The power of sport: Uniting vibrant communities globally

• Eternal brand loyalty - Bayern and Juventus lead the way
• Data-based marketing pushes community building
• Sport, health and fashion: a large community in one place
• Communities guarantee success in online retail
• Fan engagement: digital platforms encourage active participation
• Cartoon series: Gen Alpha plays a major role at Juventus
• Cycling shorts for women: SQlab relies on customer feedback
• Great potential in women's sport - new target group for brands
• Female empowerment: sport boosts self-confidence
• Female role models are still missing - appeal to the sports world

What can sporting goods companies or brands learn from clubs such as FC Bayern Munich or Juventus Turin in terms of brand loyalty? Quite a lot. Even if Thomas Ehemann, Head of Digital Fan Experience at FC Bayern, and Daniele Lunazzi, Head of Marketing at Juventus Football Club, are of course talking more about fan involvement. But sporting goods companies and clubs have one thing in common: they hope for brand loyalty that will last a lifetime at best. As Thomas van Schaik, Athlete Brand Strategist, explains, fan engagement has changed - from an event-based, TV-based business to today's international media-based industry. "The remote fan, for example the FC Bayern fan in Indonesia, will never go to the stadium, but he is a valuable fan." According to him, globalization and digitalization have simply changed our entire sports world.

The Bavarian soccer record champions' strategy is therefore: "We want to lead our fans from social media to channels that we own - our website, our app. This is the only way we have complete control over the fan experience." The club uses SAP Emarsys - an omnichannel customer engagement platform that enables brands to deliver AI-powered, personalized interactions across channels - to reach its fans worldwide in a "smart way" . However, Fernando Pagani, Head of Global Solutions Emarsys, emphasizes: "Data alone does not help if it is not processed. FC Bayern fans go to social media channels, they go to the stadium, they buy merchandising items, they pay for games on TV." SAP has harmonized the data and then made it available on a platform "so that the marketing experts can work with it. So that they can make the smart decisions they make these days". At FC Bayern, "the fan is always at the center, and it's crucial to interact with them," adds Ehemann.

Interaction was at the heart of ISPO Munich - and the slogan "Love every contact" was impressively brought to life here. Never before has it been so easy to bring so many people and business professionals from the fields of sport, health and fashion together in one place. In addition to the Main Stage with inspiring panels and discussions, topic-specific stages such as the Blue, Green, Pink and Yellow Stages offered a wide range of insights and space for exchange. Start-ups and investors in particular took the opportunity to make valuable connections and work together on new ideas at ISPO Brandnew Speeddating. The ISPO Lounge, in turn, became the central meeting point where like-minded people could network, exchange experiences and forge new partnerships. And in numerous topic-specific workshops, participants also worked together intensively on practical solutions that will advance the industry. ISPO Munich proved once again that personal encounters and genuine connections are the key to sustainable success and vibrant communities.

The example of Jack Wolfskin shows how important the exchange within communities is. At ISPO Munich, the outdoor experts presented a program that turns customers into real product specialists. Under the name Guru, they bring their practical experience directly to other customers - digitally and in real time. Stefan Buschmann, Director of Customer Service at Jack Wolfskin, explains: "Our brand was born around the campfire, where experiences were shared and stories were told. We transport this DNA into our online stores to offer our customers real added value." Authentic peer-to-peer recommendations not only strengthen trust, but also make purchasing decisions easier.

The focus is on genuine expertise. The community members, known as gurus, are carefully selected and promote brand loyalty with their knowledge and passion. "Authenticity and emotionality are the factors that set us apart from the competition," continues Buschmann. The figures show that this approach works: Higher customer satisfaction and rising conversion rates speak for themselves. A recipe for success that not only proves its strength in sports, but also in online retail.

For long jumper Malaika Mihambo, sport is "something that unites people all over the world. It brings people together, they experience participation without having to be in the same place. It doesn't even have to be at the same time". Thanks to technological progress, "we can network". For the Olympic champion, the advantage of global communities is obvious: "We can think broader, bigger and achieve greater goals as a society - not just in terms of sport." In order to become more inclusive, it is important "that people around the world have access to technology". Fan experience expert Ehemann cites active participation and a strong sense of belonging as further advantages: "Every fan is also a content creator." It is important for the club to benefit from this ecosystem and pursue the idea of an open source brand. "Every community not only consumes the content that big soccer clubs distribute, but also creates content itself."

