FEBRUARY | COVER FEATURE
Contributors
David Tossell
Mark Bustard
“We’ve seen a shift towards the ‘total fan experience’,
mapping out the customer journey with extreme care, ”
— Tom Ford, head of marketing, Levy UK
“Each and every aspect has developed due
to increased consumer demand as part of
the growth of the experience economy – and
in response to growing competition from
a wider range of leisure and entertainment
activities. More than ever, sports are
working harder for consumers and reaping
the rewards.”
Indeed, the impact of American Football
alone has been significant for the events
industry and consumer choice. David
Tossell, NFL director of public affairs (UK
and Europe), tells Access that the NFL
is increasingly becoming part of the UK
landscape.
“Not only have we staged 24 sold-out
regular-season games in London since 2007,
but we now have two weekly NFL shows on
BBC television and more than 100 live games
aired every season on Sky Sports. A total
of 25 million unique individuals watched
some NFL programming during the 2017-18
season.
“We have also established a strong
reputation for staging large-scale fan
events, including taking over Regent Street,
Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square, and we
regularly tour the country with NFL UK
Live theatre shows. In addition, we have
a growing grass-roots programme, with
more than 10,000 young children a year
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Tom Ford
Heidi Hayes
playing NFL Flag in schools in various
cities. We are constantly looking at ways
to reach new audiences and our fan base is
getting younger all the time - a combination
of hardcore avid fans and those who are
attracted more by the experiential elements
of the sport.”
The MLB London Series is another
example of how sports can impact and
leverage on cultural touchpoints. Bustard
says: “MLB will be the one to watch in 2019
with the New York Yankees and the Boston
Red Sox bringing their intense rivalry to
new ground at the London Stadium in
June. With this will come a whole package
of fan engagement linked to the cities and
baseball culture: celebrity, music, art, film
and fashion. It will be integrated sports and
entertainment.
Levy UK is among the event suppliers
embracing the new models that American
sports are creating. Tom Ford, head of
marketing, Levy UK, tells Access that the
arrival of the NFL at its partner venues
including Twickenham Stadium (which
hosted games in 2016/17) and the new
Tottenham Hotspur stadium (at which The
NFL has confirmed its first two games as
part of the 2019 London Games Series) has
provided a welcome re-think of how food is
approached.
“The American catering model is about
‘premium informality’, and it’s a style we’ve
used at the various NFL games we catered.
Typically this will involve roaming bowl food
and the integration of the dining experience
as part of the overall game experience –
bearing in mind that the games can be an
all-day experience. There’s also efforts to
provide low alcohol beverages to promote
drinking responsibly.
“Of course, the UK audience were
considered, and we were careful to merge
American traditions with UK tastes to
create a hybrid offering that appeal to fans
internationally. Certainly though, this is a
break from traditional, formal British three-
course dining.”
Speaking about the wider impact of
Americanised UK events, Ford says that the
UK sporting market has learnt from its US-
counterparts.
“We’ve seen a shift towards the ‘total
fan experience’, mapping out the customer
journey with extreme care, and making sure
it is as smooth as possible right down to the
simple things. For example, staff held all the
doors open for fans at the end of the Atlanta
Falcons match, and they wave everyone
goodbye.”
He adds that this, and other aspects
can be met with cynicism or sarcasm by
UK audiences, but the tide is changing. “If
your team just lost 2-0 to West Ham, some
English fans wouldn’t embrace this tradition,
but we’re moving towards greater control of
every element of the customer experience.
This will include the use of things like
beacon technology, and food menus that tie
into the overall theme. The Americans have
also helped drive an ethos to treat visiting
fans with the same courtesy as home fans.
This is about showing-off what a great