Cube x FC Twente

Well, say international...

Since its inception in 1965, the club has been unmissable in the Eredivisie for all but two years. In the 2009/10 season they could call themselves national champions and on four occasions they finished second. Seven times they finished third in the final rankings. Earning a European ticket last season is a big cherry on top that tastes like more. And of course something that Cube as a digital partner and club fervent football fans is immeasurably proud of.

For next season, FC Twente has managed to secure great players and the football club is heading into the future full of confidence. The organisation is growing and the digital landscape is growing along with it. This is the central point of communication between FC Twente and its direct stakeholders, such as supporters and sponsors. That should not only stand like a house, but also be scalable. Leon: "In Cube we found the ideal partner for this. Together we have created a basis that is simply top notch. And we are now working daily to implement optimisations and improve things even further.'

Strong content.

Marco: 'With Cube, we developed a new website and advanced mobile app in 2021. When we were about to completely reassess our website and app strategy to see where we stood and where we wanted to go, we first took a good look internally at the wishes and requirements of all departments within FC Twente with regard to the website and the app. So: what do we want? And then company-wide. From that whole round, a list of requirements emerged and on that basis we started looking in the region'.

'We think it is important to engage regional partners. Call it noaberschap.' Very specifically, FC Twente thus started looking for software companies in the nearby area, a number of which were invited for a pitch. After three rounds, Cube drew the longest straw. What was decisive in naming this digital agency as the winner? Leon: "Apart from the regional focus, we also saw that the content Cube came up with during the pitch was very strong. The knowledge Cube had of specific programmes was downright top-notch. Actually, just the whole strategy presented to us was the best. It's always nice to work with companies that actually enjoy working with us. But of course that was also true for the other parties in the pitch.'

Clear and achievable vision.

Leon: 'The first acquaintance was purely positive. During the pitch, Cube immediately came up with a very clear story of where Cube thought FC Twente should go and what that should look like. That immediately got us at FC Twente very enthusiastic.' Marco: 'If I then go a little further in time and see where we are now, we simply have very good -actually continuous- contact with the people from Cube who are working on the project. From project manager to the technical staff.'

Short lines, lasting contact.

'We have standardised a lot, through SLAs for example. There is a standard way of creating tickets and getting updates on certain ongoing issues. If there are really high-priority things that need to be fixed, it is very easy with Cube to get that done. So basically, that collaboration goes very smoothly and as you would like it to. There is a pleasant, no-nonsense atmosphere. In addition, we see each other every month anyway, and then we sit around the table to go over ongoing matters and see where we need to make adjustments,' says Marco.

Leon: 'We constantly have our finger on the pulse and we are making strides in the development we want to make. Together with Cube, for example, we have also digitised the kids' club card, so that young fans can make even easier use of the benefits the pass offers. And with that, we are also sometimes doing some extra things, such as an inspiration session. Together with Job and Jarno, I once gave a presentation for a group of FC Twente sponsors, about the digital landscape. In which we explained how we set it up and which choices were made. It's extra fun to take on extra things like that together.' Marco: 'Then you do see that it really is a partnership and not a customer-supplier relationship.'

Strong blueprint for team red.

The cooperation in a few words? Leon: 'Then the first words that come to mind are interactive, collaborative, efficient... Or perhaps best of all: really goal-oriented! From the very first moment. When we were in the pitch phase, we as FC Twente indicated our wishes and requirements for the future. And we came up with quite a rigorous plan for that, namely rebuilding a new website and a new app from scratch. So basically from scratch. Cube did that. We also looked very carefully at which links we wanted to create. For a football club like us, it is of course very important to have a link with your ticket system, with your CRM system for your sponsors, but also with external parties such as Opta for football statistics. That is loaded on the website. We have all that sort of thing automated now, thanks to Cube.'

'And that blueprint so to speak, that is very important for us. It ensures that we now just have a good basis on which we can build. And that is the most important gain we have achieved in cooperation with Cube,' Marco says.

Building bridges to business.

'Cube is a party that not only understands the technical part, understands how it all works and can actually implement it. But this party is also very good at bridging the gap with your business. They also have people on the business side who understand your business operations, what the essential functionalities are and how best to organise them. So it is the piece of strategy and technology that comes together nicely at Cube. That thinking along.

'Anyway in the initial pitch, the strategy and idea that Cube had was very good right away, as mentioned. That stood out positively. The people at Cube know what they are talking about and, not unimportantly, issues are always addressed quickly. We often know very quickly where things are problematic and can be solved. So that's actually really nice.'

Scoring together.

'The revamped website and app launched in 2021 both contain distinctive features that will further connect our club and its supporters and sponsors.' That same year, the website was awarded Website of the Year in the sports category. This won the largest online public award in the Netherlands; fctwente.nl emerged as the football site with the best score for content, navigation and design. 'Great that our joint efforts were seen and rewarded by a professional jury and that the result was voted the best in this category!'

The Twente steed breathes ambition.

So great achievements, nationally and internationally, in the past year for FC Twente. Both sporting and managerial. Ambition flows through the heart of the club, so there is always a hunger for more. Leon: 'What we still want to achieve is constantly evolving in many areas. Basically, we always look at three core values that are important to us: pride, ambition and noaberschap. These are reflected everywhere. If you look at the digital landscape and marketing piece, we want to offer an enjoyable and up-to-date supporter and sponsor experience. Our supporters and sponsors can communicate with us in a way they expect from us.' 'And preferably something even better,' Marco adds. 'Super that Cube also had that intention from the start. We are really on the same page in that respect. On the middle ground, with the same goal in mind.'