Fan Passion Creates New Fans! The Strategy of the J.LEAGUE Official App

In this series, I—a specialist primarily in digital marketing outside the advertising sphere—will introduce the growth potential I've identified within the sports industry and the strategies to leverage it.

Last time, I wrote about " Five Reasons Digital Marketing is Essential for Japan's Sports Industry," covering common challenges and growth potential within the Japanese sports sector.

This time, using the J.LEAGUE official app "Club J.LEAGUE" as an example, I will introduce specific actions I am actually taking as a concrete response to that "shared potential for growth."

Club J.LEAGUE - Official J.LEAGUE App
https://www.jleague.jp/app/

Digital Transformation Advancing in the J.League

The J.League has identified "Promoting the Use of Digital Technology" as one of its key strategies, actively advancing the "Digitalization of Marketing" (i.e., digital transformation) across the entire league.

[Examples of J.League Digital Marketing Strategies Implemented Over the Past 2 Years]

• Changing viewing habits through the DAZN broadcasting rights agreement
• Active Use of Video Content on Social Media
• Sequential rollout of stadium Wi-Fi
• Establishment of a common CRM platform provided to all clubs
• Signing an official J.League e-commerce platform partnership agreement with Rakuten

In this way, we aim to expand the overall J.League fanbase by increasing both video viewers and stadium attendees through the use of digital technology.

Regarding efforts to increase "video viewers," we have realized video distribution via DAZN, an OTT (Over The Top: a company other than a telecommunications carrier that provides audio and video content over the internet).

This made it possible to watch J.League matches on various digital devices. However, there was also a need to provide user services to further increase the number of stadium spectators, which exceeded 10 million annually.

Fans/Supporters: Our Greatest Asset

As the J.League's marketing partner, Dentsu Inc. has collaborated to conceptualize and implement user services. The key insight for developing services to increase stadium attendance came from the following recognition held by J.League stakeholders:

The most common reason for attending a match for the first time is " being invited by family or friends (who are already fans)."

This behavior had become standardized as "inviting and being invited. "

From a marketing perspective, I believe the hurdle of "going to a stadium for the first time" is extremely high, and solving it through advertising alone is very difficult.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 1, if core fans/supporters invite someone with "It's fun, let's go watch a game," the probability that someone who has never been to a stadium before will decide to go increases significantly.

[Figure 1] Conceptual Diagram of "Inviting and Being Invited"

In group interviews with core J.League fans/supporters, comments like the following were frequently heard:

"Of course I want to cheer on my favorite club"
"I went to every game last year, including away matches"
"I even invite my coworkers to games"

The passion of core fans/supporters is unimaginably high to outsiders, and this passion is driving the "Invite and Be Invited" phenomenon across Japan.

Strategies for Systematizing Fan Marketing

In my previous column, I introduced three common areas for growth within Japan's sports industry.

• Lack of established mechanisms to guide potential fans to their "first game"
• Trial fans are not converting into repeat attendees
• Inadequate hospitality/experience enhancement for core fans

The J.League also possesses these areas for growth. We reasoned that "creating invitations and acceptances through digital channels could rapidly realize the growth potential the J.League holds. "

To achieve this, while seemingly a roundabout approach, we first need to create a service that core fans will use. This will increase the number of invitations and acceptances, ultimately guiding potential fans to their first live game experience. The service development steps for this initiative are shown in Figure 2.

[Figure 2] User Service Development Steps

Starting with core fans, we aim to guide trial fans to stadium attendance and ultimately turn them into new fans/supporters.

[Figure 3] The Positive Cycle Aimed for with This App

Figure 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the cycle we want to create with the newly designed official J.LEAGUE app, "Club J.LEAGUE."

By incorporating mechanisms that trigger "invitations" from core fans/repeaters and "being invited" by trial fans/potential fans, alongside programs that encourage repeat attendance, we aim to guide trial fans/potential fans to stadium attendance. This targets achieving the threshold for retention in the J.LEAGUE, defined as "attending the stadium three or more times per year."

The official app as a measure to maximize stadium viewing experience value

While researching what specific digital services we should provide, we discovered an untapped opportunity: enhancing the stadium experience—the very essence of soccer's appeal.

