The decision not to market the A-League during the footy season is one worth debating, but it’s great to see so many clubs stepping up their social media game.
“There’s little point in spending what we have now when it will just be obscured by those other codes and when we don’t have any product – live games – to sell anyway,” one club official told Fairfax reporter Michael Lynch as to why we’re yet to see any advertising ahead of the new A-League season.
Fair enough – although a cynic might also suggest that A-League clubs can’t spend money they don’t have.
Fans have long complained about a lack of marketing – often the only A-League ads we see on TV are when we’re already watching an A-League game on TV – but it seems like the eleven clubs are happy to wait until the season kicks off.
It’s questionable how effective mass marketing actually is in terms of getting mainstream Australians through the gates of an A-League ground anyway.
It’s not like all the information we need isn’t simply a click away, although that does of course mean fans need to be digitally savvy.
And that tends to suit an A-League demographic that skews younger than the equivalent AFL and NRL fan-bases.
It’s been great to see, then, a few A-League clubs really starting to think about their social media and how to use it to connect with their online fan-base.
Brisbane Roar have been doing it for years now, while Sydney FC’s recent ’15 moments’ series across Twitter and Facebook has been a great way for fans to reminisce about some of the club’s biggest achievements.
But the club that has really started to steal the show on social media recently is the Western Sydney Wanderers.
The Wanderers have always had some handy videographers on staff and the drone shots of their new Centre of Football are nothing short of spectacular.
But they’ve also been posting plenty of light-hearted pieces across their social media channels of late, several of which feature charismatic defender Daniel Georgievski.
My personal favourite was the one where one of Georgievski’s pieces to camera was interrupted by Polish midfielder Raddy Majewski, who was apparently upset with the breakfast items on the menu at the club’s training centre.
With a loaf of bread in one hand and having handed what looks like a jar of Nutella to Georgievski, an aggrieved Majewski is having none of the defender’s antics.
“Is it not better than nothing?” Majewski thunders. “That’s the last I’m going to speak to you,” he adds as barges through the front door.
“Thank god,” laughs a bemused Georgievski. “Hopefully that’s the case!”
Contrived or not, it was another example of how funny Georgievski is and a reminder that not all A-League players have to be anonymous automatons.
Hopefully we see a few more video updates from Georgievski and the Wanderers social media crew throughout the season because that sort of short, sharp video content is the perfect way to connect with fans with phones in hand.
And it would be remiss not to point out that every A-League club has a genuine crack at creating decent social media content, even if some clearly do it better than others.
It may perplex Newcastle Jets coach Ernie Merrick, but social media is a cheap and effective way for A-League clubs constrained by threadbare marketing budgets to get their message across.
And when the new season finally does kick off on October 11, hopefully all eleven clubs and host broadcaster Fox Sports start pumping out the sort of highlights that make new fans want to come to the stadium and experience an A-League game for themselves.
In the end, that might be a smarter way of doing things than simply spending money on advertising most fans may never even see.
Rodger King
Roar Rookie
It’s an interesting debate. As an older person advertising on social media has little appeal to me, in fact the only way to influence me or get me to read/watch an add is via direct interaction. We don’t watch FTA TV mainly Fox and Optus. I get emails from both the FFA and my club, AUFC so I haven’t seen or bothered with either the ads from WSW or SFC or any other of the A League clubs.
Tyke
Roar Rookie
I would like to see A league games in Canberra, don’t understand why we don’t already if they want a team there in the long run
Tyke
Roar Rookie
Good to hear this is organically happening
Nemesis
Guest
One easy answer to lift attendances is to get every person to attend 1-2 more A-League match than they currently attend. A 10k ave crowd for a 14 match season equates to 140,000 people watching that club's home matches. So, at the number of unique individuals attending over a season would be between: 10k (if everyone attended all 14 matches) to 140k (if everyone only attended 1 match each season). Either extreme is irrational, so the true figure is somewhere in between. My guess would be a 10k average crowd over 14 matches equates to around 20-25k individuals attending - multiply the home season average by 2-2.5. If each person, who currently attends some, but not all, home ALeague matches were to attend 1-2 more games, it would lift season attendances by around 1k. Not having to win over new hearts & minds. Just need to start getting existing hearts & minds locking in 2 more home matches a season. If they locked in all 14 home matches, every match would be sold out every week.
