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.