Under the development concept of "maximizing the stadium experience value," we created the J.League's first official app, "Club J.LEAGUE."

Here, "stadium match experience" refers not just to the moment of the match itself. It encompasses the entire "series of J.LEAGUE experiences centered around watching matches at the stadium," as outlined below.

[Elements Included in the Stadium Experience]

• Searching for matches you want to attend
• Buying tickets
• Checking the match highlights
• Getting excited while watching the match at the stadium
• Watching highlight videos
• Decide on your next game to watch
• Experience the thrill of the match through live updates even when you can't make it to the stadium

While recognizing that "experiencing that one-of-a-kind match live at the stadium" remains the ultimate thrill of the J.League, we aim to enhance the stadium experience through digital marketing.

Let's see how this app "maximizes stadium experience value."

○ Medals (Loyalty Program)
This app offers a loyalty program based on stadium attendance. By using your smartphone's GPS for "Stadium Attendance Check-in," you earn one medal when it confirms you are attending a match.

These medals, which serve as the program's metric, can also be earned through "continuous app usage," "supporting a specific club," and "interacting with J.League partner companies."

As you collect more medals, your rank increases. Depending on your rank, you can participate in campaigns offering special hospitality from the J.League, clubs, and partner companies.

○Meiji Yasuda Life J.League Challenge
This program, made possible with the cooperation of J.League Title Partner/Top Partner Meiji Yasuda Life, allows you to challenge the "Meiji Yasuda Life J.League Challenge" (J-Challenge) once you collect 3 medals (including at least 1 from a stadium attendance check-in). If you "win," you earn the right to receive pair tickets to invite new fans/supporters.

This program aims to spread conversations like "Let's go to a J.League game this weekend" across Japan, broadening the J.League's reach. The more app users visit stadiums, the more new users are acquired.

While details will be explained in future installments, I believe the most innovative aspect of this app's service design was building a win-win relationship with partner companies to broaden the J.League fan base.

○ News
Official information previously scattered across J League and club-owned media like "J league.jp " and " J's Goal " will now be consolidated and displayed centrally within the app. These news items will be sorted and displayed based on the user's favorite clubs.

○Tickets
Integrated with the J.League's ticketing service "J.League Ticket," users can purchase tickets for all matches directly from the app.

○ Match Schedule & Live Updates
We deliver the full schedule and live updates for all matches hosted by the J.League.

○ Push Notifications
Receive push notifications for matches involving your favorite clubs: "Day Before Reminder / Kickoff / Goal / Halftime / Full Time". These notifications are fully customizable.

○ Connect to Stadium Wi-Fi
By connecting to the "Stadium Wi-Fi" currently being installed within the venue, you can watch DAZN match footage for free. For example, we envision viewing formats like "watching first-half highlights during halftime." For the time being, this service is planned to operate only at Kashima Stadium.

○ Stadium Campaigns
The app enables "announcements," "entries," and "instant winner notifications" for campaigns held at the stadium.

As this service is still in its early stages, we will continue to implement growth hacks going forward. Our goal is to create a service that serves as a "replacement for membership cards" for J.LEAGUE fans.

Club J.LEAGUE's J.League Fan Loyalty Process

Figure 4 outlines the "J.League Fan Loyalty Summary" supported by this app.

[Figure 4] Summary of the Process for Converting Casual Fans into Loyal Fans

When planning this app, we focused on conducting group interviews with the demographic "interested in the J.League but have never attended a match." During these interviews,

• "If someone invited me, I think I'd go see a game"
• "If I go to watch a game, I want to enjoy it to the fullest"
• "But I don't know what to do or how to make it more enjoyable."

These were frequently expressed sentiments.

There's no doubt that the greatest thrill of watching sports lies in "experiencing the excitement of the game," "watching high-level matches," and "sharing that real-life experience with friends."

Through this app, I believe we can provide the kind of "stadium experience" defined earlier and gradually increase the loyalty of casual fans toward the J.LEAGUE.

Next time, I'd like to share the system design philosophy behind developing Club J.LEAGUE.