog) is here for you too.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and our latest guest commentator and presenter Charlotte Richardson (from BBC 5Live, Final Score and Talksport)
Enjoy a half hour with us as we discuss why food and drink is so important to the fan experience, what great looks like (and could look like) and then dive into a large apple crumble and custard.
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
As well as a well-known voice on the radio, Charlotte's an accomplished presenter and conference facilitator so if you'd like to book her for your event, you can contact her via charlottecrichardson@gmail.com.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for preparing this culinary delight and to all of you for tucking (tuning) in.
Read our new blog on Food and Drink here:
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/09/the-fans-journey-part-8-food-drink/
Our Fan Journey Model (and accompanying blog) is below.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and our latest guest (and co-author of the Fan Journey Model) Geoff Wilson, as we talk about the next 'touch point' that comes into view.
Enjoy a half hour with us as we discuss everything related to Retail / Merchandise: a key part of the sports event experience these days.
Check out the accompanying episode blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com or via mark@fanexperienceco.com.
Search Geoff Wilson Consultancy if you'd like to get in touch with our well-travelled guest.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for skilfully knitting everything together to craft a seamless show. Thanks most of all to you for tuning in.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/08/the-fans-journey-part-6-buying-merchandise-2/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and our new team member Gemma Avery, as we explore the next 'touch point' of the Fan Journey Model, launched earlier this year by the Fan Experience Company (in partnership with Geoff Wilson).
Enjoy a half hour with us as we discuss everything related to 'Outside the Venue'. Among other things, we explore the fan zone concept and how it's become a basic expectation for fans and event attendees these days.
Check out the accompanying blog (which has a special extra feature on the importance of fan zones) and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for rushing back from a Portuguese beach to put it all together.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/07/the-fans-journey-part-5-outside-the-venue/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and our regular guest, Fanbase's Ali Crawley as we explore the next 'touch point' of the Fan Journey Model, recently launched by the Fan Experience Company (in partnership with Geoff Wilson).
Enjoy a half hour with us discussing getting to the game and how, for more fans than you might imagine, it's a really key touch point.
Check out the accompanying blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for putting it all together.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/06/the-fans-journey-part-4-getting-to-the-game/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and a special guest, Scott Goodacre, from The Online Rule, as we explore the next 'touch point' of the Fan Journey Model, recently launched by the Fan Experience Company (in partnership with Geoff Wilson).
Enjoy a half hour with us discussing digital communications and how it can help your club or event to drive attendance through better engagement, recruitment and retention. Check out the accompanying blog and the Fan Journey intro blog (both appear below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for putting it all together & removing the ums, the ahs and multiple 'you knows' from Mark.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/06/the-fans-journey-part-3-digital-communications/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and a special guest, Fanbase's Alasdair Crawley, as we explore the second 'touch point' of the Fan Journey Model, recently launched by the Fan Experience Company (in partnership with Geoff Wilson).
Enjoy a half hour with us discussing ticketing (and how it can be your club or event's USP). Check out the accompanying blog (link below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com.
Thanks, as always, to Juan Luis Bradley for putting it all together,
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/05/the-fans-journey-part-2-buying-a-ticket/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Join Mark, Darren and a special guest, Fanbase's Alasdair Crawley, as we explore the first 'touch point' of the Fan Journey Model, recently launched by the Fan Experience Company (in partnership with Geoff Wilson).
Enjoy a half hour with us, check out the accompanying blog (link below) & let us know if you have any questions by contacting the podcast via Twitter @fanexperienceco.com.
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/05/the-fans-journey-before-game-day/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
Darren and Mark are back for a 3rd season of the Fan Experience Experience. This time, to coincide with the publication of our Fan Journey Model (with Geoff Wilson), we'll be talking Fan Experience touch point by touch point.
But first: a season intro to kick of our podcast activity in 2023.
The Fan Journey Model? Check it out here:
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
https://fanexperienceco.com/2023/04/the-fans-journey-a-model-for-measuring-and-improving-their-experience/
The tenth and final episode of Season Two (*wipes tear away) sees Mark and Darren joined by Jeff Hutton, GM at Bromley FC who describes the way the club got their fan engagement in early during the pandemic and gives them his thoughts on what fans might be doing and thinking as a return to stadiums draws nearer.
*Features pitch encroachment from David Bowie.
Brighton & Hove Albion General Manager, Polly Bancroft, joins Mark and Darren on the latest episode to discuss the impact of the pandemic on the women’s game.
After working previously at both the FA and UEFA, where she was a specialist in UEFA’s Business Development Unit (and being a player herself), Polly is now overseeing the development of Brighton’s women team as they aim to establish themselves in the WSL, and has plenty of insights into ways that women’s football can thrive in the post-Covid world.
Mark and Darren welcome their latest special guest, Kevin Rye, to season two of the podcast series.
Kevin was a part of the story of Wimbledon, a fan who turned activist working to save and then re-birth the club in 2001/2002 as AFC Wimbledon. He spent eleven-years at Supporters Direct and has been a Fan Engagement consultant since 2015, setting up Fan Insights in 2018, so he’s perfectly placed to discuss how important fans are and will be in the post-Covid era of the game.
Mark and Darren are joined by Geoff Pearson on the latest episode of the Fan Experience Experience (Season Two). Geoff is Senior Lecturer in Criminal Law at Manchester University, having been previously employed at the Football Research Unit (FRU) at the University of Liverpool, where he taught Football and Law on their MBA programme.
Geoff’s research interests include crowd behaviour, human rights, and sport, using ethnographic methods to investigate the effectiveness of legislation, policing strategies and tactics. Listen now to this fascinating and very unique insight into fan behaviour, and how this might change post-Covid.
