Sharp FanLabs
The world's largest ever study of football fans
The year was 2012, and the once-mighty Japanese electronics giant Sharp was struggling to maintain its foothold in the European market.
In a bold, last-minute move, they decided to sign on as a major sponsor of the European Football Championship—a decision that thrilled everyone at their agency, Work Club, which had just spent the previous six months working on a B2B photocopier campaign.
But once the initial excitement wore off, we realised the magnitude of the challenge ahead. Compared to the other big-name sponsors, Sharp felt like something of an outsider. Aside from their historic stint as Manchester United's sponsor, the brand lacked any strong connection to football culture. If we wanted to stand out as more than just another logo on the hoardings, we needed to do something truly distinctive.
So, while the other sponsors focused on the 320 competing players, we took a different, more “scientific” approach by directing our attention squarely toward the 350 million fans instead—introducing Sharp FanLabs.
Sharp FanLabs was established as the largest-ever study of football fans. We wanted this to be more than just another pseudo-scientific marketing ploy; we partnered with industry-leading research and technology companies to ensure our study was robust and meaningful.
Football fandom is arguably as intricate and perplexing as the game itself. While countless hours are devoted to analysing every detail of on-field action, surprisingly little attention has been given to the frenzy of activity happening all around it—in stadiums, bars, fan zones, and homes where the passion for the sport truly comes alive. This is especially true during a tournament as monumental as the European Championship. The collective highs and lows experienced by fans can reveal a country’s true character, with the mood of an entire nation hinging on a single kick—especially when it’s aimed at an opposition player (think Beckham, 98).
Conducting research across 30 European markets, we set out to explore how fans felt in the lead-up to the tournament. Our goal was to uncover the unique national moods of each fanbase and track how these fluctuated throughout the competition—even during a single 90-minute game. Given the many existing stereotypes surrounding fanbases, such as the exuberant Dutch supporter or the stoic German fan, we were interested to observe whether these perceptions were confirmed or debunked through our study.
The integrated campaign ran for three months leading up to the tournament, featuring an extensive programme of both digital and Europe-wide activations, all of which powered our real-time contextual advertising.
First, we needed to get ourselves into the mindset of football fans across Europe.
To make this happen, we partnered with a research company to develop a custom app, enabling us to conduct detailed psychological tests and daily polls on a large scale.
Measuring optimism, pride, and commitment, we analysed this data to determine a national average. Individuals were also categorised into one of eight fan archetypes to see how they stack up against their friends, fellow fans in their country, and football enthusiasts throughout the continent.
The most cutting-edge research was conducted by our state-of-the-art mobile FanLabs, which travelled across Europe, screening the tournament on a glorious 60” Sharp HDTV. Part living room, part laboratory, the vehicles were equipped with brainwave scanning headsets and other biometric sensors. During every match, we analysed eleven fans from each team. The technology allowed us to monitor their physiological reactions and track how their emotional states shifted throughout the 90 minutes.
How nervous were they before kick-off? Which fans never gave up hope? Who watched the game most intensely? And who was just happy to be there?
All this provided us with a treasure trove of data to work with. From there, our dedicated editorial team took the reins. Every day, they sifted through the results to uncover the most compelling insights, which we then shared on our website and across social media.
These findings also fueled contextual advertising across 30 markets. Each local market had its own tailored media partnerships. In the UK, for instance, Sharp FanLabs sponsored a pre-tournament supplement in the Sunday Telegraph and a daily segment on TalkSport where we shared our latest and most intriguing discoveries.
Even more impactful was the organic buzz we generated. Publications across Europe picked up and reported on our findings. Sharp FanLabs data was featured in more than 50 media outlets, including goal.com and La Gazzetta dello Sport.
In an age when every on-field kick is already being analysed, Sharp FanLabs found a completely unique way to connect with football fans.
Despite being new to the game, Sharp was able to outplay the other sponsors at Euro 2012. In total, over 3 million fans across Europe took part in the study, while over 300 million fans engaged with our result.
