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Towards a digital legacy


David Stalker, CEO of the FIA, explains how a new 2012 partnership between the FIA and Sport England will engage consumers to be active and grow memberships


W


e live in a digital age in which consumers are used to buying online, and in which we


expect instantaneous outcomes at a click of a button. So it’s no real surprise that over the last three years, there has been a huge increase – in fact, a 400 per cent increase – in online searching for places to fi nd, book and play sport and physical activity. But with no platform to fulfi l this


consumer desire, we are currently missing out on a prime opportunity to get more people active. Now a new partnership between the FIA and Sport England is set to change all this, helping us capitalise on the gap between interest and fulfi lment and ultimately achieve Lord Coe’s Olympic bid promise to “create a real and lasting legacy”.


the hurdles T e commonly used measures to track sport and physical activity participation rates indicate that participation is growing slowly. We need to boost this trend by removing the obstacles to participation. T e latest Google statistics demonstrate that these are no longer purely physical (matters to deal with proximity to services), fi nancial (matters related to aff ordability) or psychological (matters to deal with personal motivation and stage of change). One of today’s highest hurdles to participation is digital (our sector’s relatively low adoption of modern technology).


the solution T e new partnership aims to remove this barrier by creating a digital legacy: a world-class customer experience public website to search and fi nd sport and activities in one place. Scheduled to be live pre-Olympics,


the website will provide an easy to use, searchable consumer interface by location or activity. So if someone wants to fi nd an activity close to where they live, they will key in a postcode or region. T e website will upload a list of activities, their availability and who to contact to make the booking. Alternatively, if someone


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is inspired to try a new activity, they can search for the activity itself and the website will display the locations at which they can participate.


information is key Key to the success of the digital legacy project is having accurate information to present to the consumer: details of where the opportunities to be active actually are, with the off ering presented in a way that is easily received and understood. Currently this ‘front end’ information is fragmented at best and inaccessible at worst. Meanwhile, the ‘back end’ data so


valuable to operators – consumer data, online search stats, etc – is insuffi ciently used to grow participation. We do not use such data to tailor services and communications to customers at an individual level and to suffi ciently ‘sweat’ our assets. T is makes it harder to respond to the opportunities that are presented to us, or to harness the marketing power of major partners. T e initial, searchable ‘back end’ data


for the website will be sourced from Sport England’s Active Places and the FIA’s membership database and cross-referenced


Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


through the project’s partnerships: NGBs, health clubs, leisure centres – anyone who off ers sport and physical activity. Listed organisations, or organisations/


consumers who want to list an activity not yet detailed on the site, will be able to add this information, with the details then validated. T ere will also be a user registration process, which will provide a profi le of people searching for activities and booking activities – consumers who are starting to be active or being active more oſt en. T is will provide a holistic picture of the demand for sport and physical activity.


the partnership Creating this 2012 digital legacy is a formidable task, so with the backing of Sport England, the FIA has formed an expert partnership team including T e Leisure Database Company, open- source technology specialists Haulmont, and marketing services provider McCann Worldgroup. And of course your engagement is


essential. To capitalise on fi rst mover advantage and grow your membership, contact the digital legacy team: +44 (0)20 7420 8560 / RachelBarber@fi a.org.uk


april 2012 © cybertrek 2012


Health Club Management is the FIA’s Public Affairs Media Partner


T e new website will be a one-stop shop for consumers to search for sport and activities


PIC: YURI ARCURS /WWW.SHUTTERSTOCK.COM


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