This project focused on the market segment of football fans with the characteristics of early adopters. It is important to understand the consumers of this market segment better, to validate the MVP of the application. The research is based on reports and studies conducted by research companies in the field of consumer behavior and economics Nielsen Sports.
For this market segment we identified three main user types, driven by different main motivations: social connection, affiliation and expertise. These three user personas served as the guiding start in the development of the features for the App.
When creating the structure of the app characteristics, motivations and needs of the user personas were kept in mind.
The sitemap allowed for a product flow in a module based structure. This led to some flexibility to add and delete specific product components without affecting the whole flow. In addition to that it helped to identify the components that need optimization more easily.
Before building the UI we had to ask where the UI is going to be displayed. We came up with a design system that assures usability, accesiblilty and consistency in different devices and screen sizes.
I shared some UI mockups with development team to validate the design system on all devices before building the complete design mockup. it saved US a lot of time as we validated what is technically possible and what is not.
An important insight we got early on is that the target users predominantly use social media on their mobile phones. Therefore we launched the product as a mobile app first. This approach helped with early traction and retention. Below is the concept of the web version.
In Footigo you are the player of your favorite club. The players of the same club are clubmates, collectively collecting FTZ points (Footigo scoring system). FTZ can be collected by social interaction, betting and scoring in the Footigo quiz. The sum of the FTZ earned by all clubmates is the FTZ earned by a club. Thus, clubs rank based on the collectively generated FTZ of their fans. Besides the club ranking, there is also a player ranking. The more active you are as a player, the better you rank and the more you contribute to your club.
It turned out that the quiz was very popular among users. We started with three soccer knowledge categories and added seven more categories after noticing a high usage of the quiz. Examples for quiz categories are La Liga, Champions League, Premier League.
We also added an off-time feature, for which we have received positive feedback from users. This feature allowed for playing against another user in a different timezone and to show the results with the corresponding delay. To ensure the smooth use of the application around the world, we added a multi language support center.
Big brands like sport and football in particular as an advertising platform, due to its enormous reach. In 2016 brands have spent USD 198B on digital ads alone. However, only because someone sees an ad displayed, this does not mean that they also become interested and engage with the brand behind the advertising.
In addition to being a social media for fans, Footigo aimed to be a platform where brands can spark users interest and increase engagement and affiliation among football fans.
Football can be referred to as the most popular, most watched, most played and most revenue generating sport around the globe. Footigo is one platform, where football fans can share their passion. It is a platform for engagement, emotions, and affiliation. A place where fans can connect and collectively support their team in a virtual space.
Footigo connected thousands of passionate fans and allowed them to play for their team. It furthermore is a platform for digital advertising, where major brands in the sport industry can establish a connection with fans.
A place of shared emotions and engagement, strengthening the fan community and football scene. EUR 250’000 seed funding was raised and within 6 months 100K users downloaded the App.
