Manchester United Data Insights Lead Joins Signify Group
Joe Sayers, Senior Insights Lead at Manchester United FC, has joined Signify Group’s growing sports division as Group Sports Insights Director. During his time at United Joe built an industry leading social insights function at the club, fuelling content strategy and campaign briefs with actionable insight.
In his new role, Joe will lead the growth of Signify’s Fan Insight offering that uses AI and massive data sets to help sports clubs, leagues, brands, event owners and athletes to understand their fans on a deeper level. Signify’s specialist technology enables brands to track and control the narrative, explore fan culture and deepen fan engagement.
Joe will work alongside Jake Marsh, Signify’s Head of Sport, and Joe Harrod, Signify Co-Founder and Insights Lead, to further enhance the company’s Insights offerings, whilst also supporting the continued growth of Threat Matrix, now the world’s leading service protecting athletes and officials from online abuse.
Jonathan Hirshler, CEO of Signify Group said:
“We are thrilled that Joe has joined us at such an exciting time in the growth of our sports division. His deep experience working inside one of the most iconic sports brands in the world will be key as we look to grow our insights offering. At United, Joe also led online protection services for players, so his experience in understanding their needs, and those of the club, will be invaluable as we cement Threat Matrix as the global leader in proactively detecting and preventing online abuse.”
Joe Sayers added:
“Having watched the growth of Signify closely over the last few years, I am delighted to be joining such a talented and driven team with an amazing tech offering that can enhance every level of a sports organisation. Through their impactful work with Threat Matrix, Signify have established an amazing array of global sporting clients and with our unique insights and strategic capabilities we can become a vital partner for sports organisations, agencies and players alike.”
“Deepening fan engagement goes far beyond just driving vanity metrics, with the insight we can deliver you can build affinity and a deeper connection with your fans across social. Understanding how fan culture evolves, who influences the narratives around your brand and how to leverage that can supercharge your content strategy and help you build your fan base.”
About Joe Sayers:
Joe has over a decade of experience driving data strategy for global brands including Manchester United where he was Senior Digital Media Analyst before being promoted to Senior Insights Lead providing insight and advice across multiple departments including brand, content, comms and digital. Prior to joining MUFC in 2018, Joe was Senior Social Media Analyst for HSBC for over six years where he built a 24/7 social listening team focussed on financial and business risk monitoring.