Other Media: Driving fan engagement and club presence in the online space

Other Media

For over 20 years, London-based digital sports agency Other Media has been a pioneer in developing digital strategies for their clients and partners.

The company’s approach, which they have labelled Creative Intelligence, is based on three key pillars combining creativity and technology: data driven transformation, creative and technical solution, and continuous optimisation. The company embraces the consistent change and challenges that arise from working with digital technology, striving to help their clients to create business advantage and meet rapidly changing customer expectations.

Other Media work closely with their partners to understand problems and establish long-term solutions. Through a series of interviews, data analytics and workshops, they tailor and shape their methodology to match the unique context and requirement of each of their clients. Websites, mobile apps, social and wearables are key to their audience engagement theory. In order to better understand and envision how a product or service will operate once it is launched, the company also develop prototypes to ensure their work and partnerships are sustainable and beneficial. The fluid and fast-paced nature of the digital space demands an approach that is malleable and adaptable. Other Media seek to establish solutions for their clients that advance with new innovations in mind, not only to keep up with the latest in technological developments but also to stay on top of pressure from competitors.

The company’s services include, but are not limited to, digital strategy consultancy, eCommerce strategy and development, and CMS strategy development. Most notably for football clubs and businesses, they also specialise in app strategy development, customer experience design and digital insights and optimisation. Clubcast, the company’s own fan experience platform, was developed to create a general online space that fans and clubs can utilise.

Through one comprehensive CMS, football organisations can efficiently and easily manage, personalise and share content to websites, apps and more, making it an effective digital space for clubs of all sizes to reach fans near and far, thus driving strong engagement and revenue. Clubs are given the freedom to choose and customise colours and themes in a gold standard UX design, seamlessly optimised for mobile use as well. Centred on creating the best web and in-app experience for fans and users, Clubcast boasts a number of features including a match centre with live statistics from fixtures, news and articles, ticketing, video and audio streaming, quizzes, polls and predictors, customised notifications and integrated retail.

In addition to benefiting fans, Other Media has ensured that clubs are also able to monitor the effectiveness of their Clubcast investment through a data dashboard that showcases real time fan behaviour and engagement, and KPI tracking. Clubs also have the option to personalise their dashboard to monitor relevant campaigns, including segmenting fans by location or demographic, personalising communications through push notifications and recognising and delivering relevant content to bolster fan engagement. The FXP is aimed at maximising affordability and profitability and is available with zero up-front payment. Instead, it operates through a monthly payment plan, encompassing the costs of the design and delivery of digital products, and hosting and support.

The company’s vision is clear and effective – to accelerate and foster successful fan engagement through the digital space, whilst also working closely with clubs to design unique platforms that are modern and user friendly and stay true to their individual fan base and history. Other Media have a plethora of successful partnerships with Premier League clubs, including West Ham United, Arsenal, Swansea FC and Chelsea FC, as well as being a key player in devising National League TV, a direct-to-consumer online video platform for the Vanarama National League, to be officially launched later this year.

Other Media’s success and efficiency in bringing quality digital solutions to their partners has been recognised in the sports business industry through a number of different awards. In 2018, they were named a Finalist for the Innovation Award at the Football Business Awards, for their work on the Swansea FC Sports App, which also saw them recognised as a Finalist for Innovation and Best Design/UX at the UK App Awards. In 2017, they were a Finalist at the BIMA Awards, a prestigious recognition of work in the UK digital sector, for their development of an immersive 3D Stadium Viewer for Chelsea FC.

To find more information on Other Media’s partnerships, services and more, click here.

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WA Government and Virgin Australia Partner to Bring Discounted Flights for Italian Football Series in Perth

The Western Australian Government has partnered with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of a three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo, in a move that reflects how state governments are increasingly using major sporting fixtures as tools of tourism and economic strategy.

Subsidising travel costs rather than simply promoting the matches signals a shift in how state governments are approaching major sporting events. WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby positioned the series within the state’s broader Winter of Unmissable Sport strategy, framing the partnership as a way to fill hotels, support local businesses and generate visible economic activity across a single week of programming. That logic places football alongside other major events states have used to justify public investment in visitor attraction, where the return is measured in tourism spend rather than ticket revenue alone.

A bet on Australia’s appetite for European football

Touring Italian clubs is not a routine occurrence in Australia, and Sport and Recreation Minister Rita Saffioti’s comments point to an underlying assumption behind the investment: that the existing fan base for European football in Australia is substantial enough to justify a state government underwriting travel costs to fill a stadium on the other side of the country.

Australian audiences for international football have grown considerably over the past decade, driven by streaming access, diaspora communities and the rising visibility of leagues once difficult to follow locally. State governments positioning themselves to capture economic value from that growth, rather than leaving it to broadcasters and travel operators, marks a change in how football’s commercial footprint in Australia is being treated by policymakers.

It also raises a question likely to recur as more international club fixtures are scheduled in Australian cities: whether public subsidy for travel around marquee football events delivers economic value beyond the host city, or whether the benefit is concentrated narrowly within the host state’s tourism and hospitality sectors. Virgin Australia’s involvement reflects the commercial logic on the airline side, with the partnership forming part of a broader push to connect Australians with major domestic and international destinations.

For the domestic football industry, the series is a reminder that international club football is competing for the same audience attention as the A-Leagues and grassroots competitions. Whether that competition proves complementary or extractive, in terms of where football-related spending in Australia ultimately lands, is a question state and national football bodies are likely to watch closely as similar fixtures become more frequent.

Referee Omar Artan appointed to UEFA Super Cup Final

The Somali referee will officiate the 2026 UEFA Super Cup in August between Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa.

 

World Cup controversy to Super Cup support

As 2025’s CAF Men’s Referee of the Year, Artan stands as one of the world’s leading match officials.

His expertise and skill allowed him to enter FIFA’s international list in 2018, and has since proved an outstanding ability as a referee, culminating in the CAF Men’s Referee of the Year award last year.

Despite Artan’s capabilities and reputation, his dream of officiating this summer’s World Cup tournament met a premature ending. The referee couldn’t enter into the US after arriving on a diplomatic passport and single entry visa, and was subsequently forced to return home to Somalia.

But Artan’s journey as a referee on the global stage is far from over, as UEFA and CAF confirmed that Artan will officiate the UEFA Super Cup clash between Champions League winners, PSG, and Europa League winners, Aston Villa, in Salzburg this August.

 

Upholding the partnership

In April of this year, UEFA and CAF signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which promised to utilise mutual support to encourage development, inclusion and wellbeing in football.

The MoU aligns unity, cohesion and partnership between two powerhouse continents of world football.

And now, the alignment is stronger and clearer than ever. In the midst of a major blow to Artan’s personal and professional dreams, UEFA and CAF’s partnership provided an opportunity.

“Omar is an excellent young but already experienced referee, who has proven himself at the highest competition level of the Confederation of African Football,” said UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin via media release.

“Football is made to connect people, and UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills, which had earned him such a prestigious nomination.”

Furthermore, CAF President, Dr Patrice Motsepe, outlined why the initiative perfectly embodies the nature of a partnership between UEFA and CAF.

“This is a great honour for Omar Artan and for African referees and is also an excellent example of football bringing together and uniting people from Africa and Europe and worldwide.”

 

Final thoughts

Out of bitter disappointment and controversy comes a far more positive reflection of football’s influence and impact. It also proves that an MoU is more than just signatures, but a genuine promise to support the game and all within it.

A partnership like this has the power to help millions at once.

But sometimes, helping just one person is all it takes to prove its worth.

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