Innovation Puzzle: Juventus Hire Aims to Identify Missing Pieces 🧩
Strategic move not only ensures Juventus aren’t left behind, but opens the door to a future where they are as renowned for their innovation off the field as they are for their performance on it
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Given the current economic circumstances facing sport, innovation is a must.
As media rights fees dwindle for most, often for the first time in decades, there is a sudden necessity for sports rightsholders to find new ways to bring in revenue.
This is a reality that Juventus have been quicker to identify than some others.
With significant headwinds facing all of European Football (see: Sport’s Perfect Storm), the Turin-based club identified the need to bring in a new type of marketer, one with a mandate to change the status quo.
This led to the appointment of Canadian Mike Armstrong as CMO, who now also represents communication efforts as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer.
His arrival, having previously worked in consumer packaged goods, media, and esports, happened to coincide with the exit of a certain Cristiano Ronaldo - signalling a shift in strategy away from individual star power and towards one focused on the growth and strength of the Juventus brand as a whole.
Among a range of initiatives that have come to the fore since Armstrong’s arrival is the appointment of a specific role within his team, dedicated to innovation.
“One of the things that we did was we built essentially a focus on innovation [within the organisation] and so [this meant hiring] people dedicated to innovation,” explained Armstrong, the latest guest to appear on the Sports Pundit Podcast.
“[Doing] that helped because, if not, you're, you're focused on the day to day at the core, then new ideas come second,” he continued.
There is a deluge of innovative ideas and products vying for attention.
With countless vendors pitching their latest technologies and solutions, sports organisations often find themselves at a crossroads, overwhelmed by choices but without the specialised expertise necessary to assess the feasibility and potential impact of these inbound approaches.
This overload leads to a paradoxical situation where, despite the abundance of opportunities for advancement, teams risk overlooking transformative innovations or persisting with solutions that are no longer fit for purpose.
“Often the challenge that clubs have, and I hear this all the time, is there's an overwhelming amount of people pitching them [yet] there's no one really to sort through what they should focus on, and who's better than the next,” Armstrong explained.
“So, we've built [this] function essentially to help with this [problem] internally and to focus on new potential revenue streams where we can try to build and scale up a new company inside Juventus.”
This role is specifically focused on navigating the vast sea of innovation, filtering through vendor opportunities, and identifying those with the most potential to enhance the club's operations, fan engagement, and revenue generation.
“We’ve found actually having a function inside the company that's focused on how we can innovate can help [us] with the transition over the coming years [to becoming more innovative].”
Having this individual within the team also means that they are less likely to overlook opportunities, which may be too technical if pitched to a non-specific member of staff.
“Sometimes we're pitched opportunities that are highly technical,” explained Armstrong. “If you don't have someone with the right expertise to be able to understand the idea that's been pitched to them, then it falls through the cracks.”
This strategic move not only ensures that Juventus aren’t left behind in the rapidly evolving technological landscape, but also opens the door to a future where they are as renowned for their innovation off the field as they are for their performance on it.
Already, this has meant, among other things, adopting the latest generative AI tools, creating behind the scenes docu-series’ for Amazon Prime and TikTok, as well as recently partnering with the social media platform to amplify their women’s team.
Juventus has also been among the early users of i-BrainTech, a system which enhances injured players’ recovery process and elevates their athletic output on the field through something called neurofeedback training.
Whether or not each of these examples has come directly as a result of Armstrong’s recruit, the move does appear to offer a potential solution to a problem that is being faced by many working within top organisations and being overwhelmed with potential opportunities.
As Armstrong says himself, “I'm not professing that we've got it exactly right, but, at least having some dedication towards this, we're certainly seeing that it is helping.”
“[It is something] I'd love to see a lot more across the industry.“
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THE PODCAST
Want to hear more from my conversation with Mike?
We discuss Ronaldo’s exit, addressing the economic headwinds facing European football, lessons from working in Consumer Packaged Goods, embracing generative AI tools, creating for Netflix vs TikTok, getting more women in football, and much much more.
Listen to the full podcast via the link below - and I’d love to hear what you think!👇
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JOB BOARD
Head of Partnership Sales - Saracens (London, UK)
Partner Manager - Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team (Brackley, UK)
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The Big Idea is brought to you by the Global Institute of Sport!
The Global Institute of Sport is the leading destination for Master's degrees, executive education and professional qualifications in sport around the world.
They count world-famous stadiums and surrounding venues among their state-of-the-art campus facilities across the globe, including London's Wembley Stadium, Miami's DRV PNK Stadium and Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Ready to master the global sports industry? Enquire today about their in-person and online courses.
