As a Leeds United fan I’ve met my share of super-fans, those displaying such a quixotic level of support for their club that it consumes every part of their life - including their moods and general disposition. But, Leeds United is also well known for its intensely loyal and active wider support base (those who love the club but understand it is just a game) evidenced by the weekly gate receipts of 30,000+ and leedsunited.com having the 5th highest traffic in all the land; this is made all the more remarkable when you consider they now reside in the old 3rd division. I think one of the main reasons for this strong support base is actually the existence of a strong super-fan core, which acts as a powerful and firey centre generating a kind of gravitational pull on the wider fan base. 

Super-fans perform a raft of valuable tasks for a club, this includes spreading the good word, keeping the club going when things are not going well, recruiting new fans and helping to push regular fans further up the ladder towards super-fandom.  In today’s highly connected and networked world, encouraging super-fans is also becoming more and more important for brands, to that end I thought I’d take a closer look at the world of football super-fandom and see if we can’t learn a thing or two.

OK so it’s no Armarno, and it’s just a taster, but here’s a potential super-fan journey in the run up to a big game.

In a bid to to quench their passion for the club, fans are increasingly turning to a wide array of media outlets and tech platforms to consume, interact, share and connect with club and fans. This mini-ecosystem has emerged organically and far from being soley owned and controlled by the club, it rests upon the super-fan’s ability to participate and contribute towards the club’s fortunes. And it’s here I think we can start to pull out some lessons, specifically about how brands should super-serve their super-fans for the benefit of the brand. 

• Identify a single purpose relevant to your fan base and commit to it
• Disseminate this story across multiple media touch-points
• Give real people at the heart of the brand a voice  
• Allow fans to be heard and have an opinion on the brands progress
• Provide opportunities for fans to connect and share content with each other 
• Provide regular opportunities for fans to get up close and personal with the brand
• Create useful resources and services for fans
• Open up and give fans access to all levels of the brand  

It’s just a start and would love to hear what people think about what else we can learn, if anything?

Tags: armano, Brands, fans, football, marketing, media outlets, media touch-points, new-media, super-fans