As a special treat for Darren, he and Mark are joined by Walsall FC CEO, Stefan Gamble, in the latest episode of Season Two of our podcast series.
In our fascinating discussion, Stefan describes the difficulties of running a lower league club during a pandemic, what he thinks the main differences will be when fans come back into stadiums while, somehow, Darren manages to resist making him promise promotion back to League One.
Mark and Darren talk to SPFL Chief Executive Neil Doncaster about the experience of leading a league through change and of growing engagement and attendances north of the border.
In this episode we also take in what Neil has learned in his time at Norwich City too, including the establishment of a supporter board and the benefits this partnership continues to bring for the Canaries and their community.
After more than a decade as Commercial Director at Huddersfield Town (including two incredible seasons in the Premier League), Sean Jarvis has 'switched codes' to professional cricket. As CEO of Leicestershire County Cricket Club (based in the city of his birth), Sean is quickly making his mark. Mark and Darren ask him what he's learned and what the future holds for the Running Foxes.
Natalia (Moldova FA) and Veiko (Estonia FA) talk about their experience of community engagement and attendance growth in their respective countries' top tiers of football.
Expect to hear about UEFA's Grow Programme; the contribution of the amazing Community Development Officers (CDOs) and much that can be learned and applied in any football setting.
Mark and Darren talk to progressive policing expert Owen West about his work in football and how a move from coercive to engagement-based policing could not only transform the fan experience, but also release £millions back into public services, where it is needed most.
Mark spent much of 2020 writing the first online / physical match day Fan Engagement certificate for FC Barcelona's Innovation Hub.
In this special episode, Mark and Darren chat to Marcos Picalló Aguilar (from the Barça Innovation Hub) as he explains the Hub's status as a learning eco-system.
You can sign up to study Fan Engagement with Mark Bradley and FC Barcelona here:
https://barcainnovationhub.com/product/certificate-in-fan-engagement/
After 26 years of igniting crowds all over the world, Cameron Hughes launches his autobiography 'King of Cheer'.
Like Cameron says: he didn't make his ice hockey team at College, but he did make it to the NHL. He tried so hard to make the basketball team, but missed out there too (but he did make it to the NBA).
Mark and Darren chat to Novak Djokovic's favourite 'dancing guy' about his life and his unique calling in the opening episode of the second series of the Fan Experience Experience.
Chris Samson and Michael Bochel from the Scottish Football Marketing Podcast (in partnership with Sports Marketing Scotland) join Darren and Mark for this episode that focuses on the experience outside the stadium on match days and looks in more detail at what the clubs in the Scottish Championship, League One and Two could do more to share their qualities & engage more of the local population.
How do you get your fans to be passionate and loyal, spend more money at the club on refreshments and merchandise? Win? Well, Bohemians FC have those type of fans, doing all those things and it's definitely not because the team is winning. Dan Lambert, the clubs Commercial & Marketing Director, joins Mark and Darren to discuss fan-owned clubs and how thinking outside the box can create a culture all of its own.
Sport Business Researcher & Business Development Strategist, Kenneth Cortsen, joins Darren and Mark to discuss the fan experience from an academic perspective, looking at his time studying Danish football and the economics of effective engagement and marketing a great match day experience.
The latest episode of the podcast moves inside the stadium. Mark and Darren welcome guest, Sian Jones, Head of Customer Experience at Leeds Rhinos, as they discuss what's important for fans when they get through the turnstiles, the importance of well-trained staff and the difficulties in opening up two new stands in a matter of weeks.
Chairman of Lewes FC, Stuart Fuller, joins Darren and Mark to tell them how and why Lewes became his club, the difference between the Premier League and non-league and how thinking outside the box can make a huge difference to the way a club is run, and perceived
This season, we had completed around 350 match day assessments up until fixtures were postponed. Our team of assessors travel across the country, recording what they see and giving the home club as much information as possible in their final report. One of our most experienced, freelance writer in When Saturday Comes, Andy Ollerenshaw, joins Darren and Mark on this episode to talk about his own experiences, with a particular focus on the retail element of match days.
Darren and Mark are joined by sporting royalty in this special episode as rugby league legend, Robbie Hunter-Paul, shares his experiences as a player when it comes to fan engagement and tells them why players can make the match day experience more memorable, as well as why you'll get a lot of stares if you walk around Bradford in bare feet.
Footballing and broadcasting legend, not to mention our Honorary President, Don Goodman joins us to discuss the launch of the podcast, our work in football and what he thinks will happen when we come out on the other side of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Noel Mooney, Head of National Associations Business Development at UEFA, is Mark and Darren’s special guest as he describes his journey from goalkeeper to goal setter, and how football at all levels and in all countries needs to understand the power of the fan experience when it comes to growing attendances.
Joining Mark and Darren at the first touchpoint on the fan experience journey is Ante Cicvaric (Marketing Manager at the Croatian Football Federation) as they tackle the importance of first impressions. This touchpoint centres mainly on the online and digital aspects of the experience with the website being the key starting point for many fans, especially new ones. Ante helps to unpack some of the main considerations when looking to create a great first impression; as well as reminiscing about Croatia’s run all the way to the World Cup Final in Russia.
As well as joining Darren and Mark to discuss how important travelling to the match is, Aleks Dmitrijev tells them about the journey he took with Estonian Club FC Narva Trans as they saw attendances increase from 85 fans to over 850, thanks to some innovative match day experience initiatives as well as engaging with the local schools.
One of the recently added touch points on the fan experience journey, social media has quickly become a key way to engage with supporters, communicate important information and develop innovative content that lifts the overall experience. Shaun Lockwood of Doncaster Rovers joins Mark and Darren as they discuss the topic, identify ways that clubs can fully utilise the tools and find out how Donny Dog’s Twitter account helps to keep families informed.