2014 Silver Travel, leisure and entertainment

Elvis

'London's Original'

Client Fulham Football Club

How did the campaign make a difference? The campaign set out to strengthen the relationship between Fulham Football Club and its fans and improve season ticket sales.

Drawing on the club’s unique characteristics and rich history, Fulham successfully created a stronger club identity and delivered a very impressive ROI and above-target season ticket sales – despite the backdrop of a disappointing relegation season on the pitch.

Strategy After 13 years in the Premier League, there was uncertainty over Fulham’s top-flight status. The club needed fans to renew their season tickets and memberships without the lure of Premier League football.

The strategy was to make fans proud of the broader club by positioning the club as ‘London’s Original’ – using its unique history and features to build a collective identity for fans and a coherent, emotionally rich platform from which to talk about season tickets and much more.

The club also worked to treat fans with the same importance as it would give a player – providing a reason to be proud of their team off as well as on the pitch and to feel part of a club that truly values them and the way football should be.

Creativity As ‘London’s Original’, the campaign highlighted the reasons why Fulham are so unique compared with most modern football clubs.

The club’s unique strengths were used: from family ties, kids’ involvement, locality, memorable games and being the oldest current professional football club in London through to an array of world-class players past and present, the intimacy and Thamesside location of Craven Cottage and its Grade 2 listed stand and the ethos of a club playing football and running itself the way it should be done.

Fulham also adopted a personal, inclusive approach to its season ticket DM, treating fans with the same importance as it would a player by tweeting out renewals as though they were players signing contract extensions and getting players to personally phone and thank some of those who renewed.

Results Despite Fulham’s relegation from the Premier League, the ‘London’s Original’ campaign generated passion and pride amongst Fulham fans and achieved its 9,500 season ticket target two months ahead of schedule – with an ROI of £63.80:1.

More rewardingly, amidst the backdrop of a poor season, it created an identity that was instantly recognised, loved and adopted by the fans and has become a culturally relevant property that unites the club, the fans, the players and the staff.

‘London’s Original’ not only reiterated why Fulham Football Club is so unique, but it now defines how it behaves as a club and inspires other important areas of the club, such as the launch of the new kit, hospitality communications, membership and our work in the community.

Team Tom Duckham - Group Account Director, Sarah Brookes - Communications & Marketing Director, Michael Benedetto - Head Of Brand Marketing, Jonathon Gregory - Commercial Director, Kurt Pittman - Head Of Commercial Marketing, Jack Burrows - Marketing Executive, Jack Walkling - Marketing Executive, Chris Dorn - Designer, Leigh Wallace - Creative Director, Jonathon Smith - Copywriter, Kevin Howes - Art Director, Amar Babbar - Planner