Background
With just 28 days to raise £20,000 on behalf of Frome Town F.C. find out how we worked with the club to deliver a campaign that resonated with the fans, staff, partners and the wider media.
Approach
A crowdfunder is far from a bucket shake activity and needed to be coordinated like any marketing campaign. A campaign was devised to ensure that we had the full support of the fans through working with a small focus group prior to launch, briefing local press and using the clubs communications channels. The approach would be to help highlight the need for attention income for the club whilst creating a high level of engagement to bring more fans back to following the club once lockdown has been lessened. The timing was aligned to the announcement of the leagues drawing to an earlier conclusion and the time that the club would usually be announcing the end of season awards and the start of the commercial drive over the summer.
The crowdfunder was set up to reward donations of £50 with the chance to get a fans name on a seat plaque and on a wall of thanks. Whilst additionally offering every that enters the chance to name the stadium for the upcoming season. Additionally a £2,000 option to buy every fan a ticket to a match was also introduced, alongside the opportunity to bid on becoming a player for a week and being a coach for a week.
Results
The results went beyond all expectations with the £20,000 being raised with over 300 people being actively involved in helping to support the cause. However, the engagement between the fans and clubs was fantastic and has definitely bought the club and supporters closer together, with an increase in the number of volunteers. The story also captured the imagination of the press, with the club featuring in not just local press, but on BBC Sport, BBC Somerset, the i (independent) newspaper and featured as a leading success story in press releases from Crowdfunder UK.
Interested in finding out more? Read our guide to crowdfunding www.sfsportsmarketing.com/post/getting-your-crowd-behind-your-fund