?? Cultural Fan Engagement: Lessons from Israel to Korea for Sports Organizations ??

I stood before the weathered facade of a nearly half-a-century-old Jamsil Student Gymnasium. The silent surroundings gave little indication of what waited inside.

As I entered, the atmosphere transformed from quiet solitude to a vibrant spectacle of flashing lights and energetic music. It was a world alive with anticipation of basketball and entertainment, a stark contrast to the silence of the outside

I was witnessing the Korean Basketball Culture…

My spring was a journey through Turkey, Israel, Korea, Latvia, Germany, and EuroLeague Final 4 in Lithuania. In this post, I will delve into how sports fans interact with their favorite clubs in different regions of the world. If you are running or rooting for a club these might be useful.

Israel - Maccabi Tel Aviv: Political affiliations make passionate fans

Maccabi Tel Aviv is one of the most successful basketball clubs in Israel and Europe is self-claimed to be the team with the most accolades in the world (I have not checked the numbers but I trust them). During my time in Israel, I discovered that sports organizations hold significant political and religious affiliations. Club names often include prefixes like "Hapoel" and "Maccabi," representing the Jewish working class and the historical Maccabees liberation movement, respectively. The degree to which the fans identify with their team determines their willingness to pay, attend games live, and cheer their lungs out. Maccabi Tel Aviv fans give you all that and more.

Having passionate fans who identify with you beyond your performance on the court places Maccabi in a highly lovely position from a sports business point of view. This definitely shows in their unique approach to ticketing. Tickets are available for all games almost two months in advance! The tickets are the most expensive I have seen in European Basketball. This is an indication that the Maccabi are confident that the demand is there.

As I was purchasing my ticket I noticed that there are different fixed prices for different games based on the opponent. This is, in sports business lingo, called variable pricing. For example, the same category of tickets for two different games had different prices; the game against Fenerbahce Beko was priced at 375 NIS (~96€), while the game against Baskonia was priced at 320 NIS (~82€) as can be seen in the photo above(Pricey, I know..).

Israeli people socialize outdoors and of course, the weather allows it. Fan experience is no different. The arena is designed so that the value of the concession is maximized outside of the arena than inside. The Menora Mivtachim Arena is surrounded by retail shops and restaurants, conveniently located near the entrance gates. People eat, drink, socialize outside near the arena, then head inside and enjoy the game.

Each section of the arena has its own gate. Although I arrived minutes before the tip-off and the game was an important Euroleague game I was able to enter the arena in no time.

Question 1: What are your current investments in increasing fans' identification with your club?

Question 2: Is your ancillary revenue strategy aligned with the routines and the experience of your fan base?

Turkey - Fenerbahce: Be where your fans are at

Fenerbahce, nicknamed the Yellow Canaries, is one of the most popular basketball clubs in Turkey and Europe. During a double game week at EuroLeague, Fener was getting ready to face Olympiakos and Alba Berlin. One thing you should know about Turkey is that Turkish people love social media! Turkey ranks 7th in the number of Twitter users by country and 5th in Instagram users in 2023 in the world! That is where clubs like Fener do most of their fan engagement, marketing, and sales. Days leading up to the event, Fenerbahce Beko posted several videos of their coaching staff and players, explaining the importance of the games and inviting fans to the Ulker Arena. Star players of the Fenerbahce football club also sent videos, such as Attila Szalai in the below image on the right, encouraging fans to attend the games live. The result has been a sold-out event for Fener.

Of course, Fener had other tricks up their sleeves. They have bundled the tickets for Olympiacos and Alba in the double-game week. Single tickets for each game were available only one day before, and bundled tickets were about 10% cheaper in each category compared to single tickets. Ticket bundling is an effective strategy, especially in cases where there is a clear “leading” product and a “tie-in” product. In this case, the Olympiacos game is the leading product as it is expected to be more competitive and is in between two established basketball brands in Europe. Using the bundling Fener aimed to create a sell-out event for both Olympiacos and the Alba Berlin game.

Fenerbahce's Ulker Sports Arena has four Fenerium stores (official merchandise) and a basketball museum. A large variety of good quality sports merchandise creates significant additional revenues for clubs and Fenerbahce is living proof of that - in 2018 the monthly revenues of Fenerium (official merchandise store) were announced to be around 160K€/month.

