Liverpool FC expands SAS partnership for fan marketing

Liverpool FC has expanded its partnership with SAS to use artificial intelligence and analytics in digital supporter marketing, with the work focused on creating more personalised fan experiences across its digital channels.

The arrangement centres on SAS Customer Intelligence 360 and SAS Viya, which Liverpool will use to analyse supporter data across web, mobile and social platforms. The aim is to make digital interactions more relevant and timely while improving tracking of engagement, conversion and fan sentiment.

The move reflects a wider push by sports organisations to use customer data more directly in marketing, commerce and audience development. For Liverpool, which has one of football’s largest global followings, digital channels have become an important way to stay connected with supporters beyond matchdays.

Early uses identified by the club include personalised merchandising offers, changes to digital journeys where users encounter friction, and models designed to predict supporter behaviour and preferences. Those insights will shape communications and marketing activity based on how fans interact with the club.

Rather than treating web, mobile and social activity separately, Liverpool plans to combine those data sources in a single system. The approach is intended to give its marketing team a broader view of supporter behaviour and allow campaigns to be adjusted continuously.

Chris Jennions, Vice President of Marketing at Liverpool FC, linked the project to the club’s broader digital audience strategy.

“Our focus is on our supporters – how we engage them digitally, the quality digital experiences we offer and how we continue to grow that audience globally,” said Chris Jennions, Vice President of Marketing at Liverpool FC. “With SAS Customer Intelligence 360 we can deliver AI-powered real-time, individualised digital fan experiences, serving our supporters better than ever before. Just as importantly, it gives us a clear way to measure success through engagement, conversion and fan sentiment supporting long-term sustainability.”

AI agents

Another part of the plan involves AI agents within SAS Customer Intelligence 360. These tools are intended to support the management of digital customer journeys in real time and help marketing teams refine audience groups, adjust journeys based on behaviour, and review operational performance from the platform.

SAS described the next phase as a shift from AI-assisted marketing to more automated orchestration of fan engagement. The system can be used to design audiences, recommend actions and adapt marketing decisions as new data comes in, while leaving strategic oversight with human teams.

“As LFC looks ahead, the real opportunity lies in moving from AI-assisted marketing to AI-orchestrated digital fan engagement,” said Jonathan Moran, Head of Martech Solutions Marketing at SAS. “With the AI agents embedded in SAS Customer Intelligence 360, LFC can begin coordinating intelligent audience creation, designing customer journeys and decisions in real time using AI to surface insights, and recommend next best actions to accelerate execution and conversion, while marketers remain firmly in control of strategy, approvals, and guardrails.”

Wider trend

The partnership highlights how football clubs are increasingly treating supporters as year-round digital audiences rather than only match-going customers. In that model, data from browsing habits, app use, content consumption and online purchasing can shape how clubs sell merchandise, distribute content and maintain loyalty in international markets.

Liverpool has long had a substantial overseas following, making digital engagement central to its commercial strategy. Personalised marketing systems offer clubs a way to tailor outreach by geography, behaviour and interest, particularly when many supporters may never attend a match in person but still interact with the brand regularly.

Technology suppliers have also been pushing further into sport as teams seek more direct relationships with fans and better visibility into online behaviour. Marketing platforms that combine analytics with automated decision-making are now being pitched as tools for improving user journeys, identifying drop-off points and increasing the relevance of outbound messages.

For Liverpool, the practical test will be whether those systems improve supporter response across its digital estate and convert engagement into measurable commercial returns. Jennions said the club would judge the work through metrics including engagement, conversion and fan sentiment.