On Wednesday the 29th March, the Fan Engagement Conference returned for the second year to the exciting and historic city of Kilkenny. This year the setting was the beautiful Rothe House in Kilkenny City, and it was a fantastic day for all involved. Among many others, experts such as Mario Leo from Result Sports, Barry Cunningham from the IRFU, Mark Brooks of the Belfast Giants and Jeramie McPeek, formerly of the Phoenix Suns were on hand to dispense great advice and participate in intriguing discussion.
An event which is emerging as a real highlight in the calendar for professionals in the fields of Fan Engagement, Sports Business and Sponsorship activation, this year attendees were treated to intriguing Key Note interviews with former MD of the England FA, Adrian Bevington, as well as record setting adventurer Gavan Hennigan. In addition, there were multiple expert panels looking at a range of subjects in the fan engagement and overall sports business space - from Digital Marketing, to esports, to the emergence of chat bots as part of a digital strategy.
This year at #FECKK17 we wanted to reward those that work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that fans have a great experience. From a stellar cast of Irish Sporting bodies, we asked people to vote for the organisation they felt offered fans the best engagement and interaction in 2016. Competition for the award was intense, illustrating just how much focus organisations are placing on this space at the moment. There were over 800 votes cast, and the likes of the IRFU and Basketball Ireland garnered a lot of support.
Award Ceremony for Best Fan Engagement Organisation 2016: Darragh McGinley, Digital and Social Media editor of the FAI; Kilkenny Mayor Pat O’Neill, and Ian Mallon Director of Communications, FAI
However, there can be only one winner, and it was the brilliant @FAIreland who topped the poll with 30% of the vote and won our inaugural Fan Engagement Award! Congratulations to their entire team and keep up the good work.
Delighted to collect the Best Fan Engagement Award on behalf of @FAIreland. Thank you to everyone who voted for us! ??⚽️ #feckk17 pic.twitter.com/oYWQerPLb6
— Darragh McGinley (@DarraghMcGinley) March 29, 2023
Thanks to all who attended the conference, and followed along on social media using the #FECKK17 hashtag. We even replaced #Brexit as the top trending topic on twitter which was great to see! Next year, we hope to return even bigger and better and look forward to welcoming you all to #FECKK18. Will @FAIreland be able to retain their award or will a new champion emerge?! Until then, all the best and thank you to everyone who made it such a special fan engagement experience.
