Rights Holder / Brand
8 years BORA-hansgrohe, UCI WorldTour
Communications Director & Board Member. D2C year 1: >€500k revenue, ROAS 9.1x. Storytelling: 7M+ views, 30+ international pickups (TdF 2019).
For professional sports organisations, media companies and D2C brands.
Turn fans into
relationships.
The core problem: reach without relationship.
Owned Fan Relationships
Explore the seven layers
Select a layer to explore its role.
Story + Platform + Value Creation.
The full Fan Relationship SystemIdentity Layer
Registration, login, fan profiles, SSO. The first step from borrowed to owned audience. Without this layer, there is no system.
Identity LayerFirst-Party Data
Structured fan data: behavior, preferences, transactions. GDPR-compliant, usable for personalization, segmentation and sponsoring insights.
First-Party DataPlatform
Web, app, digital ecosystem. Architecture that scales. Vendor selection, tech stack, integration of existing tools. Platform is not an end in itself — it enables all other layers.
PlatformContent & Engagement
Storytelling with system logic. Content that deepens relationships instead of just generating reach. The Relational Brand Model as foundation.
Content & EngagementMonetization
Membership, D2C, premium content, digital products. Value creation directly from the fan relationship — without intermediaries. Goal: measurably increase Customer Lifetime Value.
MonetizationSponsorship Activation
Data-driven sponsoring offers instead of reach promises. Audience insights for partners. Measurable activation instead of logo placement.
Sponsorship ActivationOperating Model
Governance, team setup, vendor management, KPI frameworks. The system must run internally — not as a consultant product. The operating model secures ownership long-term.
Operating ModelAcross sport, brands and media, reaching an audience does not automatically create a direct relationship. The same system connects identity, data, platforms, engagement and value creation — adapted to each organisation’s context.
View the framework
Advisory
Strategic advisory — direct access, no agency layer.
What does a typical mandate look like?
Every mandate starts with an honest diagnosis: where is the organisation today, what is the actual gap, what is realistic in the available time and budget. From there, Brand & Story designs the system architecture, defines the roadmap and works alongside the internal team through implementation. Mandates are project-based — no retainer lock-in.
Working with sport executives on digital transformation.
Why Brand & Story
360° sport digital expertise.
From practice, not textbooks.
Ralph Scherzer
Founder, Brand & Story
League / Rights Owner
Saudi Pro League — Digital Product Director
Greenfield digital ecosystem: Web, App, Fantasy. +470% MAU, +908% Sessions YoY.
The system
Story + Platform + Value Creation.
Three dimensions. One system. None sufficient alone. Together they create Owned Fan Relationships that are measurable and scalable.
01
Story
Narrative foundation, Relational Brand Model, content with system logic. Without story, no appropriation. Without appropriation, no relationship.
02
Platform
Identity Layer, First-Party Data, digital ecosystem. The technical foundation for Owned Fan Relationships — owned, not borrowed.
03
Value Creation
Monetization, Sponsorship Activation, D2C, Membership. Relationships translated into measurable business value — directly, without intermediaries.
Reach, relationships & value
Brand & Story helps sport organisations move from borrowed platform reach and engagement metrics to owned fan relationships built through identity, first-party data, direct access and measurable value creation.
The relationship gap
Brand & Story is a sport digital advisory practice that builds Fan Relationship Systems for professional sports organisations, media companies and D2C brands — connecting Identity Layer, First-Party Data and Platform into a sports digital ecosystem that turns fan engagement into owned, measurable relationships.
Most sports organisations reach millions of fans and own none of them. Brand & Story closes that gap: with a structured fan engagement strategy, a first-party data infrastructure built around consented fan identity, and a scalable Fan Relationship System that compounds over time — turning digital touchpoints into business assets, not just analytics.
Brand & Story builds Owned Fan Relationships for sports organisations, media companies and D2C brands —
with Identity Layer, First‑Party Data and a scalable Fan Relationship System.
Millions of fans. Thousands of data points. And still no real connection that rights holders
can directly monetize. The reason: engagement strategies are no substitute for a system.
Platforms without identity
Apps and websites generate traffic, but no usable fan data. Third-party dependency remains.
Content without conversion logic
Strong stories generate reach that fades — because no funnel develops the relationship further.
Sponsoring without data
Without First-Party Data, the foundation for data-driven sponsoring offers and audience insights is missing.
AI Discovery
AI search visibility now starts before the website click.
For brands and product ecosystems, AI systems increasingly shape what people compare, trust and buy before a classic website visit appears in analytics. Brand & Story helps make products, benefits and partner ecosystems visible, understandable and citable in AI-mediated discovery.
Experience & background
Athlete
10 years professional cycling
Austrian national U23 champion. 30+ international wins. Understands from the inside what drives fan emotion in sport.
Agency Owner
10+ years evcom GmbH — Founder & Managing Director
Strategy, communications and digital for global sport events and brands. Clients include America’s Cup, INEOS 1:59 Challenge, Red Bull, European Capital of Culture 2024.
„I didn’t think about sport-digital as a consultant. I built it — under pressure, with real budgets, and with responsibility for real results.“
— Ralph Scherzer, Founder Brand & Story
Who it’s for
Who Brand & Story works with.
For professional sports organisations, media companies and D2C brands.
Not every organisation is a fit. These are the three questions that determine it.
Do you have a real ambition to build a direct relationship with your fans — not just reach?
If the goal is the next campaign, Brand & Story is not the right partner. If the goal is building infrastructure that makes every future campaign more effective, we should talk. The difference: a system that accumulates value over time vs. activity that resets after every activation.
Are you ready to invest in the infrastructure — not just the execution?
Identity Layer, First-Party Data architecture, platform strategy — these are not campaign costs, they are infrastructure investments. Organisations that separate infrastructure budget from campaign budget get significantly better results.
Do you have — or can you create — internal ownership for this work?
Brand & Story designs systems that run internally — without permanent agency dependency. That requires an internal owner who champions the work, holds vendors accountable and drives adoption. Without that, even the best system stagnates. With it, the results compound.
Leagues
National & international rights holders with direct fan contact
Teams & Clubs
Professional sport with D2C, membership & digital ambition
Federations
National & international governing bodies with platform needs
Brands
Media companies, D2C brands & audience organisations beyond sport
Frequently asked questions.
What are Owned Fan Relationships?
Owned Fan Relationships are direct, data-driven connections between a sports rights holder and their fans — independent of social media platforms or third parties. The rights holder knows their fans by name, understands their behaviour and can directly address, activate and monetize them. Unlike borrowed audiences on Instagram or YouTube, Owned Fan Relationships are a permanent, controllable asset.
What is the Fan Relationship System?
The Fan Relationship System is the operational architecture that builds Owned Fan Relationships at scale. It consists of 7 layers — from Identity Layer and First-Party Data through Platform, Content & Engagement, Monetization and Sponsorship Activation to the Operating Model. Each layer works independently; together they create a system that compounds in value over time.
How is Brand & Story different from a digital agency?
Brand & Story does not produce campaigns, content or creative executions. We build strategy and architecture — and guide implementation until the system runs internally. A digital agency optimises for output. Brand & Story optimises for infrastructure: the system that makes every future output more effective and more owned.
Where is Brand & Story based — do you work internationally?
Brand & Story is based in Elixhausen near Salzburg, Austria. All mandates to date have been international in scope — Saudi Arabia, Germany, Austria, and across European sport. The advisory is built for international sports organisations, not for local markets.