Challenges

In recent years, Fiorentina embarked on a significant transformation, not only in sports and organizational aspects but also in the digital sphere. This initiative aimed to strengthen the relationship with fans and extend the club’s reach through innovative and engaging digital offerings. 

While digitalization emphasized the importance of modernizing services and enhancing fan engagement, it also revealed challenges in managing a variety of IT systems and providers. These challenges highlighted the need for an integrated service model and reliable technology partners to optimize the club’s digital strategy. 

ACF Fiorentina discovered Exetera through Kentico’s official partner search. Initially, the club engaged Exetera to improve its existing Kontent project. However, it soon became clear that while Kontent performed well for multichannel content management, it could not address the increasing need for advanced digital experiences and seamless system integrations. 

As a first step, Exetera recommended migrating the club’s digital services to Xperience by Kentico. 

In the subsequent phase, Exetera consolidated the digital ecosystem, integrating the official website, loyalty portal (InViola), app, ticketing information and match and player statistics into a unified platform. This created a cohesive, efficient system designed for long-term growth and delivering a seamless digital experience for fans. 

The goals of the project were to: 
 
Fiorentina’s digital transformation focused on four core pillars: consolidation, integration, productivity, and fan engagement, all with a strong emphasis on security, flexibility, and sustainability. 

Key objectives included: 

• Consolidation: Create a unified digital ecosystem integrating all systems to ensure a seamless and consistent user experience across touchpoints. 

• Centralization: Simplify fan interactions with centralized contact data and harmonized systems. 

• Brand Alignment: Establish a cohesive and distinctive digital presence that reflects the club’s values across web and mobile platforms. 

• Efficiency: Streamline processes to reduce operational costs, improve productivity, and enhance IT system interoperability. 

• Viola Park Promotion: Use the platform to showcase the new Viola Park with dedicated options for purchasing experiences and events. 

• Fan Engagement and Growth: Strengthen ties with the existing fan base, attract new audiences, and enhance relationships through a more dynamic digital experience. 

Solution 

Sports clubs face the challenge of delivering engaging digital experiences across multiple channels while managing multiple technologies and maintaining high productivity. Fiorentina’s website served as a central hub, connecting the club’s IT systems with its fanbase. 

Exetera leveraged Xperience by Kentico to create a scalable, integrated digital platform tailored to Fiorentina’s needs. 

Key achievements include: 

• Integration: Seamless compatibility with all IT systems, streamlining processes and enhancing interoperability. 

• Customization: The platform’s flexibility allowed it to address a broad range of needs, including match information, ticketing, loyalty programs and contact management. 

• Automation: Tasks like ticketing and loyalty programs were automated, reducing manual effort and making workflows more efficient and scalable. 

• Ease of Use: A user-friendly back-office system ensured that even less experienced team members could quickly adapt and work independently. 

• Future-Ready Design: Features like DAM and AI-powered tools will further enhance productivity and reduce costs. 

• Advanced Content Management: The hybrid headless DXP architecture supported efficient content delivery and dynamic personalization. 

Results 

The collaboration between Exetera and ACF Fiorentina spanned two years, with the core project completed in approximately nine months. This constantly evolving digital ecosystem is designed to adapt to the club’s future needs and fan expectations. 

Before implementation, Fiorentina’s teams had varying levels of familiarity with digital platforms. The transition to Xperience by Kentico elicited diverse responses: 

• Kontent users appreciated the structured content hierarchy and smooth transition via the Content Hub. 

• Xperience 13 users quickly adapted to reusable elements and content, valuing the platform’s efficiency in content distribution. 

• New users embraced the platform’s comprehensive features, which increased their creativity, productivity, and independence from external agencies.
     

In summary, Xperience by Kentico proved to be a highly adaptable and effective solution for all teams, enhancing workflows, simplifying operational management, and meeting the diverse needs of the club. 

A constantly evolving digital ecosystem 

Fiorentina and Exetera have ambitious plans for further platform development, focusing on: 

• Contact Management: Enhancing efficiency with modules for data updates and account deletion, ensuring compliance with regulations. 

• Productivity: Introducing bulk data import/export, system redirects, PWA mobile content, and AI-powered tools for content creation and translation. 

• Personalization: Advanced contact segmentation, dynamic content and marketing automation to deliver personalized fan experiences. 

These advancements will ensure Fiorentina’s platform remains innovative, efficient, and aligned with the evolving needs of its teams and fanbase. 

Statistics 

Following the launch of the project based on Xperience by Kentico, significant improvements have been recorded in key performance indicators, highlighting the effectiveness and positive impact of the new platform. The most notable results include (compared to the same period last year): 

• Weekly sessions: up +25% 

• Weekly page views: up +30% 

• Weekly events: up +120% 

• Loyalty rewards requested: up +150%
   

Other statistics: 

• 3,000 logins managed in 1 minute 

• 7,000 users online at the same time 

• 1,000 new users registered on average every day in the first month 

These results demonstrate how the new platform has significantly improved the user experience, simplified process management and increased fan engagement, providing a tangible impact on the club's revenue and strengthening its fan base. 

Testimonials