The Tottenham Hotspur of the English Premier League have introduced a dynamic new way to provide fans with a wealth of information. iSPURS is essentially an advanced, search-driven “Frequently Asked Questions” page. Developed in-house, the information center automatically provides articles and other informational material based on search criteria.
According to Ben Dellow, digital operations manager at the Tottenham Hotspur, the system is the first of it’s kind in the Premier League.
“We thought, what better way to give fans what they want but then to build this platform that would enable us to give them all answers to a whole array of different questions,” Dellow said.
The addition of iSPURS also allows the Spurs to move towards a more mobile-friendly, responsive digital presence. The transition has been a slow, smooth process. Before iSPURS hit the navbar on the Hotspur website, the team introduced it by replacing links that had been FAQ pages with iSPURS.
“Rather than having loads of people looking at it for the sake of it, we just really wanted to have people using it for the reason that it’s there,” Dellow said. “It’s kind of a nice, gentle rollout.”
The Algolia search functionality was integral to the development of iSPURS. Dellow describes it as a “nice, predictive search” that gives fans intuitive access to close to 400 pages of information, including how-to videos. The information center fields thousands of searches daily, Dellow said.
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At the center of iSPURS is a commitment to efficiently provide fans with the information they need. Dellow says that the developers are able to view what fans are frequently searching for and adjust the articles accordingly.
“We’re able to add articles and evolve the platform depending on what the fans want,” Dellow said. “We really feel that with iSPURS we’re able to take that feedback from fans and improve the service we offer them.”
From an operational perspective, Dellow said one of the goals of the system is to allow fans to find the information they need without having to contact the Spurs directly. By constantly improving the system, this looks possible.
“We really feel that with iSPURS we’re able to take that feedback from fans and improve the service we offer them,” Dellow said.