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Join the Club
A Strategy for Engaging Supporters and Increasing the Club's Fan Base
Author: Tom Cremins Last Updated: February 27th
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Executive Summary
Bray Wanderers has unique potential given its location and history. This document examines the
challenges and opportunities that the Club is currently presented with, and sets out a number of
potential strategic actions that the club and supporters could carry out to better position the club in its
market help expand the fan base in the town and surrounding area.
Introduction
Bray Wanderers is a club with a 30 year history of playing senior football in the League of Ireland. In
that time it has won the First Division on a number of occasions, claimed the prestigious FAI Cup twice
and represented Ireland in European competition.
Given its location in Bray, the club is strategically located at the centre of a large urban area. The
catchment area covers North Wicklow and South County Dublin, with a population of an estimated
250,000 people. The club has arguably one of the largest potential fan bases in the country. The
proximity to a DART station makes the Carlisle Grounds highly accessible to a potentially huge
audience.
Teams that are doing well in the league will more often than not draw bigger crowds to their home
games. But no football club can control results on the pitch. So realistically efforts to make the club
more attractive to supporters have to start off the pitch. Brand equity is widely acknowledged as a key
factor in the sustained success of professional sports teams.
This presentation aims to investigate and assess a number of ways that the club can tap into this
massive potential, through generating interest in the community at large, resulting in an increase in the
fan base and a heightened awareness of the Bray Wanderers brand. An enlarged fan base will hopefully
become the bedrock on which a financial sound and sustainable future can be built.
Generate interest throughout the community at large
Healthy attendances at games are vital to the club. A strong following in the community is an important
prerequisite to this. But before the club can attract new committed supporters, it can raise its profile
locally and spark interest amongst people who do not currently follow a League of Ireland team. It can
look to achieve this through brand enhancement and fan engagement.
Increase fan base
Once the club has been successful in getting more people open to the idea of attending a match, it needs
ensure that they come back again and again. It is important to keep supporters engaged with the club
regardless of whether the team is 3rd
form top of the table, or 3rd
from bottom.
Fans want to feel a sense of ownership, or more accurately, belonging, to the club. This can be achieved
by continued two-way communication between the club and its supporter base.
Promote the Bray Wanderers brand
In football, the brand of the club is what sets it apart from the competition. It is vital to clearly identify
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what this brand is, so that the club can differentiate itself amongst the footballing public.
Differentiation is the axis on which all marketing decisions revolve, so to embark on a marketing plan
we need to articulate the brand.
So what is the brand of a football club? The values of the club are what define that brand, and what the
supporters identify with when they form an allegiance of the club. The values of the club can be
articulated in the mission of the club, which is what drives and informs the behaviours and actions of
the board, directors, officers and indeed players of the club. Values can include a commitment to
providing high quality live football in a comfortable environment, giving local youth the chance to
avail of excellent coaching, with a clear path to eventually playing at the senior level for the club, etc.
This presentation considers ways of communicating with the supporters, which will help the club share
its values and mission with the public, thus enhancing the brand of the club.
Objectives
This presentation aims to examine areas where the club can increase its visibility in the community and
engage with local football fans, thus boosting the brand and encouraging repeated patronage. In
particular it focuses on those football fans that may not currently have a strong affinity to the club, as
this represents a potentially huge pool of untapped support. It then provides a strategy encompassing a
variety of initiatives that the club can look to engage with this group of potential fans.
Specifically, we will address the following:
Building on the existing brand of the club by gaining increased publicity locally and nationally
Reinforce the brand/identity of the club as a family/community oriented organization
Engendering an even greater sense of “belonging” amongst existing supporters of the club
through the use of social media to strengthen the bonds between the club and fans
Encouraging people who gave never attended a game to come at least once during a season
Getting people who used to attend regularly to come back
Suggest activities that will expand the volunteer base of the club
The presentation will not address:
Match day experience
Financial projections for the club
The high level targets by which success of the plan will be measured are as follows:
To increase attendances in the first year by an average of 20%
To increase attendances over 5 years by 150%
To increase sales of programmes, merchandise (both at games and at retail outlets in the town)
by 10% per annum
Many of the areas of action identified here should have relatively little or no financial cost attached to
them. But to carry out all – or any – of the suggested initiatives, a strong base of volunteers will be
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vital. In the course of this presentation we also consider how to attract new volunteers, and keep them
motivated through challenging work.
