Tag: Fan Engagement

Singapore – Formula 1 is scoring yet another partnership, this time with Disney as it will bring Mickey & Friends in the high-speed world of Formula 1 through experiences, content, and merchandise around the globe. Said partnership will begin in 2026.

The new relationship is created by the two brands’ shared affinity for creativity, entertainment, and innovation, to bring fans together around the globe through unforgettable and one-of-a-kind experiences.

It is worth noting that Formula 1 has seen a huge surge in growth with younger fans and data shows that more than four million children aged 8-12 now actively follow the sport across the EU and US, while 54% of followers on TikTok and 40% on Instagram are now under 25 years old.

Emily Prazer, chief commercial officer at Formula 1, said, “Our collaboration with Disney is set to be a brilliant one, as we introduce the world of Mickey & Friends to our fans, and vice versa. It fits perfectly with our strategy to step outside the world of sport, and into a broader consumer market, and in return we’re introducing Disney to our 820 million fans worldwide.”

She added, “It’s a fantastic match as both brands are known for pushing boundaries and bringing entertainment and excitement to millions, so I can’t wait to see what our teams come up with for the circuit and beyond.”

Meanwhile, Tasia Filippatos, Disney Consumer Products President, commented, “As we celebrate nearly a century of Mickey Mouse & Friends, our collaboration with Formula 1 offers a unique opportunity to bring two powerhouse entertainment properties together to create products that fans will love. This exciting collaboration will unfold across a global stage, with unforgettable content and experiences tailored for Disney and F1 fans alike.”

It is worth noting that this is one of many partnerships Formula 1 have formed, which included brands and companies such as PwC, Barilla, LVMH, LEGO, and KitKat.

Singapore – Barilla, known for its pastas, has recently joined Formula 1 as its official partner following signing a multi-year deal with the popular motorsport event.

As an official partner, Barilla will have a strong presence both on and off the track and will encourage connection and the spirit of togetherness among fans, who will be able to enjoy dishes from the Italian brand’s Pasta Bars around the Paddock and in the prestigious Formula 1 Paddock Club.

Trackside signage, digital activations, and consumer promotions reaching millions of spectators worldwide will also bear the Barilla branding.

Moreover, the partnership will connect fans of both brands across the world, united by a passion for sports and the bonding tradition of sharing a meal.

Stefano Domenicali, President & CEO of Formula 1, said, “We are thrilled to welcome Barilla into the Formula 1 family, a collaboration flavoured with passion and heritage. Two stories that share the same values of excellence, authenticity and the pleasure of living extraordinary moments together.”

He added, “We cannot wait to start this incredible adventure with our new partner, certain that they will add an elevated taste to the emotions of F1.”

Meanwhile, Paolo Barilla, vice president of Barilla Group and former F1 driver, also commented, “A lightning-fast F1 car and a delicious plate of pasta: what do they have in common? At first, it may not be obvious, but behind both, and the effort that goes into making them, are skilled professionals, passionate and determined, driven by the desire to keep improving.”

He added, “Our greatest satisfaction is being able to offer all the men and women of F1, after an intense competition, a well-deserved plate of pasta.”

Lastly, Ilaria Lodigiani, chief category and marketing officer at Barilla, stated, “We look forward to welcoming all Formula 1 fans to the table every race weekend to enjoy both the thrill of racing and the comfort of a great meal. This partnership is an invitation to celebrate the moments that matter together, because we believe that sharing a meal has the power to turn strangers into family. At the track, at home, or around a table, Barilla and Formula 1 unite people beyond sport and cuisine.”

The new partnership is one of many partnerships Formula 1 has embarked on to boost fan engagement, including with LVMH and its vodka brand Belvedere, KitKat, and LEGO. It has also continued to score big brands as title sponsors for its races, including with Louis Vuitton for this year’s Australian Grand Prix, and the extension of Singapore Airlines’ title sponsorship for the Singaporean Grand Prix.

‘Singapore – Pan-regional streaming platform Viu has announced a collaboration with Azuki, a Web3-powered anime company focused on anime-driven decentralised IP and fan engagement, in order to expand the platform’s Web3-focused initiatives.

