Zalgiris Kaunas had an amazing opportunity to have a couple of their home games this season played with
their sixth man – the inspiring fans, who’ve been beating season attendance records in this pandemic-
impacted world.
Unfortunately, the rise of new cases didn’t elude Lithuania, which pushed the country back
into quarantine for the larger part of the month. Since the 7 th of November, games are being played
without spectators, much like in most European arenas.
It’s been obvious that the fans would fill up Zalgirio Arena not just to watch the game, but to feel and add
to the emotion and the remarkable feeling of unity. The club knew that the fans deserved to feel at least a
part of this, and thus ideas turned into a new project – a virtual game experience, which connected and
united fans online.
The fan experience starts with Zalgirio Arena’s energetic presenter, Andrius Ziurauskas, who became the
host of the virtual experience, bringing out the team presentation straight from his home and welcoming
the teams with as much energy as you could expect.
Fans were involved in other activities as well, including a Zalgiris quiz before the game and during half-time
with sponsors’ prizes, short quizzes between the quarters, a lottery for one of the virtual ticket holders, and
an online meeting with a special guest after the game. Fans had the chance to ask questions and talk to
Zalgiris Kaunas GM Paulius Motiejunas and Patricio Garino so far, while they were also given the chance to
provide questions for the head coach in the press conference after the game.
Another amazing part of it was that the fans had a chance to connect and communicate with each other.
The chat function was very popular throughout the entirety of the virtual event – fans discussed about the
game, socialized, wrote chants and sent their support from behind the screen. The poll showed that 40% of
the participants were watching the basketball game alone, so this allowed them to band together and
become a part of a big Zalgiris community.
A good number of activations were included in the package, with the game broadcast not being one of
them, as fans watched the broadcast live on their TVs.
The reaction from the fans was overwhelmingly positive. Zalgiris Kaunas uses a platform that is limited to
1000 participants, and the tickets, priced at 10 euros apiece, were sold out quickly to the first game. The
survey after the game showed very positive numbers:
– 30% of the attendees were Lithuanians living abroad and they felt it was a unique experience for
them to support the team, as they would normally not be able to participate in the games in
person;
– The organizational part was rated 4.5 out of 5 stars, entertainment – 4.3 out of 5;
– 90% noted that they would most probably purchase a ticket to the next virtual game and 87%
would most probably recommend this activity to their friends;
– Fans also provided many suggestions on how to fix the small challenges they experienced and were
even more involved into suggestions how to improve the content. Among their suggestions were
proposition to make virtual attractions in away games as well and continue this idea post-pandemic
(especially suggested by emigrant fans).
After implementing some of the improvements, the club continued virtual activities for the second home
game and is planning to continue the project at least until the end of the quarantine, as longs as the games
are played without spectators. Virtual tickets have not only kept fans engaged, but also allowed them to
feel close to the team in these times when keeping distance matters so much.
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