Since young people are generally users of new technologies, efforts to recruit fans from this cohort
should make use of technology. Therefore a great deal of focus will be on the use of social media,
which provides a highly cost effective way of reaching the target audience.
Much of the content that follows draws upon examples of similar exercises conducted by organizations
such as the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC. Both these sports clubs face similar challenges as
Bray Wanderers: The popularity of other sporting codes such as ice hockey and Canadian football in
particular. Even the natural constituency of soccer fans in these cities have to be prised away from their
English Premier League broadcasts. The parallels with the challenges facing Irish clubs such as Bray
are obvious. But rather than take these experiences from Canada and import them wholesale to the Irish
context, it is important to be mindful of the unique environment that Bray Wanderers operates in.
Background
Like all football clubs in Ireland, Bray Wanderers faces challenges in achieving its full potential. There
are a number of reasons for this, the popularity of other sporting codes, the proximity of the English
Premier League and other historical factors. On top of this, the recent severe economic downturn has
had a considerable adverse impact on all sporting organizations in the country, and Bray Wanderers was
no exception. Due to the decrease in available disposable income, attendances at matches dropped
noticeably.
Average attendances at League of Ireland games over the previous 2 few seasons (2012-14) have been
around 1,700, and on a downward trend. Attendances at Bray Wanderers matches are below the
average, at about 800 per match.
Bray Wanderers are the only senior soccer club in the county. Any competition comes from soccer
clubs in County Dublin. There is also competition from the Leinster rugby club, and to a lesser extent
the Dublin and Wicklow Gaelic football teams. It is not considered meaningful to compare attendances
for Leinster rugby games, as it is the only club in the province playing at that level, and games are
generally against high profile opposition from the U.K. and France. Likewise, it is unhelpful to look at
attendances for GAA games as the structure of the sport is different, specifically the club and county
hierarchy that exists.
A statistic that does seem worth mention at this point is the estimated 35,000 people who travel to the
U.K. every week to attend soccer matches there. Given that the average weekly attendance for League
of Ireland games is in the region of 10-15,000, this suggests that while there is a market for watching
live games, clubs at home are not succeeding in engaging with soccer fans in the country.
As recent history has shown, giving excessive weight to success on the pitch can lead to poor and
unsustainable economic decisions. At the same time, prioritizing business considerations excessively
can hold the club back from achieving its sporting goals. It is all about finding the right balance.
This presentation takes the view that in spite of this reality, there is still much scope for the club to
grow its fan base. The experience of Irish clubs is actually not unique in the global context. The sport
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faces similar challenges in other countries where other codes are dominant such as the United States,
Canada and Australia. Faced with what seems at times to be a hostile environment, organizations in
these other countries have come up with novel ways of promoting the game. This presentation aims to
mine some of these more novel ideas to provide the club with ideas to boost its profile.
By identifying its own strengths and communicating them confidently to the general public, Bray
Wanderers can thrive. This is not something that can be achieved quickly. It is a project that requires a
clearly defined vision and a long term strategy with clearly defined objectives. The club already has the
vision. The next step is to start planning to implement this vision.
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What are Bray Wanderers' Strengths and Weaknesses?
A SWOT (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) analysis allows for an overall perspective of an
organization’s position in its market place. It essentially shows the current operating environment in a
neat little grid. It is a very useful starting point for developing a strategy, as it focuses on what
objectives should be set at the outset. The club can take advantage of its opportunities and take
preventive measures to minimize its weaknesses.
