OneFootball’s VP of Product on Building a Unified Fan Experience

In this episode of “Tame the Mobile Beast,” Tom Butta speaks with Pietro Lambert, Vice President of Product Management at OneFootball, about the challenge of disjointed fan experiences and how the brand aims to be the ultimate “one-stop shop” for football (or soccer) fans. Pietro discusses the evolution from a simple scores app to a comprehensive platform, the critical role of the mobile app, and the importance of staying deeply connected with customers to deliver value.

Short on time? Here are five key takeaways from the conversation:

Convergence is Key to Fan Value and Business Growth 

Disjointed experiences — where interactions across a brand’s website, app, email or live events feel disconnected — drive fans away. Pietro emphasizes that the digital space is unforgiving; if the experience isn’t seamless and best-in-class end-to-end, customers will easily switch to alternatives that better meet their needs.

OneFootball’s vision is “convergence” – bringing everything a fan needs (scores, news, video, merchandise, tickets, betting) into one platform. This creates a superior, convenient experience for fans and significantly boosts business viability by increasing revenue per user (ARPU) from cents to potentially hundreds of dollars through direct-to-consumer transactions.

The Mobile App Experience is Crucial for Engagement and Conversion 

To avoid frustrating users by linking out to external sites with different logins and interfaces, OneFootball focuses on building native, integrated experiences within the app. Their marketplace, for example, allows fans to browse and buy merchandise seamlessly using Apple Pay or Google Pay within the OneFootball environment, reducing friction and boosting conversion.

Customer Obsession is a Must to Build What They Need 

Pietro stresses the need to be the “biggest fan” of your own product and stay close to customers. He evangelizes practices like the “Breakfast Club” — a daily review of customer feedback on app stores and Twitter — to understand user problems, identify bugs, gather insights and ultimately build a product that is meaningful and delivers on its promise.

Hyperpersonalization Through First- and Zero-Party Data Delivers the Unique Value Customers Now Expect

OneFootball leverages a rich understanding of fans — gathered from both explicit preferences like favorite teams and notification settings and implicit behavioral data like content interactions — to deliver highly personalized experiences. This data fuels customized content feeds, precisely targeted notifications, and relevant commerce offers (such as suggesting a specific jersey), significantly boosting engagement and making the platform more valuable to each individual fan.

Internal Alignment Around a North Star Mission Prevents Unnecessary Silos

Building a unified experience requires internal alignment. One Football combats potential silos by establishing a clear company vision and mission, focusing on a defined list of top problems to solve. This guides decision-making, helps navigate trade-offs between customer value and business viability, and ensures all teams are working cohesively towards the same goals.

Curious how OneFootball used Airship’s Scenes to fuel repeat app engagement and drive customer satisfaction? Read the success story here