Man City demonstrate dedication to fans on digital with sleek annual report

Manchester City unveiled their annual report yesterday with a sleekly designed website that has become the norm for the club’s millennial-inspired media presence. Annual reports and financials, comprised of dense figures and dull revenue analyses that are neither interesting nor accessible, frequently deter the average fan. City has flipped the format, transforming the annual report into an immersive digital experience that embraces new realms of fan culture.

City has become a leading club in implementing new media elements when interacting with supporters. Fan engagement has become increasingly cloud-based and mobile, so attracting digital audiences requires innovative strategies. City’s tactics range from an iPhone sticker collection released last week to bringing match highlights into virtual reality, all building on the club’s easily-navigable homepage that offers frequent behind-the-scenes videos.

While annual reports are known for their numbers, City’s site is a visual affair. The immediately visible banner image of cheering supporters makes clear that City’s annual report page was designed for the fans. An appealing array of of images claim much of the page’s real estate, including pictures of smiling children, representatives from the men’s, women’s and youth teams, various executives, supporters, and even President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping and former UK Prime Minister David Cameron meeting with players and club representatives.

Readers are led through the website via a series of arrows, X’s and O’s that cleverly resemble a team tactics diagram, allowing them to navigate through neatly blocked articles and images. One of the largest article and image sections is dedicated to information about City supporters, indicative of a commitment to fan communication that did not exist in earlier eras of annual reporting.

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Dedication: City’s polished microsite is an immersive digital experience that embraces new realms of fan culture

The full report, financial details and summary versions are all downloadable as PDFs that maintain the site’s streamlined design style, but fans can obtain a full picture of City’s yearly happenings without ever leaving the website. Clickable links that transition to a series of short pieces explain the latest news on the club’s commercial growth, academy, stadium and partners, complete with clean charts and more vibrant images. Modern fans have become more attached to the cloud, which City has recognized by providing comprehensive report information entirely through a web platform.

The Manchester Derby League Cup match is not until next week, but Manchester is clearly blue in the derby of investor relations. Manchester United’s annual report website is drab and devoid of content aside from links to download the report PDFs, discouraging supporters looking to engage with club’s annual report in an exciting and accessible format. While the two Manchester clubs continually compete as rivals on the pitch, the battle for embracing the emerging generation of digitally entrenched fans has already been won.

About author

Matthew Schattner
Matthew Schattner 16 posts

Matthew is an Intern at Snack Media and Writer for Digital Sport. Follow him on Twitter @mattinthehat10

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