65,000 fan registrations via a digital fanzone during the World Cup

During the 2026 World Cup, the KNVB wanted to expand the Oranje fan experience online and convert every interaction into first-party data. Together with the KNVB, we built the digital Oranje Fanzone. For every Oranje match, a new fanzone was launched featuring five activations, ranging from "My Starting XI" to the "Staatsloterij Rad van Oranje" (State Lottery Wheel of Oranje). This resulted in 228,454 unique sessions, 65,510 unique registrations, and 34,262 commercial opt-ins. We comfortably exceeded almost every target set. 56% of registrations came from Gen Z, the generation the KNVB is keen to build a stronger connection with.

Sport

Strategy

Technology

Contactpersoon

Robin Sweegers

Sport

Strategy

Technology

Our approach

The idea. A World Cup only lasts a few weeks, but during that time, interest in the national team is at its peak. We wanted to convert that peak attention into both fan engagement and structural data growth, in line with the brand philosophy "Together we color the world orange." The fanzone had to serve three goals simultaneously: make fans an active part of the Oranje campaign, ensure every participation contributed to registrations and commercial opt-ins, and deliver demonstrable value for the KNVB and its partners. Gen Z received extra focus in this effort.

The strategy

All activations were linked within a single fan funnel: from sessions to registrations to opt-ins. Before the World Cup, the focus was on acquisition and data building. During the tournament, we leveraged the database we had built using recurring formats, email, and push notifications. For every Oranje match, we launched a new matchday fanzone with five activations, giving fans a reason to return for every round of play.

The process

Strategy & concept: from kick-off and debrief to an activation structure featuring a pre-World Cup Tournament Predictor and five games per matchday: My Starting XI, Match Predictor, KPN Player Passports, Staatsloterij Rad van Oranje, and Oranje Crush.
Design & UX:the World Cup campaign style translated into the fanzone, designed mobile-first. 92.3% of visitors accessed the site via mobile. Over 90% of players returned to the fanzone from the thank-you page after each game.
Development:building all activations on fanzone.onsoranje.nl, with a new environment for each match, registration flows, and full tracking.
Partner integration: the activations also served as a proposition for partners. Visitors spent an average of 2:15 minutes engaged with KPN and 0:57 with the Staatsloterij.
Campaigns & performance: paid distribution via Meta, TikTok, X, and Reddit, accounting for 24.2 million impressions and 66,734 conversions at a CPA of €0.90.
CRM & follow-up: automated follow-up emails for each activation, such as the "My Starting XI" email featuring the fan's own lineup. That email received 9,747 image opens.

The tournament itself helped. Around the Netherlands vs. Morocco match, registrations were 126% higher than the total of all previous fanzones combined.

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