{"id":2254,"date":"2017-05-03T16:17:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-03T14:17:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/19digital.fr\/2017\/05\/03\/bfan-the-mobile-app-that-brings-club-fan-communities-to-life\/"},"modified":"2017-05-03T16:17:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T14:17:18","slug":"bfan-the-mobile-app-that-brings-club-fan-communities-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/19digital.fr\/en\/2017\/05\/03\/bfan-the-mobile-app-that-brings-club-fan-communities-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"bFAN, the mobile app that brings club fan communities to life"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At a time when digital is everywhere and almost indispensable for clubs, we spoke to Nicolas Menci\u00e8re, co-founder of bFAN, a startup that helps clubs animate their relationship with their fans.
\nFind out more about their concept. <\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Hi Nicolas, can you give us a brief introduction to bFAN? <\/strong> bFAN enables professional leagues and clubs to offer their fans unforgettable experiences.
\nMore concretely, it’s a mobile application for the club, free of charge for fans, on which the club can post varied content thanks to our “fan engagement” platform, with the aim of transforming the experience of its fans.
\nThis application offers clubs a new way of communicating, building fan loyalty and promoting their sponsors by offering new digital spaces. What exactly is the target for bFAN?<\/b> We specifically target professional team clubs, where the notion of a fan community is particularly important, as well as one-off or recurring events requiring a mobile app.
\nWe provide them with a turnkey app in true white label (editor’s note: the bFAN brand does not appear anywhere) in the club’s colors. If there was one big advantage for clubs to use bFAN, what would it be?<\/b> bFAN offers many advantages for clubs, the first being that the club will have a professional mobile application similar to those of big clubs (PSG, Monaco) but at a fraction of the cost.
\nWhat’s more, the club automatically gets the latest features, updates and bug fixes.
\nA test application is delivered within a few days, and once the contract is signed, it’s available in a few weeks in the Google and Apple stores.
\nSo there are no risks or surprises for clubs.
\nThen, thanks to the app, the club can involve its fans in matches, thanks to an innovative gamification and loyalty system.
\nIt’s also a tool that enables the club to create “User Generated Content” (content generated by the fans themselves) and then reuse it on social networks.
\nFinally, and this is particularly important for clubs, their partners can be promoted within the app through various digital spaces.
\nSo the app is no longer a cost, but a source of revenue for them.
\nA particularly interesting aspect for clubs with limited budgets. <\/p>\n

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\"bFANbFAN<\/span><\/div>\n

The bFAN mobile application<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How does bFAN benefit fans?<\/b> With bFAN, the fan is the big winner.
\nThey have the remote control of the match in their hands.
\nThey’re in constant contact with the team.
\nThey get live information, receive push notifications and participate in the decisions and life of the club.
\nFor example, the club can ask fans to predict the score at half-time, or to take part in surveys.
\nAnd the more the fan is involved with the club, the more the club can directly recognize their loyalty by offering them unique experiences such as meeting players or winning unique gifts such as autographed team shirts. How did you come up with the idea of designing a mobile application to help clubs animate their fan community?<\/b> With my partner Jean de Boysson, we started thinking about a concept in sports a few years ago.
\nOver time the idea evolved until 2014\/2015 when we realized that very little was being done for fans.
\nSo we decided to launch bFAN.
\nIn contact with clubs, we realized that there was also a strong need among clubs to have their own mobile app to interact with their fans, but their budgets were limited.
\nThis is what ultimately solidified our offer: a high-end but turnkey product accessible to all clubs. It’s a good idea, but how has the app been received by clubs?<\/b> We’ve had very good feedback from the clubs we’ve presented bFAN to.
\nIt’s practically 100% positive feedback.
\nThe clubs have understood that there is a real need on the part of their fans to benefit from a digital solution like ours.
\nThey also have modernization constraints imposed by their leagues, and a need to attract an ever-younger audience. <\/p>\n

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\"ThebFAN<\/span><\/div>\n

The management platform for the club, similar to the WordPress universe<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On the other hand, the sales cycle in a club is a little long, which can be explained by the fact that the decision-makers are sometimes different and not easily accessible.
\nBut there is real interest in a new way of distributing content and monetizing it by targeting the public.
\nIt’s also a possible solution for increasing fill rates, the number of partners and matchday and non-matchday revenues. Like many projects in sport, I know that bFAN is a real team project.
\nCan you tell us more about the people behind the project? <\/b> As I said earlier, we are two co-founders: myself(Nicolas Menci\u00e8re)<\/a> and Jean de Boysson<\/a>.
\nWe both have technical backgrounds in computer engineering.
\nJean attended INSEAD and EPITA, a more business-oriented school, while I did EPITECH and a more technical Master’s degree in project management in the USA.
\nWe met in New York, where we worked for the same company: Morgan Stanley, a major investment bank.
\nToday, we’re a team of 8, mainly in tech, but we’re also developing the commercial side. <\/p>\n

