Field Note - Zero Party Data

Hi Visionaries!

I’m trying something a little new with this post. It’s a Field Note. This is meant to be a short tactical insight that helps sports business leaders, service providers and enthusiasts.

We've got clubs sitting on billion dollar fanbases while Sky Sports, ESPN, and Instagram hoard all the juicy fan intelligence. Arsenal has 114 million supporters worldwide, but when it comes to actually knowing these people? They're flying blind.

Meanwhile, Shopify brands cracked this code years ago with zero-party data. Information customers willingly share because they're getting incredible value in return. Your favourite Direct-to-Customer brand knows your size, style, and spending habits not through creepy tracking, but because you told them. It’s fair trade: your data for personalised perks.

Football clubs could absolutely apply this approach:

Smart club apps that reward match predictions and profile updates with exclusive content. Suddenly you know which fans travel to away games, buy merchandise, or engage with sponsors.

Loyalty programs tracking everything from season tickets to shirt sales. This isn't just transaction information. It's lifestyle data that makes sponsors salivate.

Gated premium content where access requires sharing preferences or location data. Give fans behind-the-scenes videos, get back demographic gold.

Here's where it gets spicy: This becomes sponsorship ammunition. Instead of telling Nike "we have lots of fans," you're saying "we have 50,000 fans aged 25-34 who spend £200+ annually on football gear within 30 miles of the stadium."

This is targeted marketing with a purpose.

The clubs getting this right are building "owned audiences." They're not dependent on Facebook's algorithm changes or Sky's programming schedule. When they want to reach fans, they go direct. When sponsors want insights, they have receipts.

With third-party cookies dying and attention fragmenting, this direct relationship becomes everything. It's owning your fanbase versus renting it from platforms.

The unspoken truth? In five years, clubs with the deepest fan intelligence will dominate commercial revenues. Those still relying on broadcasters for audience insights will be fighting for scraps.

Field Vision Note: Control the data. Control the relationship. Control the monetisation.