Fenerbahce excels in organizer-induced stimuli, with the production optimized to create goosebump moments. The announcer and jumbotron are in sync with the game and create reactions from the fans. Below video from the pre game show give an idea of the involvement of the organizers effort to provide a thrilling experience.

Question 1: Do you try different ticketing strategies in an agile manner?

Question 2: Are your communication and marketing efforts focused on channels your fans are primarily on?

Korea - Seoul Knights - Stay true to your culture in sports marketing

The Seoul Knights play at the historic Jamsil student gymnasium with a 7500 capacity. Facilities are dated, and space for concessions is limited. While the business aspect of basketball may be behind what we see in Europe and the US, the entertainment value is at another level, especially in comparison to European Basketball. Behind that is the strong reflection of various cultural elements, into basketball and other sports as well.

The sports culture in Korea is heavily influenced by the broader cultural elements of society, and musicality is one of the aspects. For example, at basketball games, the music never stops - literally.

Cheerleaders are a huge part of the sports entertainment experience in Korea with ambitious stunts during the breaks. Another aspect of Korean culture that is visible in sports is idolization.

Idolization is a significant part of Korean culture, including in sports, where athletes are heavily celebrated. Fandomship is athlete-centric, with teams capitalizing on this through special chants and printing player portraits on tickets. Overall what Korea does really well is that it reflects its cultural values in every aspect of this sport.

Question 1: Are you reflecting the cultural elements of your society in your fan interaction or are you just importing them?

Question 2: Is your marketing/communications at all athlete centered?

Germany-BG G?ttingen: Know your audience and their needs

BG G?ttingen plays in the Sparkasse Arena which hosts 3447 people. G?ttingen is a small city and the arena’s size is proportional to the city. However; it does not offer the best basketball viewing experience due to it being a multi-purpose arena. It has an odd seating/standing plan where seating areas on the side of the court stretch a lot further than the court, which forces fans to sit sideways to see the game. Below image might give you an idea.

Besides the unique viewing experience, another thing BC G?ttingen do that caught my attention, was their pricing strategy. The club must have the data that families are one of the major fan segments for them as they opted in for offering a specific ticket category just for them.

The image above displays four different ticket types family (1 parent & 1 or 2 kids), regular, reduced, and children (7 to 12 years). A family ticket bundle, let's say for one parent and two children, will cost a G?ttingen fan 15% less than if the tickets were to be bought separately.

Question: Does your club recognize the important fan segments and reward them?

Latvia-Prometey: Remove hurdles in your fans’ journey

In Latvia, I attended a Prometey game in Riga against the Greek Team Promitheas Patras in Eurocup. According to Deloitte, there are 5 stages of the fan journey: Purchase, Attend, Engage, Participate, and Play. Interactions that happen on the days leading up to the event after the tickets are purchased, and inside the arena happen here. The services that the clubs choose to provide here can make a difference between a casual fan and a frequent fan. Once clubs know about the personas of their fans and their needs they can actively try to remove the hurdles in their journey. One of the frameworks that can be used here is “The Theory of Jobs-to-be-Done” by Clayton Christensen. Jobs Theory goes beyond superficial categories to expose the functional, social, and emotional dimensions that explain why customers make the choices they do. I have seen specific examples of this framework at work.

A lot of Ukranian families live currently in Riga, Latvia, and the Prometey game become a place of socialization, especially for children.

Prometey provides an inflatable bounce house for children behind the basket, where Ukrainian children can make friends with other Ukrainian children and play while their parents enjoy the game. It is almost like a kids club where children are entertained throughout the game under supervision. The above photo taken from the highlights of the game shows the bouncy castle on the left.

Question: Does your club understand the functional, emotional, and social needs that the fans (segments) fulfill by watching games live?

From my travels to Israel, Turkey, Korea, Latvia, and Germany I've observed diverse strategies and approaches to enhance the basketball fan experience. Each country has its unique characteristics, cultural influences, and marketing techniques. Whether it's the variable pricing in Israel, social media engagement in Turkey, or the entertainment value in Korea, basketball fans around the world can find something new and exciting in every game they attend. Embracing diverse fan cultures is crucial for organizations to create memorable experiences that resonate with fans on a deep level.

Interested in learning more about how to answer the questions posed in the article, increase revenues, capture new audiences, and boost fan engagement? Visit my website and download insightful and inspiring work that will get you started with growing your sports business. Let's take your club to the next level together!