The initiative kicks off this April with Viu streaming Enter the Garden on its platform. Created by Azuki in collaboration with renowned creative producer Goro Taniguchi, who worked on anime titles such as Code Geass and One Piece Film: Red. Said anthology from Azuki showcases powerful storytelling and stunning visuals for Web3 and anime fans. 

Moreover, as part of its broader content strategy to embrace innovative storytelling and engage new audiences, Viu will feature three of Azuki’s community NFTs in a spin-off digital comic. It will soon be available on TN7, a new content universe anchored by Viu’s first digital comic series where fans can contribute their own creations, fostering new forms of viewer participation. 

To celebrate the collaboration, Viu is hosting a giveaway. Fans can simply follow Azuki, Viu Singapore and TN7 on their X accounts, retweet the giveaway post and tag friends in the retweet for a chance to win highly sought-after Azuki merchandise, including a Twin Tigers Jacket, and a unique TN7 Digital Pack. 

Lofai Lo, COO at Viu, said, “We are thrilled to embark on this journey with Azuki, whose strong digital presence opens doors for Viu to interact with a new generation of highly participatory viewers. By connecting our entertainment services with the dynamic Web3 ecosystem, we are catering to the evolving preference of today’s audiences.” 

Meanwhile, Alex “Zagabond” Xu, CEO, Azuki, commented, “Collaborating with Viu amplifies Azuki’s presence, introducing Enter the Garden to Viu’s vast global audience across 16 markets.” 

Thailand – FC Barcelona has announced the launch of its social campaign “Barça Influencer Social Campaign in Southeast Asia” which will kick off a series of challenge on digital platforms for their fans in Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand between December 2024 and March 2025. 

From now on, sports and social enthusiasts from Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand are welcomed to take part in this dynamic social media campaign on Instagram and TikTok. 

Spanning across four months, the campaign will be comprised of two phases of engaging games and challenges, featuring our men’s team players with intriguing interaction with participants on the platforms.

Final winners will be selected based on creativity, engagement and participation, with FC Barcelona reserving the rights for the final decision. 

“With more than 529 million followers on social media worldwide, the Club always strives to seek for innovative ways to foster a closer relationship with our supporters, partners and Culers through sports,” the club said in a press statement.

They added, “As one of the most followed European multi-sports clubs in Asia Pacific, it is encouraging to see this first campaign to be launched for our fans in Southeast Asia, the Club wishes to bring more similar kind of campaigns to the other places and regions around the world in the future.”

Singapore – Tiger Beer has been announced as the international beer partner of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. This marks Tiger’s second partnership with a prominent English Premier League club, following its recent sponsorship announcement of Manchester United. 

Through these multi-year partnerships, Tiger Beer reinforces its enduring commitment to sparking connections that bring fans in Asia and beyond closer to the clubs they love.

Tiger Beer’s expanding football partnerships underscores its commitment to fuelling football passion in Asia and beyond. With over 195 million fans in Asia, Spurs are a natural ally in Tiger Beer’s commitment to ignite football passion throughout the region.

Harnessing the insights from its recent survey of 2,000 football fans, where almost 3 in 4 view fan activities as crucial to unite supporters of their chosen club, Tiger Beer is dedicated to delivering thrilling fan experiences for Spurs fans. These will include activations, opportunities to watch the team train and exclusive training and coaching experiences. 

Moreover, together with Tiger Beer, football fans around the globe can uncage their tigers and unite as one to celebrate their football passion. Fans are invited to join the journey as Tiger Beer and its partners come together to create unforgettable, legendary experiences.

Sean O’Donnell, global brand director of Tiger Beer, said, “At Tiger Beer, we believe that individual courage is rooted in collective support. Our partnerships with iconic clubs like Tottenham Hotspur, embody our belief that progress isn’t a solo act. Together, we celebrate teams and the collective spirit that fuels progress, reminding everyone that we can achieve incredible individual feats when we support one another.” 

Meanwhile, Ryan Norys, chief revenue officer at Tottenham Hotspur, commented, “It is fantastic to be partnering with another industry-leading brand in Tiger, with the aim of engaging our fans in Asia through unique experiences aimed at bringing people together through the power of football.” 

Singapore – FIFA has revealed that Lenovo has been named as an Official FIFA Technology Partner – FIFA’s top tier sponsorship category – in a deal that includes the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil. 

