Clubs take A-League marketing in new direction after competition’s split from FFA
From Yoshi to Scribe and a park football launch, the A-League’s marketing under FFA has been a series of hits and misses. Now clubs are taking it into their own hands.
For two years the A-League has barely had a marketing campaign worthy of the name, but a catchy new season theme is at the heart of a digital-led drive to reignite awareness.
With the league finally in their control following its uncoupling from Football Federation Australia, club owners are embarking on a bold push to reverse sinking ratings and attendances by re-capturing the imagination of the younger demographic.
It’s understood the competition’s best marketers have been plucked from several clubs to work with high-profile advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi on a campaign set to feature a season theme targeting kids.
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The approach harks back to 2005, when a street football-heavy ad backed by a soundtrack to Scribe’s ‘Not Many’ encapsulated the optimistic sentiment of season one.
Since then there haven’t been many – if any – carrying quite the same energy.
That said, season 2012-13 started with a bang amidst the excitement of the Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Emile Heskey triumvirate.
And the BMF-led ‘You’ve Gotta Have a Team’ campaign of 2016-17, when 10-year-old boy Yoshi visited all 10 A-League clubs and ultimately decided to support Melbourne City, was deemed widely successful in terms of social media engagement and reaching peripheral fans.
And yet the following year could not have been more different, with a low-key launch at a suburban ground in Port Melbourne more worthy of a local under-12 team than Australia’s professional league.
More often than not the season has kicked off with a whimper, lacking in clear visibility in the direct aftermath of NRL and AFL grand finals.
Even last season’s stirring ‘Where Heroes Are Made’, the first work from Saatchi and Saatchi which featured Sam Kerr and Tom Rogic and combined the launch of the A-League and W-League to give both equal prominence, failed to cut through in a season of miserable ratings.
It’s understood club owners presented their blueprint to all coaches on Tuesday at a two-day summit in Double Bay, and received a round of applause at its conclusion.
It’s part of a “first 100 days” blitz to revolutionise the way the competition is marketed and run, which includes transfers between clubs, prize money for successful teams, a 16-team expansion plan.
Originally published as Clubs take A-League marketing in new direction after competition’s split from FFA