The Arsenal Innovation Lab is intended to enable the club to explore various areas together with partner companies:
- Improvement of the match day
- Engagement of fans worldwide
- Transformation of the offerings of commercial partners
- Building retail options
- “Wildcard”– developing ideas, no matter the nature, to advance Arsenal
Arsenal Innovation Lab relies on co-operation with tech talents
Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer: “We know there are many brilliant start-up companies with creative and innovative ideas and we look forward to working with them. The association has always put a great emphasis on being groundbreaking and innovative, and we plan to continue this by working with intelligent companies to help us identify groundbreaking ideas to bring us forward. ”
The 10-week program of the Arsenal Innovation Lab is now open to applicants. Arsenal London is conducting it in collaboration with the corporate innovation specialist L Marks. Experienced leaders of the club look after the participating candidates:
- Charlotte Kenny, Head of Fan Services
- Tom McCann, Head of Sales, Service & Operations
- Charles Allen, Head of Marketing
- Alex Wicks, Head of Partnership Development
- Simon Lilley, Retail Director
- James Murray, Head of Business Strategy
Candidates have the opportunity to test and demonstrate their products or services in live environments.
The Gunners are following the example of others such as FC Barcelona. Barcelona started the Barça Innovation Hub in March. And their Premier League competitor Manchester City hosts regular hackathons. Even with exciting examples such as their project with Amazon Alexa, Arsenal London is still looking for new innovations.
L Marks Chairman Stuart Marks: “Community and innovation are at the heart of Arsenal’s history and values, and so it is incredibly exciting for L Marks to support the club to push its co-operations with start-ups and tech talents. Although based in London, Arsenal relies on the global support that offers amazing opportunities for new companies working on digital fan interaction and other relevant solutions to work with the club. ”
Applications will be accepted until 12 October, 2017. For more information about the program and to apply, visit: www.arsenalinnovationlab.com.
