With the decision to adopt an “always-on” mindset and diversify its digital strategy, the International SAMBO Federation’s (FIAS) rapid audience growth over the past six months demonstrates just how important it is for sports properties to adopt a year-round content plan to engage and retain new fans.
Since partnering with N3XT Sports in March 2024, the governing body has set record digital expansion for the martial art of sambo, including a 76.1 percent increase in its cross-platform social media following, while also augmenting its communications strategy among FIAS subscribers.
The collaboration between N3XT Sports and the FIAS digital team coincided with the build-up to the European Sambo Championships 2024, held in Serbia in April, with a focus primarily on boosting fan engagement via the federation’s Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok channels. This included paid-media campaigns between its other major events, with a keen focus on its regional Asia and Oceania Championships, held in June, and the Beach Sambo Championships, held in September.
“Our team supports FIAS on multiple fronts at a significant moment in the federation’s digital transformation,” says Beatriz Indurain, N3XT Sports’ VP of Growth. “By developing and delivering always-on campaigns, the governing body has witnessed significant cross-platform audience growth around its major events, including in markets outside its regional strongholds.”
N3XT Sports also supported the FIAS digital team on the creation and distribution of livestream campaigns to drive traffic to its Sambo.live mobile-supported over-the-top (OTT) streaming offer, as well as 34.2 percent subscription growth via YouTube since April.
Video generation has been a key pillar within the federation’s success across all platforms. This is demonstrated by the cross-pollination of content, including a dramatic surge in the governing body’s TikTok following. Since the channel’s launch in March, the FIAS digital team has grown its TikTok audience from only 24 followers to 96,500 since partnering with N3XT Sports.
“At FIAS, our goal is to continue to serve fans with a seamless user experience across our digital platforms and social channels,” says Michal Buchel, CEO at FIAS. “Since working with N3XT Sports, our digital team has been able to drive significant engagement via bespoke content planning and tailored video content. We’re excited to deliver more exciting content to our fans around the world.”
PURPOSE | HOW N3XT SPORTS IS SUPPORTING FIAS
N3XT Sports was appointed by FIAS to support on multiple areas within the governing body’s digital transformation: (1) the development and implementation of a bespoke digital marketing and content strategy; (2) the creation and execution of a paid-media strategy designed to amplify the federation’s audience reach and engagement; (3) establish a new customer relationship management (CRM) capability to facilitate personalized communications; and (4) to revamp its OTT offering through compelling content and immersive experiences.
GROWTH | KEY MILESTONES & EMERGING MARKETS
One of the project’s targets has been to expand the sambo audience outside its mainstream markets in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus. Further to its audience engagement, Lausanne-based FIAS has seen marked cross-channel growth in emerging markets including the US, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and Cambodia. For example, the US is home to the highest viewership via YouTube (6.5 percent) among sambo’s emerging markets.
Meanwhile, campaigns via the federation’s Facebook page helped drive more than 6 million impressions in India around the Beach Sambo Championships while the platform engages an average 55,800 users in the country every day. Since partnering with N3XT Sports, FIAS has also grown audience interest in Nepal, Bangladesh, Algeria, and Pakistan.
CRM EXPANSION | DATA COLLECTION & USER SEGMENTATION
The FIAS CRM is being integrated across three different data touchpoints. These include its OTT subscription, newsletter sign-up, and stakeholder registrations at federation level, including athletes, coaches, referees and FIAS members. This approach will enable FIAS to consolidate its fan and stakeholder data via a centralized CRM platform and segment their communications more effectively.
As part of the FIAS digital strategy, N3XT Sports supports the federation at every stage of the fan-marketing funnel: (1) audience engagement and growth via its social media campaigns; (2) the collection and management of fan and stakeholder data online; and (3) marketing and communications support via email.
WHAT’S N3XT?
N3XT Sports supports every stage of an organization’s digital transformation, from the assessment of its digital and data maturity, through to the design, creation, and implementation of technology frameworks created to our clients’ specifications and to meet their business needs.
Among our client portfolio, part of our remit is to deliver tailored digital growth strategies, including D2C and social media campaigns that drive audience engagement and customer conversion at every stage of the fan-marketing funnel.
By advocating an “always-on” mindset, in which sports organizations are leveraging a centralized CRM solution, FIAS exemplifies how federations can generate cross-platform fan loyalty for driving new subscribers and augmenting their fan and stakeholder communications strategies.
Our team at N3XT Sports works tirelessly to develop and implement data and digital transformation strategies across a multitude of sports properties at federation level, competition level, and club level. To find out more about how N3XT Sports can serve your organization, fill out the form below, and we’ll be in touch. Our goal is to drive the digitalization of the sports industry and our clients.