Digital Memorabilia

the rise
of digital
memorabilia____
A study on how technology has impacted the ways
consumers collect, store and share football memorabilia
contents ____
Executive Summary
02
Results
03
Conclusion
04
Jim Boulton Biography
05
Methodology
05
About HTC Matchday Album 05
About HTC
05
Contact Details
05
executive
summary ____
The type of memorabilia football fans collect
and share has changed beyond recognition.
The HTC Digital Memorabilia Report investigates how technology
impacts the way football fans collect, store and share mementos
of their matchday experiences. The research discovered some
interesting facts, indicating that digital football memorabilia is
on the rise. Over the past decade, the autograph has given way
to the selfie as the ultimate match day memento.
This surprising trend can be attributed to the arrival of inexpensive
digital cameras at the turn of the century, followed by the birth of
photo-sharing sites, such as Flickr in 2004, which allowed consumers
(including football fanatics) to share pictures, follow and connect
with other people. Websites such as these were much more than
photo-sharing platforms, they were social networks. Once the digital
camera converged with the smartphone, the trend was unstoppable.
This new tool, an Internet-connected camera permanently in our
pocket, provided a means for collecting and sharing memorabilia
never before available.
Collecting has always been about belonging, a desire to connect
to something greater than ourselves. Traditional memorabilia
performs this task very well, evoking nostalgic links to the past.
Digital memorabilia does it better. It not only connects football fans
to the past, it communicates the present. Football memorabilia is
no longer just about remembering; it’s also about being remembered.
Jim Boulton, Digital Archaeologist
results ____
It’s remarkable how quickly football memorabilia has been revamped
and re-shaped since the beginning of the 21st century.
When watching a game, fans expect to be entertained by drama, goals and high
intensity football. Keeping the ticket stub or buying a matchday programme
helps any bonafide football fan remember those magic moments; and usually
those football mementos are stashed away and never see the light of day.
Now, football memorabilia is no longer being kept in storage. Instead it’s being
shared on social media via smartphones.
The Digital Memorabilia report challenges the myths about football memorabilia,
examines the types of football mementos that are considered truly special and
gives us a glimpse into the future by predicting what football memorabilia will look
like in 10 years’ time.
___ The death of the autograph
It’s official, the age of the autograph is over.
Football fans have made the jump from chasing after football players or
managers for a signed autograph to taking a selfie with their football heroes.
Digital mementos that are top of the ‘Must-have League’ are:
1 A selfie with a football player (32%)
2 A photo of an unexpected moment during the match, e.g. a pitch invasion (15%)
3 A selfie with friends celebrating a goal (12%)
4 A selfie with friends in front of a club emblem (9%)
5
A video selfie with a football player before a match (8%)
Female football fans are more inclined to take photos of a match, such as players
scoring a goal or a penalty but men prefer to film fans’ goal celebrations.
The Digital Memento ‘Must-haves’ per country are:
Selfie with
a football
player
Selfie with
a football
player
Selfie with
a football
player
Selfie with
a football
player
2nd
A photo
of an
unexpected
moment
A photo
of an
unexpected
moment
A photo
of an
unexpected
moment
A photo
of an
unexpected
moment
3rd
Selfie
with friends
celebrating
a goal
Selfie
with friends
celebrating
a goal
Selfie
with friends
celebrating
a goal
Selfie
with friends
celebrating
a goal
4th
Selfie with
friends
in front of
a club
emblem
Selfie with
friends
in front of
a club
emblem
Selfie with
friends
in front of
a club
emblem
Video selfie
with a
football player
or manager
before a
match
5th
Video selfie
with a
football player
or manager
before a
match
Video selfie
with a
football player
or manager
before a
match
Video selfie
with a
football player
or manager
before a
match
Selfie with
friends
in front of
a club
emblem
Germany
UK
France
1st
Spain
While printed ticket stubs, match day programmes and signed autographs1 made
football fans’ ‘must-have’ league of memorabilia a decade ago, new research from
HTC reveals that one in three (32%) fans now want to leave the stadium with
a selfie with a football player. With two-thirds (64%) of fans wanting to keep a
digital memento of their match day experience, the autograph has been given
the red card and the selfie has come off the bench.
___ The rise of digital memorabilia
A football fan in Europe has an average of 12 football themed selfies
on their smartphone.
Photographs and videos are the new, fresh face of football memorabilia.
