Everton Worldwide: Using Tech to Find a Global Audience

As of the middle of January 2023, the south stand of the stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock was completed — in a fashion. 

The site is still comprised almost entirely of a concrete, brick, and steel skeleton but the addition of the first of three roof trusses means that a project that has been in somebody’s mind since about the mid-nineties is finally coming to life. 

Just another year to go (hopefully). 

A Virtual Flyby

A stadium always has something to say about a club’s aspirations — and Everton's new home suggests that the club is eyeing a much wider set of fans. Of course, marketing to a wider audience comes with its own troubles, something that technology might be able to solve. 

Fan interaction is the most important aspect of any club’s PR campaigns. Whether it’s stadium tours, meet-and-greets, or match attendance, building Everton around the fans has always been a priority. 

In recent times, the Toffees’ have taken a more digital approach to this engagement, offering a virtual flyby of the finished Bramley-Moore Dock site on the club’s website and YouTube page. 

Football isn’t the first thing that’s adopted a more tech-forward ethos. In rugby, for instance, the Japanese national team has partnered with entertainment giant Sony to create “new viewing experiences” for fans. 

This pairing is trying to achieve much the same thing that Everton will need to start thinking about soon, namely, how to make the team more visible to a global audience. 

"Digital Media Technologies"

Of course, much of this future will be based on streaming opportunities. After all, live presenters have long been part and parcel of the footballing experience. There are other, newer ways of doing it though.

In the world of casino gaming, operators have begun integrating live dealers into players’ games, having them deal cards or spin a roulette wheel even for people sitting at home.

The BonusFinder website outlines the ways that casinos are getting people involved with this new technology in a recent article they wrote.

Everton have already committed to “evolving digital media technologies”, to quote the website. To date, this includes a mobile and iPad app, as well as feeds that target non-UK supporters. These are the @EvertonInUSA page and the official Weibo channel in China.

In the future, the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium will be at the centre of many of these media campaigns - but are we expecting too much of a few more seats?

New Demographics

Beloved as it is, Goodison Park has struggled for capacity for a long time, with its current 39,572 placing it just ahead of Leeds' Elland Road, as 9th largest Premier League stadium in the country.

As a point of comparison, the biggest club park in the land, Old Trafford, tops out at 74,310 while Anfield can hold 54,074 fans at capacity. 

With only three stints in the Europa League since 2009, European football has become a bit of a fond memory at Goodison Park.

While it’s unlikely that a new stadium will solve that particular bugbear overnight, an extra 20,000 fans does give the Toffees a chance to target those important new demographics, and potentially convert a new generation to faithful Blues. 

Overall, Everton's future is an exciting one, whichever way you look at it.

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