Why Every Modern Sports Organization Needs a Marketing Lifecycle, or Gets Left Behind.

Rebel Idea 101: Personalized E-message/Apps launch tactic.

Nov 26, 2025

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But,

Let me say it, Sports organizations still have the problem of how to reach out to their own fans….

I do remember when working as an intern for AMIENS SC(French Ligue 1) back in France in the ticket sales department.

I worked with two other interns on ticket sales and membership for the 2020/2021 Ligue 2 BKT season. This was during the COVID pandemic and the relegation period.

This Lifelong experience has shaped my critical thinking. It helps me market to fans, even in tough times.

✍🏾🧠✅~~Wisdom: is always knowing what you don’t want to do. “PAUL DIOH”~~

As a shy account executive, I wanted to share the marketing lifecycle. I enjoyed sending “personalized e-messages” more than calling or selling tickets to the FANS.

I have heard people saying that if you are calling us, it means you’re short on getting fans, or the team is performing very badly, or maybe there is no sports fandom culture and community.

It can be a true reason why some US sports franchises relocated their team to another city.

Unless you’re the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL) or Manchester United FC, fans wait years to become season ticket holders. Account executives often call fans to explain delays so they don’t lose their seats.

Except that…I experienced it …

From entering a high-tech stadium and arena, where 1st time game attendants will get into the #market-in#:

Wi-Fi logins in the stadium that request email addresses.
Contest entries, predictor games, QR code scan, or polls that require sign-up.
Post-match surveys and landing pages connected to the CRM.

Otherwise, getting their phone numbers is the golden data….as

Personalized SMS worked well.

According to me, Fans replied quicker than with calls, even late at night. I saved the last few who might have lost their way due to poor social media clueless. Most fans were over 50 and told me they felt proud that my branded e-message with the Amiens SC logo was safer than a call.

Happy I was as it worked …and I rather preferred to stop calling fans with 20/30 missed calls per day👨🏾‍💻.

I preferred to spend hours creating a personalized e-message to get more leads. This was better than wasting time on missed calls.

The sad part.

The old model of calling people like a call center is dead.🪦

Except for this, at the packed Emirates Stadium(home of Arsenal FC) in the most crowded football market(London), to see the next episode of hope of the elephant at the top of the Premier League table for how long? (games/seasons).😀👨🏾‍💻⚽🎬

Without forgetting Gunners supporters pay an average of £88.65 per ticket, the steepest in the league and in football.

Another look at the #Arsenal fans life cycle! #AFC

They must be doing great …in terms of ticket sales retention out there because:

Loyalty of fans, legacy of a club, and the branding are valuable assets for the marketing cycle, but the reality of the passion of European fans(roots of their city) is different from the US sports franchise system fandom(love of the sport).

However,

Only if a sports organization did not decide to gentrify ….

Then keeping fans is more valuable than gaining new ones in the entertainment/event business when you have a database and need consent, as the Warriors show.

Here’s why:

Cost-Effectiveness: Retaining fans is usually cheaper than acquiring new ones.
Loyalty: Existing fans are more likely to stay engaged and spend more.
Trust: Asking for consent builds trust and strengthens relationships.

So, focus on retention for better long-term success.

In our modern era, you can’t sell single tickets, hope fans come back, and survive. Sports now compete with Netflix, TikTok, Airbnb, and every other “weekend option.” If you don’t guide fans through a lifecycle, you lose them.

Unlocks the value of fan data.😀

The reason for it is that the marketing lifecycle aims to re-engage lapsed fans.

Based on my ticket sales experience, I focus on the open rates for calls and emails. (The people who care) .

The others I have reached out to with personalized messages with the logo of Amiens Sc.

Result: Fans or most of the people react more to an e-message, but what I mean by reacting is:

People see the message on their pop-up notification screens with a chance of 98%,
Can probably open and read it, let’s say 50% of the time.

Especially when it’s personalized from a sports team or their favorite teams.

In General: Most people don’t call back or respond to missed calls from unknown or corporate numbers.

Trust me.

I’ve missed many calls from PSG representatives when I tried to buy a ticket online for a game, despite planning to visit Paris for the weekend. Their email always reached me, though.

How We Use Push Notifications to Keep In Touch With Fans - ChairNerd

But the law of attention in the marketing lifecycle in sport says,
Why not PERSONALIZED SMS?

-Phone number and Name are the quality data for a personalized E-message.

Revenue comes from game days, along with upgrades, offers, and exclusive experiences.

Sports organizations go through five phases: introduction, growth, maturity, decline, and reinvention.

Personalized SMS is the real deal for sports organizations with a strong fan and prospect database.

Because it’s a year-round fan engagement with AI coming in, it’s inevitable.

Targeted campaigns: The marketing team should find fans who have lost interest. They can use CRM efforts and personalized text campaigns to spark interest. This also boosts ongoing participation.
Mobile engagement: Teams can send personalized SMS campaigns. This keeps fans updated on ticket and merchandise sales. This helps keep a strong, long-term relationship.

My AAER blueprint from my research and experience can unlock other marketing lifecycle tactics.⬇️🫂🎯

It’s all about tech innovation and a fresh take on Customer Relationship Marketing, not Management (sorry 😀🫂🎯). This focus helps with quick conversions and sales engagement.

Some tried, via a partnership, and it worked as I explained previously, as I had an English lecturer in my sports business class, to whom I told that I had been trying these ideas at AMIENS Sc during my internship. He literally confirmed to me that some football clubs in the UK have done or tried before.

Then come :

Aston Villa FC x Relay Station.

Relay Station is a communications provider to governments, banks, enterprises, small-to-medium enterprises, charities, professional organizations, sports clubs, and other types of operations with large audiences.

Result:

The lesson:

The fan lifecycle isn’t about marketing only anymore; it’s about trying new ways of fan relations.

For some clubs or franchises, it’s a survival culture and turning data into fan statuses, such as Identified fan, Activated Buyer, Repeat Buyer, to the Lapsed ones.

Text messaging is an easy way for sports clubs to contact their customers and make it easy for them to buy tickets.

Teams don’t have to rely on luck… and lose for an attendance excuse.

This is my new format for Sports That can be made wisely.

Don’t hesitate to read my latest⬇️