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\"NicolasbFAN<\/span><\/div>\n

Nicolas and Jean, the two co-founders of bFAN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

On the financial side, did you receive any special support or assistance when you launched your start-up?<\/b> No, none, because we’re still very young.
\nWe haven’t taken part in anything yet, but we may soon. As for YPPA<\/a>, it may still be early days, but have you won any particular awards or accolades for this project?<\/b> Not yet, but we hope to soon \ud83d\ude42 However, we were mentioned in SportTechie magazine in the USA last June.
\nThe article can be read here<\/a><\/strong>. You’re currently at Le Tremplin, the number 1 sports startup incubator in Paris, but what are your short- and longer-term ambitions?
\nHow do you see bFAN in 5 years’ time? <\/b> Today, Le Tremplin provides us with exceptional support and a strong bond between startups in the sector.
\nIn the long term, it’s very likely that we’ll move elsewhere, primarily for reasons of space.
\nIn 5 years’ time, we’re aiming for a fairly rapid internationalization towards EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa), which will enable us to develop a global experience and become a leader in the fan experience. THE FAN EXPERIENCE IN GENERAL – A VIEWPOINT As a specialist, a player in the sports world and also a fan, what do you think of the spectator experience in today’s stadiums?<\/b> For me, there’s a lot of progress to be made.
\nThere’s a lot to build on, that’s for sure.
\nWe certainly need to adapt on a case-by-case basis and make the best decisions. <\/p>\n

“I think the fan’s current experience is better in front of their TV than when they’re at the stadium, and we want to change that. In France, the match remains the number 1 element. The event must not be focused solely on the opposition between the two teams. Spectators need entertainment. So we need to put on a show. We know that the population is aging, so we need a real strategy to attract younger people and adapt to them and their demands. The next turning point is recruiting the next generation.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Even if the American model is not necessarily adapted to the French model, there are best practices to follow and draw inspiration from.
\nIn particular, before, during and after the match.
\nMake the match an event within an event, and get people to come 1 hour before kick-off and leave 1 hour afterwards.
\nAll with the aim of enhancing the stadium experience and increasing revenues. In your opinion, are clubs doing enough to fill their stadiums and attract a wider audience?<\/b> Clearly, I don’t think so.
\nIn France, too much emphasis is placed on players and sporting results as the sole key to success and growth.
\nClubs don’t focus enough on growing the fan base, preferring to invest in recruiting the best players and coaches.
\nThey often don’t have a vision of the fan experience as a profit axis, but instead focus on short-term visibility.
\nWhereas the more fans there are, the more the club shines and earns revenue.
\nIn my opinion, clubs need to make a real effort to put the fan back at the heart of the event, because he’s the key player in the club: he’s a member, he speaks out, conveys the image and makes it worthwhile to bring in partners.
\nOur application responds to two of these aspects: communication and the creation of strong links between the club and its fans, which increases the club’s notoriety. Every Friday, we feature a new fan experience idea in our #FridayIdea<\/a> column.
\nToday, it’s your turn.
\nWhat ideas could you put forward to boost the spectator experience in sport? <\/b> I’d like to make them more active and less passive, especially before, during and after a match.
\nLike what the bFAN app offers, or via an innovative concept like that of the Screaming Eagles, which we’ll be discovering in detail shortly in a major feature on Fanstriker (fans make the decisions, give their opinion, share ideas and live an enhanced experience).
\nPutting fans back at the heart of the show by giving them visibility, and offering them an unforgettable experience.
\nFans complain about their lack of decision-making power, the latest Fan Story by Charlotte, an RC Lens fan<\/a><\/strong> says it all.
\nIt might be a good idea to increase their decision-making power for their team.
\nOr in part for recruitment, for example. Finally, to conclude, we usually ask everyone we meet to give us an idea for the next interview with sports players?
\nWhat point of view would you like to hear on the subject of the fan experience? <\/b> I’d like to hear from club community managers, who are really in touch with the fans.
\nI’d like to hear from people in several different sports.
\nHow are they organized, are there differences between countries, or are there similar issues?
\nThe second interesting area to study is club partners.
\nWhy do they join a club, and what do they expect in return?
\nWould they like something extra?