Manchester United is one of the most popular and recognizable professional sports teams on earth. Getting to know its global fan base is an ongoing initiative rooted in customer engagement.
With nearly 660 million global supporters, Manchester United always wants to improve the customer experience.
As a result, Manchester United partnered with HCL Technologies, a leading IT services company, to transform the customer experience for the team’s massive global following.
The first step on that customer experience journey will be to create a state-of-the-art United Xperience Lab to be housed within the iconic Old Trafford stadium, which will make it the seventh such lab across the world. Within the lab, HCL and Manchester United will explore revolutionary ways in which the club uses technology to create a unified fan experience for supporters; and in the process set a new engagement benchmark in the world of sport.
“Our partnership with HCL is a first for Manchester United,” said Richard Arnold, Manchester United’s Group Managing Director. “With the introduction of the United Xperience lab at Old Trafford, we hope to demonstrate best practices within the industry to generate new ideas that leverage the latest technology available in the evolving digital landscape. It is a very exciting prospect and the possibilities of what we can achieve are endless. Through digital transformation we hope to change the way in which our fans experience and interact with Manchester United.”
Anant Gupta, President & CEO, HCL Technologies said the partnership is unique and creates value not just for Manchester United and its fans, “but also for all forward-looking organizations across the world. With enterprises facing an explosion of digital content and experience interfaces there is a growing need for a partner who can orchestrate these value chains and harness them for business benefits. Our partnership will enable HCL to create and manage these digital assets at a scale which will make it a prototype for successful digital co-innovation in any industry/organization in the world. We are very excited to be part of this partnership that aims to pioneer the 21st century enterprise experience.”
During its illustrious 137-year history, Manchester United has won 62 trophies. Its large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.