Football: A Marketing Tug of War

The industry

Football, a simple game followed by Billions (FIFA, 2021) and a business which makes equally as much (FIFA alone generates around $4.6 Billion annually (Reiff, 2019). It is a business which relies on results and support. A club is nothing without support and thus it is key to keep said support high and where/when possible, take actions to please and engage the fan base. This is the role of the marketing team. Larne Football Club is the only club in the Irish premiership which has a paid media/marketing team and as such it must maintain having the highest of quality content in the league. As a child I always dreamed of working in football to some extent be it a player or even a kit man. So, when I saw an advertisement for an editorial position at Larne Football Club I jumped at the opportunity. Having sent an email of interest as well as a link to my Linkden account I was promptly met by an email inviting me for an interview.

Throughout this blog I will use Gibbs reflective cycle, to reflect upon my experience in the first couple of weeks working for Larne FC as a videographer and editor.

The Beginning of The End

Following a successful interview, I joined the club at quite a serious and unpleasant time for the marketing team. A photo of one of the players was released online showing him wearing a controversial item of clothing.  This backed the club into a corner where their only option to appease the fan base was to terminate his contract and end his time at the club.

The Fallout

The media fallout was immense for the club and devoured its comments section on all social media platforms and it just so happened that the first piece of content I was put in charge of featured him. To say this was a rude awakening to the footballing world is to be polite, under my first piece of content there were comments like:

“I would hope that the little bit of dribbling at 2mins 30secs is the last time (player’s name) is seen in Larne Football Club attire.”

(Youtube, 2022)

This left me feeling somewhat wounded as it seemed all my work was for nothing and rather than achieving what I wanted; entertaining and engaging the audience I instead pitted them against us. However, what I realized quickly through the guidance of the chief marketing officer is that this is down to circumstance, and it wasn’t something that I could control. I had no idea that the player in question did what he did at the time of recording and thus could do nothing to prevent the fallout. The issue itself fell entirely down to the individual and as such while we bore the brunt of the backlash, we knew that it wasn’t our doing. Our job as a marketing department was to address the issue and move forward quickly and effectively. This first came in the form of a public announcement (Cahoon, 2022) stating his termination which received great support from the fan base and ceased the majority of unpleasant comments.

The Evaluation

The situation obviously wasn’t ideal and although I was feeling down, I was also feeling excited for the future of the placement. I was put in one of the worst positions you can be put in, in a marketing role and as such it could only get better from there (which it has). I found the clubs response to the controversy incredibly informative, dealing with an issue when it presents itself as quickly and effectively as possible is a key learning point. Seeing the club’s ability to take a shot and role with it was incredible. They didn’t try to cover it up or protect the player they accepted that this was a loss they had to take if they wanted to win back the supporters and that’s what they did. This is something I won’t forget about be it in my career or everyday life. The ability to take a massive hit, in this case financial, and figure out a way around it through communication with you team and those around you.

Lessons Learnt

As I was only a new starter my role in the recovery of the fan base was minimal but being given the ability to shadow those who did have to deal with it was eye opening. The situation isn’t one I would want to find myself in again. However, if I did, I feel I am now more than capable of formulating a plan and response. I discovered that the best way to win back a fan in a moment of controversy is through two things:

• Honesty & Transparency

Conclusion

Honesty and transparency breed trust and trust is the most important relationship a football club can have with its supporters. Trust enables supporters to accept bad results as they trust that behind the scenes the club is taking the right measures to correct these issues. The longer I spend with the marketing team at Larne the more this focus on trust becomes apparent. Everything they do is to strengthen the relationship between the team and supporters and as such the trust between the two has become one of the strongest in the league not only on the pitch but also off it.

Hyland states that there is:

“a renewed emphasis on the workplace as a principal site of professional learning”

Hyland (1996, 170)

Moving Forward

In my short time with Larne FC, I have realized this statement to be true. I have learnt that even those who are employed continue to learn daily and having reflected on the above events I have realized that I do as well. Moving forward I will treat professional work as an opportunity to learn rather then an opportunity to make money (even though that is a nice bonus). I will also be a lot more careful in regards to my social media presence and what I post online because, put simply, losing your job over a social media post has got to be one of the most easily avoidable ways to lose your job.

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Bibliography

BBC Sport. (2022). Larne confirm Herron exit after pro-IRA image. (n.d.). BBC Sport. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/62635517 [Accessed 20 Nov. 2022].

Cahoon, I. (2022). John Herron contract terminated by mutual consent. [online] Larne FC. Available at: https://www.larnefc.com/john-herron-contract-terminated-by-mutual-consent/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2022].

FIFA (2021). The football landscape – The Vision 2020-2023. [online] FIFA Publications. Available at: https://publications.fifa.com/en/vision-report-2021/the-football-landscape/. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2022].

Hyland, T. (1996). Professionalism, Ethics and Work-Based Learning. British Journal of Educational Studies, 44(2), p.168 – p.180

Larne Football Club. (2022). LARNE UNLOCKED | LARNE V GLENTORAN | Matchday Has Arrived | Episode Five. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZY6gka-Nj0o&t=180s [Accessed 22 Nov. 2022].

Reiff, N. (2019). How FIFA Makes Money: World Cup Events and Licensing. [online] Investopedia. Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/070915/how-does-fifa-make-money.asp. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2022].

The University of Edinburgh (2020). Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle. [online] The University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/reflecting-on-experience/gibbs-reflective-cycle [Accessed 23 Nov. 2022].