Location of
Factor
Types of Factors
Favourable Unfavourable
Internal
Strengths Weaknesses
Close proximity to public
transport
History of the club helps to
make Bray Wanderers more
recognizable as a successful
team
Plays during summer
months when other leagues
are on break
Ability to provide a low cost
form of entertainment
The club does not enjoy as high
a profile nationally as other
teams in the Dublin area
Customer expectations regarding
level of comfort and service at
the stadium can be high, and
difficult for the club to achieve.
External
Opportunities Threats
Considerable latent support
for football throughout the
catchment area
Proximity to Dublin brings
a number of potential local
"rivalries"
Proximity of Cabinteely F.C. in
South County Dublin may lead
to a siphoning off of support
Other leagues (EPL) and
sporting codes (GAA) divert
attention from sports fans
Competition for sponsorship and
partnerships by other sports
clubs and associations
This analysis tells us that Bray's unique selling point or “Point of Difference” is the opportunity that the
club provides a large number of people in the locality the chance to attend senior level football matches
in a live environment, with the atmosphere that only being in the company of hundreds (or possibly
several thousand) other fans can possibly generate.
A strategy aimed at communicating this to the public at large will help the club achieve its goals.
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The Action Plan
So how to achieve these lofty aims? To start off with, it is useful to have an overall theme to any
campaign that may be implemented, so that a consistent message is being communicated.
The theme of this presentation is one of constant, continuous, two-way communication between the
club and its fans. A meaningful, ongoing dialogue between fan and club will make the fan feel
included, and give them a sense of belonging as well as one of influence with the club. That will
strengthen the club itself. And to build on that, the club can reach out and speak to a wider group of
potential fans, people who would benefit from having closer ties to the club but who are not yet aware
of that exciting possibility.
Luckily, we live in an age where doing this has never been easier. Thanks to the emergence of social
media over the last 20 years, the tools to achieve our aims abound.
At the start of this presentation we identified a couple of goals: Raising the profile of the club in the
community and increasing the fan base. We should now consider specific actions to base come up with
more focused action plans to achieve our goals. We acknowledge the possible advantages and
disadvantages of each suggested action, to facilitate the selection and prioritization of actions.
Whatever approach the club ultimately takes, there is no doubt that it will take time and resources to
implement any part of the plan. To this end, the club should look to engage volunteers to help carry out
the plan. As well as saving the club a considerable amount of money, this has the added advantage of
getting members of the public actively involved in the club. Further still, it gives people in the
community the chance to acquire useful skills in areas such as customer relations, media, finance etc.
Now, let's look at some general approaches to raising the profile of the club.
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Raising the Profile of the Club Locally and Nationally – Enhancing the Brand
Action Advantages Disadvantages
Reminders of previous successes –
30th
anniversary of entry to the league.
Look back at previous success such as
the 1990 and 1999 FAI Cup wins.
Events with past players and
managers.
Increases recognition of the
team as one with a history of
success.
Implies more success in the
future. This is a team worth
following.
Current form may compare
unfavourably with past
successes
Focus on catchment area by
publicizing games outside of Bray,
holding events outside the town
Greatly increases the potential
fan base of the club
May somewhat dilute the
club’s identity as a Bray
based club
Work closely with local media
(newspapers, radio and
websites/blogs) to generate free
publicity via “earned media" i.e.
newsworthy stories around the club
that gain positive publicity
Increases credibility of the
club locally.
Allows fans to follow the team
during the week. The most
engaged supporters want to
follow their team throughout
the week, not just on match
day.
Opportunities for exposure in
the local media may be
limited due to competition
from other sports.
Sell surplus match day programs in
local newsagents. In effect turn it into
a local magazine.
Allows people who weren't at
the match to pick up a copy of
the program. May prompt them
to attend the next match.
Increases visibility of the club
throughout the week.
May increase interest from
sponsors in buying advertising
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Increasing the Fan Base
Now, let us consider some ideas for connecting with supporters and the public generally, with the long
term aim of growing the fan base. Social Media will play a key role in this.
Social Media/Networking
Action Advantages Disadvantages
Create a database of fans who opt in,
use for promotional purposes such as
sending newsletters and special offers,
surveys etc.