Since making an ‘official debut’ 10 years ago on social media, digital
memorabilia is now a mainstay in the football fan’s world
of fan banter and matchday commentary.
1
Printed ticket stubs (35%), match day programmes (35%) and signed autographs (20%)
Football fans are just as passionate about their football memorabilia as they
are their club and technology has opened the door to increasing the number
of football mementos they own.
Football memorabilia exists beyond the club shop, it’s personal: Personal pictures,
personal videos and personal keepsakes created by the fans themselves.
One in four football fans are turning to technology to create their own football
mementos, so much so that a selfie taken at a football match has now become
one of the most sought after football collectables, over a signed autograph.
The most popular digital memorabilia in 2014
The most popular memorabilia in 2004
1
A selfie with friends during a match
1 Printed ticket stubs / club scarves
2
Photos of players scoring a goal
2 Matchday programmes
3
Videos of fans reactions to a goal being scored
3 Football kits / T-shirts
4
Selfies with football players
4 Signed autographs
5
Downloadable matchday programmes
5 Club stickers
64% of European football fans said they would keep a digital memento from their experience
of a football match.
Spain is the most tech-savvy European country, preferring to take selfies with other fans (36%)
rather than keeping a printed matchday programme or ticket stub.
The top three countries that create the most amount of digital memorabilia are:
1
Spain
2 Germany
___ Share or store?
The UK and France are home to the highest number of memorabilia
‘hoarders’, with two in three football fans (66%) in both countries admitting
to keeping football collectables in storage that never see the light of day.
However, 45% of football fans in Germany proudly display their mementos
in their homes for all to see.
Women are guilty of ‘hoarding’ their football memorabilia and take them out
of storage no more than once a year (27%) compared to one in five men who
prefer to show off their keepsakes.
A new breed of tech-savvy football fans are putting a stop to ‘hoarding
behaviour’ by turning to social media to instantly share their treasured
football collectables. Over half of European football fans (51%) are sharing
the videos, photos and additional digital football mementos they have
created in virtual communities.
60% of European football fans share their digital memorabilia via Facebook
or Instagram to gain bragging rights among friends and family
3 France
One in five (20%) share their digital football mementos via Twitter to prompt
competitive banter with other fans
One in 10 use Tumblr to host photos of memorable goals and experiences
from matchdays
Just under one in four (23%) create video selfies with friends during
matchdays on video message apps such as Vine
“Not only is memorabilia a gateway
to personal memories, football
mementos have become social objects
around which conversations and social
networks form”Jim Boulton
Spain shares its football memorabilia the most (61%), followed by Germany
(59%), UK (41%) and France (41%).
One in 10 European football fans have even turned their smartphone into a
mobile shrine to their favourite teams, preferring to have selfies and videos
of their matchday experiences on hand at all times rather than in storage.
One in four British football fans and over a quarter of football fans in
Germany (27%) store their memorabilia on their smartphone compared
to 41% of Spanish counterparts.
Over half of male football fans happily share their football mementos (51%)
whilst 46% of female football supporters like to keep their digital memories
to themselves.
From the study, we can categorise fans into four different ‘tribes’ of
collectors based on their motivations for collecting both digital and
traditional memorabilia:
___ Archivist
Consumers who purchase / collect football mementos to leave as a legacy
for their families
“Traditional memorabilia provides a physical connection to the game we love,
digital memorabilia provides an emotional connection to our fellow fans.” 2
___ Investor
Consumers who purchase / collect football mementos for financial gain
___ Socialite
Consumers who purchase / collect football mementos to share and gain
‘one-upmanship’ with fellow football supporters
___ Devotee
”Digital mementos are less about financial value and more about emotional
value. They’re almost the opposite in fact to traditional memorabilia that
are cherished for their rarity, the wider a digital memento is circulated, the
greater its value.”
“Mind-games aren’t reserved for football managers, every time we share
a photo, video clip or status update, we’re painting a picture of ourselves
we want others to see.” 2
Fans who purchase / collect football mementos out of pure loyalty to
their club
“Football fans are driven to develop a deeper relationship with their team.
As they collect selfies, goals and crowd reactions, they are re-enforcing their
bond with their football club.” 2
France is home to the highest number of ‘Archivists’ whilst the UK is home
to the highest number of ‘Investors’. Football fans in Germany were found
to be ‘Devotees’ whilst Spain has the highest number of ‘Socialites’.
