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Due to John’s close relationship with the NRL in the 90’s, when he was producing the Rugby League Trading Cards, he has been asked by numerous NRL clubs to assist in their marketing efforts. With supporter merchandise being an important revenue stream for Rugby League clubs, John has been asked to assist in developing sales and marketing programs for the likes of the Parramatta Eels, Newcastle Knights and Penrith Panthers. In each of these instances, John quickly ascertains the demographics of the club’s supporter base – and constructs a marketing plan to cost-effectively reach those fans.
During John’s Rugby League Trading Card period, he mixed with various Rugby League licensees, ranging from apparel manufacturers to giftware suppliers. Still having a close association with many of these licensees, John is able to “get behind the scenes” and fully appreciate the state of the market, product by product. It is not surprising that for all clubs, apparel items are the top selling lines, with club jerseys being a perennial favourite. Therefore, John concentrates on ensuring the clubs are appropriately stocked with sufficient “popular lines” to attract high-value fans.
John comments, “it is sometimes surprising to see sporting organizations feature a Supporter Store at their games or within their licensed club, which seems to predominantly stock supporter items which do not fall in the top 10 popularity list. Furthermore, the product mix of game day sales is usually quite different from that of the Supporter Store in the club or shopping mall.”
John goes on to explain, “at game days, impulse lines are traditionally very popular. Whereas in a retail outlet, supporters seem to be more discerning with their purchases and also are likely to spend more money.”
It is for this reason that John advocates a different marketing strategy on game days, compared to Direct Mail or Retail Store environments. As far as game day sales are concerned, John quotes, “its all about location, location, location! With 15,000 – 20,000 people at the ground its imperative that any sporting club have multiple merchandise outlets, in order to have any hope of maximising the potential return on the vast number of supporters at the game. And yet, it is not uncommon to see various sports attract such a crowd but only have one or two merchandise outlets.”
Additionally, John gets involved with clubs to segment and grow their data base, so that they can exploit this opportunity regularly via direct mail. Indeed, John is a strong supporter of sporting clubs using direct mail more often as a marketing tool. With the likes of Target and K-mart now aggressively marketing licensed sporting gear, John believes that clubs must “take ownership of their own fan bases and exploit the advantage they have over mainstream retailers.” John goes on to say, “receiving a personal letter from one of the team players or even administrators, is a far more potent communications medium than a letterbox brochure from K-mart”.
John says, “the sporting club will always have such an advantage over a retailer, because they can create a bond which a retailer can never match.”
John highlights “the likes of Manchester United and other European soccer clubs have virtually perfected the art of direct mail. They use it regularly and very effectively to sell supporter gear and home game tickets. I am very happy to be helping sporting clubs here in Australia do likewise.”
John was involved in the design of a Supporter Store within the Licensed Club for both the Eels and the Panthers. Both stores devote a portion of the outlet to convenience goods, hoping to attract extra consumer traffic, which may further assist in selling supporter gear.
And yes, all marketing for club supporter merchandise or games has the important “wow factor” as an ingredient. Whether it be a personally signed photograph from one of the players, with every jersey purchase, or a special “Member’s discount”, John continues to advocate that fans deserve “that extra wow factor” for their support of the club. Other sporting clubs have recently contacted John for assistance in this area, including soccer, basket ball and AFL.
SPORTING LOGOS AND “BRANDSCAPING”
John also provides a logo and brand development service for sporting clubs, working closely with a master illustrator in this field. It is vital for any major league sporting organization to project the right image in the marketplace. And with “supporter merchandise sales” being so important these days from a revenue point of view, it is important to get the logo and image correct from the start.
Keeping up to date with overseas mascots, logos and brand trademarks, John is able to provide a comprehensive service in this regard. This service includes providing a package deal, which includes logo, mascot design, stationery, artwork and merchandise concepts.
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