The two tournaments will provide the platform for Lenovo to further grow its global brand amongst fans of the world’s most popular sport and, more importantly, deliver integrated and innovative technologies that will make football more accessible and more engaging for all, growing the game worldwide.

With this, Lenovo’s products, services and solutions, including its emerging suite of innovations that both leverage and power AI (Artificial Intelligence), ThinkPad laptops, tablets, Motorola mobile phones, and servers, will be integrated into the 2026 and 2027 tournaments. 

The company’s technology will power improved fan experiences in stadiums and global broadcasts, power enhanced analytics, and democratise data across all global football-playing nations.

Yuanqing Yang, chairman and CEO at Lenovo, said, “As one of the world’s leading technology companies, we’re delighted to partner with the world’s most global and popular sport. Lenovo will be powering the largest sporting and entertainment events in human history – events with more viewers, more nations participating, and an unprecedented global demand for data processing and technology.”

He added, “Lenovo is proud to support FIFA’s vision of leveraging technology to elevate the game, enhance the fan experience worldwide, and foster innovation that levels the playing field. We’re excited that our cutting-edge technology and AI innovation will take centre stage in the upcoming tournaments, demonstrating to the world the transformative power of smarter technology.”

Meanwhile, FIFA President Gianni Infantino, commented, “At FIFA, we are committed to growing the game globally and making football accessible for all – and we are excited to welcome Lenovo to our journey, and to work with them to implement technologies, innovations and programmes that spread our sport. Data and technology combined helps us to know fans better, and we will use it to create unparalleled and unforgettable fan experiences at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027. In Lenovo, we have a partner who will support us as we evolve and innovate, investing in digital technology and artificial intelligence for future generations.” 

Singapore – Ahead of the upcoming Singapore Grand Prix, which will happen on September 20 to 22–and the racing series’ only night race–new data from digital travel platform Agoda has documented which country has more fans attending the highly-anticipated race for F1 this year.

According to data, travelers from Indonesia took the checkered flag with the highest accommodation searches for race weekend, followed by the Philippines and Japan. Following on the grid are Malaysia (#4), Thailand (#5), South Korea (#6), Taiwan (#7), India (#8), Hong Kong (#9), and Australia (#10).

Agoda notes that the influx of international visitors for the night race demonstrates the sporting event’s widespread popularity. Mega events like the night race attract a varied audience, eager to immerse themselves in the experience and enjoy the surrounding festivities. 

Moreover, this pattern of travel interest showcases the enduring allure of major sporting events on a global scale.

Andrew Smith, senior vice president of supply at Agoda shared, “In the past year, we’ve seen a lot of people traveling for experiences, such as concerts, festivals, sports and other big events. The night race in Singapore is one of the key mega events in the region. It’s exciting to see such a wide array of travelers coming together to experience the thrill of the race and the vibrant atmosphere of Singapore.”

United States – Popular fast food chain McDonald’s has launched a new campaign catered to anime fans globally, and utilises the ever-popular ‘WcDonald’s’ anime gag being used across multiple anime and manga titles over time.

To do this, McDonald’s has partnered with popular Japanese animation house Studio Pierrot to produce the first official WcDonald’s anime. Four episodic shorts will take fans into the flavorful world of WcDonald’s, where a story about the WcDonald’s Sauce and WcNuggets unfold each week.

It has also teamed up with manga artist/illustrator Acky Bright to design custom WcDonald’s packaging that will take fans deeper into the world of WcDonald’s with every meal. For a limited time, fans will receive manga-inspired packaging featuring WcDonald’s Crew characters, sketched by Acky himself.

A limited edition sauce will be also available, featuring a unique combination of ginger, garlic and soy with a slight heat from chili flakes packs an energetic blast of flavor in every bite.

Lastly, McDonald’s will be launching a multi-sensory dining experience in Los Angeles, California a genre-bending fusion of entertainment and food. Guests will be transported into the WcDonald’s universe through 360 projection mapping and immersive tabletop projections inspired by the four WcDonald’s anime episodic shorts – all while enjoying a set menu of WcDonald’s items. This will go live from March 9-10.