RF
Roar Rookie
Should always use protection.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
In Newcastle I find it's about 50/50 Buddy. Half the kids in Jets shirts (very impressive), the other half in European colours, Barca and Real primarily
Wade
Roar Rookie
Completely disagree with you Waz. People aren't going to one more game of football, and they're not bringing a mate. We're moving into season 15. I ask this genuinely: where's the easy answer there? Combine that with 40,000 people going to one game (given its a GF of EPL side) and not following up. Locally it's been the same since we hosted Sydney FC at Adelaide Oval the very first time. Big problem, no easy answer. Social media can work to keep the brand high for people whose online behaviour identifies them as football fans. But we need more than that to keep the game growing at HAL level.
Waz
Roar Rookie
This is worth a read: https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/a-league-turns-back-on-big-name-marquees-ng-s-1970715.amp?__twitter_impression=true
Waz
Roar Rookie
Regional TV is dirt cheap but Metro expensive so it’s a tough one. Mind you, good social media is not cheap either. Irrespective of personal opinions (which will vary), it will be nice to see a proper marketing plan created and executed in the future.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Agree although from a local perspective the Jets fans and members aren't all under 25 but getting NBN (local TV network) more behind them wouldn't hurt given previous ties to the community - not thinking TV ads here either. Different media works but depends on group you're targetting. My teens watch very little to no TV, except for ABC but don't expect 'Non-stop Tom' will do the A-League any favours. You last line is the point: there is a difference between 'consuming' and 'contributing' to the online space, and the degrees of engagement.
Waz
Roar Rookie
TV is a waste of time and money. My boy is 17 and he has not watched a single show on FTA in his life and he is the norm in that age group. Anyone over about 25 wouldn’t get this. You’d have more impact advertising on the side of busses than you would through tv. And for the avoidance of any doubt, A League club’s don’t do social media - they just post stuff, but that’s not the same as doing SM.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Agree that social media is one way to do it but it is fairly targeted or you have to saturate the general timeline of people who haven't specifically followed a particular club or league. I believe the algorithms will allow cut-through if you follow enough of one sport ;-) In general I still think it requires multiple channels: SM sure, but a local council or TV network wouldn't hurt if they take up the cause, which I imagine still requires a media and marketing department at the club to send out engagement feelers and potential plans on how partners can leverage a club for mutual benefit. Again looking at WSW launch with red and black buntings and booths for the season launch in a very public space that must have had local council support at least. I suspect over the course of the season and next others will follow these practices when they see they are successful, especially that they are now independent and if it is cost effect to campaign.
Griffo
Roar Guru
Georgievski had a couple of video posts with the Jets that made you think there was a character lurking within but the media department either couldn't or were constrained in going further. There are quite a few Jets shirts kicking around but you can never have too many. Possibly all the media around who the best player is on the platform the kids see - or at least who the parents follow ;-) - given there isn't as many ManU shirts as there once was.
Waz
Roar Rookie
You can’t compare 50,000 at AO to 10,000 at Hindmarsh and say “there’s no easy answers”. That’s not even a comparison we should be entertaining. There are easy answers and it starts with getting the people who go to football already to go to one more game each, and then maybe to bring a mate. The trouble is all our marketing has been at the non-football fan trying to get them to a game they don’t already watch. Madness.
Bilbo
Guest
Have only used one user name on The Roar
Wade
Roar Rookie
I think you're half-right, Mike. It's a cost-effective way of targetting a receptive audience. The big problem is growth. If football fans at club/state level haven't sampled (in marketing terms) the A-League by now, when will they? Awareness of the league in that demo will be 100%. If they haven't bothered, they don't care. Grabbing the attention of new - potential - fans is the issue. And social media is one part of that but I don't think we should overstate it's importance. I've seen 50,000+ for football games at Adelaide Oval, and the next game at Coopers is 10,000, so the problem is getting people through the gates. Social media may catch their attention - like an A-League club hosting Liverpool does - but we need to motivate them to actually come to a game. No easy answers I'm afraid.
Nemesis
Guest
If you haven't seen any marketing on Social Media, you're part of the football community in Australia. No doubt you'll have 6 months to watch BBL, NBL, netball, horse racing & cricket - one sport for each Username you use on The Roar.
Bilbo
Guest
I haven't seen any ads on Social Media yet, do I need to follow a team to get them?
Waz
Roar Rookie
“It’s literally selling fish to people who enjoy consuming fish” and extrapolate that to: “literally sell football to people who enjoy consuming football” and we won’t go too far wrong.
Nemesis
Guest
Social media is the way to market anything when you want to get the message across to a specific demographic. It's cost effective. It's efficient use of marketing budgets. It's literally selling fish to people who enjoy consuming fish. It's a no-brainer that many of us have been banging on for at least the past 5 years. A bit like LiveStreaming, the same people who scoffed at suggestions that A-League needs to use the power of social media & Livestreaming are now converts. Better late than never.