Hungarian Football Federation continues successful partnership with Seyu to strengthen connection between fans and their favorite team
The partnership between the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) and Seyu has brought yet another innovative opportunity to Hungarian football fans, encouraging them to show their support to the national team players — from the convenience of their own homes, via their smartphones.
Bringing a unique, virtual matchday experience to fans
As a source of national pride and identity, football has played an important role in Hungarian culture for a long time. Incorporating modern technologies into Hungarian sports fans’ lives shows a new way forward in connecting them — regardless of age and location — with their favorite teams and other fans during highly anticipated events.
In the autumn World Cup qualifier season, the digital sports tech solution was available to football enthusiasts during three different matches — namely, against England, Andorra, and Albania. During the England and Andorra games, fans had the opportunity to submit selfies along with encouraging messages via Seyu’s whitelabel solution, called “MLSZ FanXP”. These selfies and messages were then displayed on the stadium screen and LED perimeter system of Puskás Arena as a form of virtual support. During these two matches, there were live promotional activities on location, further boosting user engagement and activity.
Be there, without being there!
The Hungary-Albania game was slightly different, as it was played behind closed doors — fans could only gain virtual entry by submitting a selfie. Here, the application played a particularly important role in bringing fans closer to their team, making them feel — if not physically present — more involved throughout the entire event.
The solution perfectly illustrates the enthusiasm of fans and the devotion they have towards their favorite players and shows just how much the MLSZ FanXP app helped in providing a memorable matchday experience. The pictures also prove that cheering is a social activity: nothing illustrates this better than the fact that 72% of selfies featured at least two people.
Pandemic-fuelled changes in sports entertainment call for enhanced virtual solutions
The pandemic crisis has negatively impacted the sports scene around the world, making it more difficult to maintain the all-important interpersonal aspect of cheering and connecting with other fans. Sports entities had no choice but to come up with new, forward-thinking methods to create remote but interactive environments that provide a sense of togetherness — something that makes live sports events so special.
This marks the beginning of a new era in sports entertainment. From now on, both fans and sports clubs will have to adopt digital solutions, as they will increasingly play a huge role in our everyday lives. This is especially true for members of the Millennial and GenZ generations who tend to find themselves more engaged through digital experiences — and account for 61% of the MLSZ FanXP app’s user base. These users, between the ages of 18 and 39, also happen to be the most financially stable generation, representing huge economic potential.
Showing the way forward in digital sports technology
Looking ahead, getting these solutions right will be crucial for sports providers, clubs, and federations to maintain brand awareness and the loyalty of fans. The partnership between Seyu and the Hungarian Football Federation is a great example of showing the way forward.
Some of the highlights from our fan activity report summarizing the results of the campaign:
- Throughout this collaboration, the Hungarian Football Federation activated eight new marketing platforms.
- In total, fans submitted 1000+ photos via the application, with more than 2400 people in the pictures.
- The number of impressions on the Hungarian Football Federation’s social media accounts increased by over 133 000 with 5100+ reactions and comments.
The results speak for themselves: thanks to Seyu’s digital sports tech solution, the Hungarian Football Federation managed to successfully create an engaging experience, resulting in a stronger-than-ever connection between their own brand, the team, and the fans.