Allows the club to quickly
reach out to its fan base with
important information
Great care needs to be taken
to adhere to strict data privacy
regulations.
Regular Email newsletters with useful
and interesting content such as team
news, previous week's match report,
lotto results etc. Timing/usefulness of
content). (May require an email
management system such as
Campaign Monitor, Mail Chimp etc.)
Updates fans throughout the
week, keeping them interested
and potentially increases
chances of them attending
matches.
Need to manage the
distribution list to ensure only
those who opt in get emails.
Need to manage frequency –
neither too frequent that it
annoys people, or too
infrequent that it loses
relevance.
Increased interaction with fan base via
social media such as Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram etc. Encourage
people to contribute their stories.
Allows fans to be creative and
get their "15 minutes of fame".
Their friends may see it and
want to get some of the action
as well.
Generates useful content for
free
More content on website – YouTube
videos of highlights and player
interviews.
Provides those who couldn't
make the last game the chance
to see the highlights. Increase
possibility of them attending
the next game.
Makes the players better
known – fans can identify with
them.
Encourage fans to submit their own
YouTube content – videos of games
from the perspective of the stands
complete with commentary by the fans
themselves
Creates abundant free content
that fans will share with the
rest of their social network
The quality of some
submissions may be below
par, and would have to be
screened before posting to the
club's website.
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Conduct online surveys to get
feedback from fans. (May require
software such as Survey Monkey.)
Vote for Player of the Week/Month
etc.
Understand what fans want in
terms of match day experience.
Gather useful information for
marketing purposes.
Show people that the club is
interested in what they have to
say.
Introduce blogging features to website
to allow supporters have their say.
(Would require blogging software
such as www.wordpress.com)
Gives fans a voice, an
opportunity to have their say
Generates interesting content
that may attract people to the
website on a regular basis
Content would have to be
monitored for abusive,
libellous material etc.
Encourage members of the supporters
club and other fans to post comments
regarding the club, and engage in
discussions generally on various
online forums such as Balls.ie and
Foot.ie.
Promotes interest in the club
through discussion on
performances, increased
speculation on transfer targets
etc.
Online forums are prone to
abusive behaviour that may
hurt the image of the clubs
fans in the eyes of others
Encourage members of the supporters
club and fans to post articles about the
club on sites that welcome content
from supporters of clubs around the
globe, such as just-football.com
Provides increased content for
fans of the club to consume.
Raises the profile of the club
nationally and internationally.
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"Traditional" Marketing Techniques
Rather than entirely relying on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. to engage our fan base, we need to see
them as means to an end rather than an end in themselves. By combining them with more traditional
face to face networking and marketing techniques we can forge a very real and meaningful bond with
the people who are the lifeblood of the club.
Action Advantages Disadvantages
Open nights – allow the public to meet
the players and coaching staff.
Gives the general public the
chance to meet players –
forges bonds with the team.
Increases recognition of
players and coaching staff,
creates local “celebrities.”
Some players, staff, may not
be committed to such public
appearances.
Provide opportunities for local
business people to network via the
"300" club for instance
Strengthen ties with the local
business community, may lead
to commercial/sponsorship
opportunities in the future
Encourage local businesses to
become involved with the club
Tie-ups with local junior (i.e. Wicklow
league) teams through joint coaching
sessions.
Gets the grassroots of the game
involved, and over the long
term creates a sense of loyalty
to the club.
Shows the club has a
commitment to the game at all
levels.
May lead to the discovery of
new talent.
Requires a time commitment
from coaching staff and
players.
Coaching sessions for adults with
coaching staff and/or players.
Forges bonds between local
people of all ages.
Encourages a healthy lifestyle,
in keeping with the club’s
ethos.
Potential revenue generator
Will require time
commitment form coaching
staff, players, which may not
always be possible.
Supporters' club teams – a chance to
play in the Carlisle Grounds for their
favourite club! (Potential to arrange
“friendlies” against the supporters
clubs of other League of Ireland clubs.
Gives supporters the chance to
live the dream - pull on a Bray
Wanderers jersey and take to
the pitch at the Carlisle.
