Capturing the youth demographic is key in the technological space of mobile applications. Everyone wants the newest iPhone, the best laptop, or the most exciting game. Professional sport leagues understand that today’s youth are the future of branding and Premier League club, Arsenal, is getting on board.
Yesterday, Arsenal announced its youth-first app launching on iOS and Android in association with its “Junior Gunners” membership. Arsenal already has a Premier League leading, 36,500 Junior Gunner members, but it is hoping the app will attract more youth to the club, and loyal lifetime supporters as a result.
“Our young fans are the fans of the future. Football supporters tend to choose their team at a very young age so we hope by launching this app that when kids come to choose their team hopefully they will choose Arsenal,” said Anne-Lise Johnsen, Arsenal’s youth product manager.
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The app will feature leader boards and two games: the Tamagotchi-esque, Pocket Player, a player challenge mini-game where a user feeds, trains and rests an Arsenal player avatar and, Squad Boss, a Football Manager-style platform where Arsenal fans manage their own six-a-side team throughout a season. The app will also give users the ability to create their own avatar, receive important up-to-date content, squad lists and results.
Koko, the digital agency responsible for developing the Junior Gunners created the app with a focus on connectivity with the club.
“A few years ago we identified a bit of a gap in the market for our young fans…especially globally,” said Johnsen. “We recognized that not everyone can come to matches or our monthly events as a Junior Gunner, so we wanted to give them a bit more Arsenal through either their phone or tablet.”
Of course, the main issue with creating a youth-first app is safety. However, the Junior Gunners app’s connectivity is completely internal which limits interaction with strangers, putting parents at ease as well as restricting in-app purchases.
Although the content is free to download, access to other features such as the in-app games are only accessible to a Junior Gunner member or digital subscriber.
The Junior Gunners is designed for Arsenal’s “fans of the future”, an age group that ranges from 0 to 16 years old.
Download the @JuniorGunners app now and pick me as your Pocket Player. Come on Gunners! pic.twitter.com/4N5PrJbRLd
— Héctor Bellerín (@HectorBellerin) August 2, 2016
“We took inspiration from the main Arsenal app. This new app is part of a family of apps, it is not a separate tool. Part of Junior Gunners’ engagement strategy is around experiential, events, competitions and videos so the key here was to offer all of that within the app,” said Johnsen.
With soccer’s popularity growing rapidly in the United States, targeting a young demographic is key in solidifying its rise for years to come. Once you get someone hooked at a young age, a simple game could lead to a passion for an organization which Arsenal is trying to achieve.
“We hope the app will elevate the experience and engagement the club has with our fans of the future, not just here in North London, but globally,” said Johnsen.