INTERVIEW: Bayern boss Rouven Kasper takes swipe at Dortmund's 'Fan Mode' app as Carsten Cramer responds
| Photo: Leonhard Simon/Getty Images. |
After Dortmund introduced a ‘Fan Mode’ feature in their club app to reward supporters staying off their phones during games, Bayern Munich's Chief Sales and Marketing officer, Rouven Kasper, said the Bavarians don't have the same issues in the stands.
“I never heard about this [BVB app] because we don’t have this problem [at Bayern Munich]. We don’t need to tell anyone to take their phone away because our football is attractive," Kasper said at a media round in Munchen, attended by Bulinews.com.
“This [Fan Mode app] is a marketing tool I have never had to think about. Maybe when you sit at home [watching a game the phone can be a problem], but I think in the Allianz Arena in Munich its not a problem.
“For sure, mobiles are there [all the time] and for when we have influencers. But in the stadium, so far, there has never been an internal discussion that we need to think about a loyalty system [to reduce phone usage].
“However, I will discuss this [fan mode app] with a colleague later, we will see what the benefits are and then maybe we will think about it," the seemingly bewildered yet intrigued 44-year-old Bayern chief concluded.
The following day, when informed about Kasper's opinions on the app, Borussia Dortmund CEO Carsten Cramer took time to defend the club's decision to put the loyalty scheme into operation.
“I know this is a kind of marking activity [the Fan Zone app] but the marketing campaigns we develop should refer to the authenticity of the club," Cramer told Bulinews and other media present, referencing BVB's famous atmosphere.
“The emotion of is our unique selling proposition. That is our most important currency. Of course, we want to make more money to invest in sport and infrastructure, but our most important currency is the love people give us.
“The atmosphere at Signal Iduna Park is what makes Dortmund special. If you talk to the young players we signed in summer, one of their reasons for commitment was to play in front of this crowd.
“They wanted to see these fans give their emotions to them. Sometimes it’s necessary to say we have some disadvantages [compared to Bayern], and others but we really have to fight for our place [in the market].
“We are still in the top 10 [of sales] in Europe. The competitors are the big sides in England, plus the two or three [clubs] in Spain, Italy and PSG. It makes us kind of proud what we have reached in the last decade," he summarized.