Costs involved in putting a
team out – insurance.
Hold a competition to design next Raises interest among the May not be possible to
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season's jersey (may be home, away or
3rd
strip).
public, could generate media
interest.
identify a suitable entry as
overall winner.
Incorporate the names of fans into the
team strip design (E.g. see what the
Colorado Rapids did in this respect)
Potential money raiser –charge
fans for the privilege of being
"part" of the jersey.
Innovative idea could garner
media attention.
Jersey manufacturer could use
Bray as a test run for this idea,
before extending to other
clubs. Potential to defray
costs?
Would need to be coordinated
with the jersey manufacturer.
Cost may be prohibitive if
costs can't be defrayed.
Pre-season open training sessions.
Allow all ages to come and try out for
the team.
An event that will generate
local media interest.
Gives fans the chance to
truthfully say that they tried
out for the team - creates a
bond between club and fan that
will last the rest of their lives.
Costs such as insurance etc.
Need to be managed carefully
from a publicity standpoint.
Unusual and may bring up
issues of credibility.
Actively look for volunteers – offer
the opportunity to be involved in the
running of a football club, as well as
the chance to gain skills.
Match potential volunteers to required
skills – such as marketing, finance etc.
by advertising in local colleges.
In keeping with the club’s
positive role in the community,
provides people with a chance
to gain skills in various areas –
marketing, customer service
etc.
Helps provide the resources to
deliver on its objectives.
Introduce group rates. Encourages people to bring
their friends to matches.
Requires printing of tickets to
manage entry to the ground.
Reduced admission prices for games
against less attractive opposition
Increased crowds for games
that would otherwise be poorly
attended.
Possible loss of revenue if
attendances do not increase as
expected.
Free or drastically reduced admission
prices to certain pre-season friendlies
for supporters club members
Increased crowds for games
that would otherwise be poorly
attended.
Increased opportunities to sell
merchandise and snacks at
games, thus offsetting loss
Possible loss of revenue if
attendances do not increase as
expected.
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from allowing free or reduced-
price attendance.
Incentive to join the supporters
club.
Offer gift certificates allowing
attendance at a number of games
Encourage people who might
not otherwise to go to a game.
Evaluation and Control
To be effective, results have to be monitored to ensure that they are achieving set targets. If not,
remedial action should be taken.
A Dashboard will be created:
To track attendances. Consideration will be given to the relative attractiveness of the opposition,
which will have a bearing and numbers at the games
To monitor sales of merchandise at the club shop, sales of snacks, programmes etc.
Surveys of fans can be conducted to gauge their level of satisfaction. Results of these could also be
included in the dashboard.
Based on reading of these results, the tactical marketing campaign can be modified. The overall
marketing plan should be reviewed at least yearly to ensure it stays fresh and relevant.
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Conclusion
The suggestions that we have discussed above are designed to bring the club to the attention of football
fans in the community in fun, imaginative ways. Not all of these proposals may work, and we wouldn't
suggest that the club try to take them all on. But by trying some of the ideas out should raise the profile
of the club and present it as a vibrant, innovative organization that is worthy of their time and support.
It is important when implementing any of the actions here, that it be done consistently. Engaging in
one-off attempts has little value. One of the 22 "Immutable Laws of Marketing" is that to engage
anyone with a product, you have to tell them about it at least three times. The first time you tell them
about it, it creates awareness. But this is generally only fleeting. The second time that your message
reaches its audience; you reinforce the awareness and establish your product as potentially a viable
option for the person receiving the message. Only on the third occasion that the message is delivered
will the audience receive it as a call to action.
Although it has not been dealt with here, match day experience is a key factor in encouraging repeated
patronage, and deserves a separate plan.
It will take some time, but eventually, the hope is that significant numbers of people in Bray and the
vicinity will heed the call, and will "Join the Club."
Acknowledgements Thanks go to Matthias Sturm and Neil Cremins for their invaluable feedback, comments and
suggestions, which have helped improve this document immensely.