Shelbourne FC
Shelbourne FC is a leading Irish Professional Football Club, founded in 1895, with an illustrious past and exciting future. Shelbourne FC joined the Irish Football League in 1904 and was a founding member of the League of Ireland in 1921. The club has won the national league 13 times and is one of the few clubs that have won both the IFA Cup and the FAI Cup.
Services Offered: Market research, positioning strategy and communication strategy
THE OPPORTUNITY
Shelbourne FC approached the MDP with a new vision in mind for the club. This was brought by league promotion, a newly appointed manager and new commercial sponsorships. The feeling of excitement internally was matched by the fans externally.
Shelbourne FC identified email as an opportunity to attract new and engage current supporters. The MDP proposed that email was one part of a marketing and communications strategy and there were areas that needed to be investigated before focusing on email.
THE CHALLENGE
The MDP team conducted research with over 50 people to understand Football in Ireland. This involved conducting focus groups, in-depth interviews and attending football matches to gain an understanding of current and potential supporters' perceptions. This focused on Shelbourne FC while investigating League of Ireland competitors. This enabled the team to obtain a detailed and extensive outlook on Football in Ireland.
THE RESULT
The MDP team were able to successfully develop a positioning for Shelbourne FC that resonated with what was at the core of being a supporter. This positioning was used in the creation of a communication strategy in the form of campaigns that could be implemented across all platforms with a focus on email.