2
Spain
Jim Boulton, Digital Archaeologist
___ Reasons for collecting digital memorabilia
___ The future of
football memorabilia
Germany
UK
France
Two in three (60%) of football fans proclaimed their love for football is given
a major boost by the digital mementos they are able to capture during a
match.
44%
36%
32%
29%
34%
35%
34%
28%
27%
In the next 10 years, football fans would like the current football memorabilia
to be transferred into the archives and replaced with:
Over one in three (34%) would like to see digital football tickets become
available, especially football fans in Germany and the UK
25%
A quarter (24%) would like to see more digital football scrapbooks –
which are in huge demand in Spain
18%
13%
12%
4%
To share on
social media
One-upmanship
Loyalty to club
6%
A fifth (21%) want to see 3D video messages from football players , particularly
French football supporters who favour 3D content over digital scrapbooks
6%
Financial
investment
One in five would like to create a bespoke digital signature in tribute to their
club for their smartphone
conclusion____
“ Memorabilia has evolved from forging a sense of
belonging, to a communication device that enhances
our self-esteem.
Digital memorabilia is shared freely across social
networks; it could just as easily spread around the
football ground. The screens on our phones could
seamlessly connect to the screens in the stadium
the same way they can connect to our PCs, tablets
and televisions. Replays of goal celebrations could
be compiled into a mosaic of fan celebrations
screened live during the game, which would could
then be repeated on TV and personalised online.
The next logical step is for memorabilia to become
a key that not only serves as reminder of past
experiences but also unlocks enhanced experiences
at future matches. By merging digital memorabilia
with digital ticketing, fans whose digital mementos
have reached a large audience could be rewarded
with better views in the stadium, better access to
players and receive official recognition by the club
of their superfan status.”
Jim Boulton | Digital Archaeologist
The Internet enabled smartphone is the defining technology
of our time. In less than a decade, they have become an
indispensable communication tool and our primary source
of news but perhaps more surprisingly, we are increasingly
using them to document our daily lives. At a football match
it’s no different; we use our smartphone to collect digital
memorabilia in the way we used to collect programmes,
ticket stubs and autographs.
Football memorabilia in the digital age, like everything
else, is more immediate. Selfies are published moments
after they are taken, crowd reactions shared as they
happen, banter exchanged in real-time. These digital
mementos are more than a collection of memories, they’re
a window into a football fan’s love of the game for everyone
to examine, appreciate, disparage and discuss. In a world
where we measure our status in likes and shares, not only
are the players competing on the pitch, the fans are
competing in the stands.
Collecting football memorabilia used to be a personal
endeavour, providing an escape from the real world. In
the digital age, it connects us to it. And that’s a whole
different ball game.
Jim Boulton, Digital Archaeologist
report
roundup ____
___ Biography
Jim Boulton is the author of 100 Ideas that Changed the Web and
curator of Digital Archaeology, an exhibition of technology, computer
art and apps that exhibited at Europe’s largest multi-arts exhibition
space, The Barbican.
After studying at the Hypermedia Research Centre, Mr. Boulton
co-founded Large, a web design agency that built critically acclaimed
sites for iconic brands such as Agent Provocateur and Bang & Olufsen.
Jim is now a full-time Digital Archaeologist.
___ Methodology
4,005 European adults aged 18 – 44 years old participated in an
online survey, developed by online survey research company
Opinium, between 7th to 10th October 2014.
___ About HTC matchday album
The HTC Digital Memorabilia report has been released to mark the
launch of the HTC Matchday Album, an online photography book for
football fans to store and share photos of their memorable experiences
during every match during the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA
Europa League 2014-2015.
___ About HTC
Founded in 1997, HTC Corporation (HTC) is the creator of many
award-winning mobile devices and industry firsts. By putting people
at the center of everything it does, HTC pushes the boundaries of
design and technology to create innovative and personal experiences
for consumers around the globe. HTC’s portfolio includes smartphones
and tablets powered by the HTC Sense® user experience. HTC is listed
on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE: 2498). For more information,
please visit www.htc.com.
___ Contact us
Fever | HTC PR Team |10 Great Pulteney Street | London | W1F 9NB | UK
|+44 (0) 20 3747 3030 | [email protected]
htc.com
Digital Memorabilia 2014