The traditional club Juventus Turin is taking a different approach to building up a new, young fan base: "While others are still talking about Gen Z, we are focusing on Gen Alpha. And we asked ourselves how we can reach the kids." With these words, Daniele Lunazzi, Head of Marketing Juventus Football Club, explains the launch of the self-produced animated series "Team Jay". Following a relaunch in 2024, the second season is already underway. According to the club, the first season achieved good results. It reached a global network with over 1.35 million subscribers on YouTube and over 336 million views. The Italians are the first soccer club to take this innovative approach with their Juventus Creator Lab. "We didn't create content as we imagined it, but interacted with our users." That is why the series with the mascot, zebra "Jay", is not about soccer, but about teamwork and friendship, for example. Lunazzi also mentions another figure that describes the global success of the project: "90% of users come from outside the Italian market." No wonder: the series is currently published in five languages, soon in six or seven, and young fans can not only buy a zebra cuddly toy, but also merchandising products in the black and white look.

Simply sit down and pull your cycling shorts over your buttocks - without having to take off your jersey or open any zippers. Which female cyclist hasn't thought this many times? This is now history, because SQLab has entered apparel production with the 3D technology from CLO Virtual Fashion. The Munich-based company combines science, technology and customer requirements to create perfectly fitting products. Instead of using traditional methods, SQlab has been working with 3D design right from the start. "We make sure to incorporate user feedback and we are user-centric at every stage of the journey," emphasizes Pranshu Awasthi, Business Development Associate at CLO Virtual Fashion. With digital avatars that simulate cycling and fewer physical patterns, SQlab "not only saved time with the software, but also avoided errors in the design process and got results quickly," says Lukas Bucht, Head of Research. The mix of technology and customer focus resulted in the SQ Short One12 Women cycling shorts as the first product. Buch: "In combination with our data from our customers' measurements, we know exactly what our customers need. And the visualization software for fittings is so simple, we were able to look at the shorts from all angles, talk about them, discuss them and develop them further."

Jessica Weber takes a look at another community - namely young girls and women. The Head of Sponsoring at Allianz Germany explains the commitment to women's sport by expanding the target group "to include amateur and amateur sportswomen". It is important that "the right people present the brand and that the stories are right". Kim Renkema, Head of Sport at Allianz MTV Germany, also calls for a "new, creative" approach to sponsoring female athletes. She attested that women's sport has "a lot of potential". And Weber adds: "If women's sport becomes more visible, everyone benefits." Thomas Dörr from Dekra can only confirm this: The company sponsors the women's volleyball Bundesliga in order to "raise its profile as an attractive employer for women too". And Bianca Rech, Director of Women's Football at FC Bayern Munich, has a tip for future sponsors: "You have to be involved now, otherwise it will be too late."

"It was amazing to be part of the project and talk to the girls," says Kosovar Arsllani, Laureus Ambassador, about her visit to "Futbalo Girls" in Munich. The project, which is supported by the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, empowers socially disadvantaged girls with weekly soccer sessions, among other things. The Swedish international striker is enthusiastic about "how sport is used as a tool for the young girls to integrate them into society". Arsllani has set up a similar project in her home country so that girls from different cultural backgrounds have a community in which they feel safe and can play soccer together. "It will always be a challenge, but the main thing is to find ways," Arsllani encourages others to follow her example and use the universal power of sport to connect children, young people and adults across all language and cultural boundaries. Or as Ned Wills, Laureus CEO, puts it: "You don't need to speak the same language to play soccer and bring communities together."

What do sportswomen like Georgia Stanway, midfielder at FC Bayern Munich, want from the sports industry? "They should invest, not just money! It's time for them to stand up for women's sport so that female athletes can achieve their goals." Because one thing is clear not only to the England international, but also to her Swedish soccer colleague, Kosovare Arsllani: "It's about investment to create new role models. You are responsible for the future of those around you. If you have the will to change something, then you can. For the next generation." In this context, she cites the owner of London City Lionesses, Michele Kang, as her "biggest inspiration". "She believes in the project and is willing to invest in us." The entire science is geared towards men and Kang ensures "that we are treated as women and not as little men". And looking to the future of women's sport, Arsllani says: "Think about how well this will go in the future if we get all these resources and scientific knowledge."