Are you planning a fan zone for an upcoming event? That’s great! You’ll want your visitors to enjoy a good time and to be engaged with the main event. In which case, you need to understand this – the key to the success of your fan zone lies in that very word – ‘planning’. Careful, considered forethought is a must – it should be your number one priority.
At Global Events, we deliver many fan zone services and often people are unsure what exactly they entail.
In this article, we’ll outline the essential elements that will give you the greatest chance of delivering an experience for your fans that’s enjoyable, exciting and memorable – an experience they’ll never forget!
What is a fan zone?
Fan zones are usually an area outside or away from the main area of a sporting event that contains large viewing screens, hospitality areas, fan engagement areas, or food and merchandise stalls. You’ll find them next to the event or within zones built to watch or engage with the event live, such as;
– Outside stadiums where a sports event is taking place – providing activities and entertainment sometimes several hours prior to, as well as after, the main event.
– In large public spaces – parks or city squares, potentially many thousands of miles away from an event – enabling fans to watch on giant screens and enjoy the sports event within their own town or city.
Almost every major stadium – as well as many smaller ones – now have dedicated fan zone areas. Wherever they’re located, fan zones share a common aim – to enable people to come together and feel part of the event action whether they’re able to attend the event itself or not.
Sometimes known as ‘fan villages’, fan zones are all about providing that all-important memorable customer experience (CX).
A fully-fledged fan zone will include a range of bars, eateries and entertainment, along with shops and other merchandise offerings. These might include shirt printing facilities and areas for family-focused or experiential marketing activities. Live music and performances are also now a regular fixture in many fan zones.
Why are fan zones important?
A well-planned fan zone that delivers a memorable experience will generate considerable extra revenue. But, the benefits can be much more long-lasting.
A successful fan zone will also deliver brand reinforcement and brand awareness through sponsorship opportunities with advertising and signage. For example, people may be familiar that Heineken sponsors UEFA Champions League, or that of McDonalds who have World Cup 2022 sponsorship.
Additionally, long after the conclusion of the event, fans will share their memories on social media, cherishing them for many years to come, bringing further engagement with brands.
How to make your fan zone successful
Regardless of the space at your disposal or the size of your budget, the key to making your fan zone a success is to make everything revolve around the fan experience. For every decision you take, your sole focus should be the fans and giving them a great and memorable experience. The entire process should place your visitors at its core.
There are five key elements to ensure that your fan zone is as successful as it can be –
1. Location
Let’s say your target market is the fans who are attending an event (such as a sports match in a stadium). One of your aims will be to build up an exciting atmosphere. In these cases, the obvious location will be as close to the stadium as possible – perhaps in the stadium car park.
If, on the other hand, you’re setting up a fan zone for the benefit of fans without tickets for an event that’s many miles away, then your main consideration will be a location with sufficient space, such as a local park or city square. Car parking and access via public transport will also be vital considerations.
2. Size
You’ll need to ensure that your fan zone can easily accommodate the numbers you anticipate attending along with the level of production you would like to add to the space. For example, stage and food stands take up a lot of space and it’s important to factor in event and crew staff, so an event space for 1000 guests may actually only accommodate 400 people.
A properly planned fan zone will ensure the chosen venue and grounds the fan zone sits, will be structured in a way to ensure the numbers and capacity can be reached but in a safe and secure way.
3. Amenities
Your fan zone should offer a wide variety of options for food and beverages. You’ll need to provide ample seating and toilets. Don’t stint on the latter. Your aim should be to put on a fan zone that’s memorable for the right reasons – and that includes ensuring that fans don’t have to endure long toilet queues.
4. Entertainment
There should be plenty of activities and entertainment available to keep fans occupied and entertained. Give them variety, excitement and fun. Make your fan zone an experience for all the senses – something that adds real value. Ask yourself – ‘What will visitors want to see and find in the zone?’. Then, give them more than that. Apply the old cliché – exceed their expectations. You won’t go far wrong.
5. Safety
This should be your prime consideration. Your fan zone might be buzzing with lively and fun activities. Just don’t cut corners with safety and security. The safety of your fans must count above everything else. Make sure that your risk assessment is adequately prepared and that you have well-trained security staff in place.
How to create a fan zone?
The best fan zones make optimal use of the available space with a layout that’s a complete scheme where the entire focus is on the customer experience (CX).
The days when a few tents and food trailers were deemed to be sufficient are long gone. Comfort, space and protection from adverse weather conditions are now regarded not so much as a ‘nice-to-have’ but as a minimum requirement.
Increasingly, visitors to fan zones expect a variety of pop-up shops and food kiosks that are high in quality, professionally run and smartly branded. Bog-standard burger bars are definitely a thing of the past!
The most successful fan zones will include many of these amenities and facilities –
– Food and refreshments
– Children-friendly games and activities
– Stage area for live performances
– Large screens
– Experiential activities, e.g. photo walls
– Seating areas
– Shop units
– Shirt printing
– Meet the team areas for guest appearance
– Programme sales
– Lost child kiosk
– Engagement zones
– Photo booths
– High level production
– The correct level of sponsorship branding
– A good floor plan
An experience to remember for years to come
A successful fan zone will include several key elements that combine to create an experience that fans will enjoy and remember for years to come.
Are you planning an event? We’d love to hear about it. Our mission is to help bring your fan zone vision to life. Get in touch today and tell us about your ideas. We’ll be delighted to provide you with a proposal outlining our services. We’d welcome the chance to help deliver an experience to your fan zone visitors that they will remember and cherish for many years to come.
Did you enjoy reading about fan zones? Why not learn about our different types of sports simulators that create fantastic fan engagement?