Tariq Hassan, chief marketing and customer experience officer at McDonald’s USA, said, “Anime is a huge part of today’s culture, and we love that our fans have been inviting us into the conversation for years. The WcDonald’s universe is a reflection of what fans have created. It honors their vision and celebrates their creativity, while authentically bringing it to life in our restaurants for the first time ever.”

Australia – Local football club Sydney FC has tapped content management system (CMS) company Storyblok to create digital experiences to boost fan engagement amongst its club and reignite their enthusiasm.

For this partnership, the football club worked closely with Herbert Digital, a Storyblok Certified Partner, to build a digital stadium experience with Storyblok in 4 months.

Along with being the main source of content for everything about Sydney FC, the website features an ‘Experience Selector’ that enables fans to pick the best seats for their circumstances and the atmosphere they want to enjoy.

Sydney FC only planned to use the website for the initial return to the stadium, but after seeing this success and experiencing how easy and cost-effective it is to manage content with Storyblok, they decided to continue using it as their primary membership hub.

Jeremy Butler​, head of consumer business, marketing and content at Sydney FC, said, “We were under intense time pressure to create relevant content for the website. The intuitive design of Storyblok was effective in allowing our content team to approach the project with minimal training.”

He added, “We, as marketers, can independently change the content without having to involve developers. This, combined with the ability to view changes in real-time, allowed us to achieve our objective ahead of the deadline.”

Meanwhile, Dominik Angerer, co-Founder and CEO of Storyblok, said, “Great digital experiences generate excitement far beyond the devices that they live on. Sydney FC has been able to use compelling content to drive action by their fans, leading to record revenue and attendance. This is a winning strategy, both on and off the pitch.”

Singapore – As the pandemic has halted major events such as live entertainment and spectator sports, global live entertainment company AEG Sports has marked the use of advanced analytics to measure fan sentiments online and to encourage frequent engagement, through global analytics company SAS.

The analytics utilization uses SAS’ Viya via Microsoft Azure, which uses online models to gauge fan perspectives toward such things as returning to in-person games. By continuously analyzing fan sentiment during the pandemic, AEG Sports has been able to personalize messages based on interest and feelings on personal safety, and identify which fans needed targeted retention efforts. Using these tactics AEG Sports has kept fans happy and boosted the ROI of marketing campaigns.

“Times are unpredictable – but with SAS and Microsoft, we have two key partners that we feel confident can help us adapt and thrive under any circumstances. We might not know what’s going to happen, but we know SAS and Microsoft have our goals in mind and will enable us to respond to any challenge we may face,” said Aaron LeValley, senior vice president of business operations and strategy at AEG Sports.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo Rocha, general manager cloud solutions and ISV alliances at Microsoft, commented that more than ever, digital transformation is critical as organizations learn to adapt to new customer behaviors. He also added that SAS Viya on Azure helps make that transformation easier and faster, providing much-needed, immediate actionable insights.

The company also uses the embedded capabilities in SAS Viya for contingency planning. The ability to quickly ingest and model data from multiple sources – including ticketing, partnerships, marketing, weather reports and health experts – helps AEG Sports reduce pandemic-driven uncertainty.

Jennifer Chase, senior vice president and head of marketing at SAS states that she is a strong proponent for customer-centricity – or in this case fan-centricity, adding that sports teams have a unique relationship with their ‘customers’, and AEG Sports’ passion for their fans has been evident during the pandemic.

“They [sports teams] use analytics to really understand fan reaction to the disruptions and determine how best to support them through it all. A fan experience with heart and humanity will inevitably lead to stronger fan connections, especially when fans recognize that their team understands their needs – in good or bad times,” Chase stated.

AI technology is at the heart of AEG Sports’ drive to continually increase the efficiency of its modeling efforts. The output of these models often become data visualizations, which AEG Sports uses to chart its day-to-day operations.

“Data visualization is critical to our business. Most people are visual learners, so being able to show a visual representation of data has been extremely beneficial in gaining buy-in. Right now, almost every department in our company uses data visualizations to make decisions and operate more efficiently,” John D’Onofrio, business analyst at AEG Sports, said.

He also added that they needed to turn data around quickly for games, so having daily reports with visualizations that sales leadership can look at and immediately understand is essential, especially when there’s a new game every two days.