Sports Marketing in a Sea of Red Content with Craig Hannan the Head of Brand and Marketing from The Anfield Wrap - Episode 46

How important is copy within you Marketing Strategy, well it turns out very - and we’ll find out why later.

But before all that, I’d like to introduce Craig Hannan, the Head of Branding and Marketing at The Anfield Wrap, an award winning, independent podcast, website and radio show all about Liverpool Football Club. It’s Craig’s responsibility to drive growth within the company via subscriptions, live events, merchandise, sponsorship and a whole host of other activities that are focused clearly on a passionate footballing demographic. Now this was quite a lengthy interview compared to some of the Marketing Study Lab episodes. I put this down to the passion we both have for Marketing, Football and Liverpool – So apologies, but no apologies cause I enjoyed it and I hope you do to – If you’re into Marketing or Football, this is definitely the episode for you. But before we get into things, I need to know is purple is the new red?

Takeaways

- The power of a marketing strategy. Most people when they think of marketing think of a comms mix – the front of house (advertising, direct mail, social media, etc) but Craig highlighted that a strong strategy can help to change the culture of a company. It provides a focus for the entire ogranisation, where no other department is in a position to do this.

- Don’t be afraid to get creative and implement your own ideas. But make sure you mix these ideas with actual data to back them up, they hold more relevance that way. Take the Anfield Wrap for example, described as fanzine culture for the digital age. They could have kept to the tradition print fanzine, but spotted a niche, a gap in the market, white space and weren’t afraid to be the first to try it.

- As much as Marketers hate to admit it, word of mouth is one of, if not the best marketing tool we have (damn those mouths) – this is especially so in a passionate industry such as football. Using these loyal fans, advocates, to promote your own products and services, combined with a robust communication strategy can be a powerful combination. And remember to listen to the customer, giving them what they want, not what you want.

How Important is copy?

The short answer is very. You wouldn't be listening to me now if it wasn't for an audio version of some copy and you certainly wouldn't have heard of half of the organisations and brand that you hold dear if it wasn't for copy, be it in the form of a script, blog, social posts, literature, advertising. Basically the majority of the comms channels you can think of, then add some more.

But why? Here are some short snippets to explain:

- It creates trust – If your copy is consistent and correct, this adds a layer of trust

- Words are sharable – Especially on social channels and are more likely to be read than a video is to be listened to (unless the video uses copy)!

- SEO – Digitally speaking, optimisation is all about the copy and as we all know, if you’re not on the first page of Google, you’re not on Google

- It makes for a good UX – Everyone loves a great image and a slick webpage, but if the copy isn’t correct, this can detract from the user experience and leads to clicks away from your site

- And finally, it sells, as it appeals to your target audience, and we’re back to the - know, like and trust theory.

Happy Marketing Everyone! Peter www.marketingstudylab.co.uk www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-study-lab/ www.facebook.com/marketingstudylab/ https://twitter.com/mktstudylab (@mktstudylab) Music Featured on this Podcast: Sleepy in the Garden Lobo Loco www.musikbrause.de Creative Commons License

LinksCraig...

How important is copy within you Marketing Strategy, well it turns out very - and we’ll find out why later.

But before all that, I’d like to introduce Craig Hannan, the Head of Branding and Marketing at The Anfield Wrap, an award winning, independent podcast, website and radio show all about Liverpool Football Club. It’s Craig’s responsibility to drive growth within the company via subscriptions, live events, merchandise, sponsorship and a whole host of other activities that are focused clearly on a passionate footballing demographic. Now this was quite a lengthy interview compared to some of the Marketing Study Lab episodes. I put this down to the passion we both have for Marketing, Football and Liverpool – So apologies, but no apologies cause I enjoyed it and I hope you do to – If you’re into Marketing or Football, this is definitely the episode for you. But before we get into things, I need to know is purple is the new red?

Takeaways

- The power of a marketing strategy. Most people when they think of marketing think of a comms mix – the front of house (advertising, direct mail, social media, etc) but Craig highlighted that a strong strategy can help to change the culture of a company. It provides a focus for the entire ogranisation, where no other department is in a position to do this.

- Don’t be afraid to get creative and implement your own ideas. But make sure you mix these ideas with actual data to back them up, they hold more relevance that way. Take the Anfield Wrap for example, described as fanzine culture for the digital age. They could have kept to the tradition print fanzine, but spotted a niche, a gap in the market, white space and weren’t afraid to be the first to try it.

- As much as Marketers hate to admit it, word of mouth is one of, if not the best marketing tool we have (damn those mouths) – this is especially so in a passionate industry such as football. Using these loyal fans, advocates, to promote your own products and services, combined with a robust communication strategy can be a powerful combination. And remember to listen to the customer, giving them what they want, not what you want.

How Important is copy?

The short answer is very. You wouldn't be listening to me now if it wasn't for an audio version of some copy and you certainly wouldn't have heard of half of the organisations and brand that you hold dear if it wasn't for copy, be it in the form of a script, blog, social posts, literature, advertising. Basically the majority of the comms channels you can think of, then add some more.

But why? Here are some short snippets to explain:

- It creates trust – If your copy is consistent and correct, this adds a layer of trust

- Words are sharable – Especially on social channels and are more likely to be read than a video is to be listened to (unless the video uses copy)!

- SEO – Digitally speaking, optimisation is all about the copy and as we all know, if you’re not on the first page of Google, you’re not on Google

- It makes for a good UX – Everyone loves a great image and a slick webpage, but if the copy isn’t correct, this can detract from the user experience and leads to clicks away from your site

- And finally, it sells, as it appeals to your target audience, and we’re back to the - know, like and trust theory.

Happy Marketing Everyone! Peter www.marketingstudylab.co.uk www.linkedin.com/company/marketing-study-lab/ www.facebook.com/marketingstudylab/ https://twitter.com/mktstudylab (@mktstudylab) Music Featured on this Podcast: Sleepy in the Garden Lobo Loco www.musikbrause.de Creative Commons License

LinksCraig Hannan https://www.theanfieldwrap.com [email protected] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craighannan/ Twitter: @c_hannah7 @theanfieldwrap https://twitter.com/C_Hannan7https://twitter.com/TheAnfieldWrap

Books:Shoe Dog - Phil Knight: https://amzn.to/2Dt0efj

App:Twitter: https://twitter.com/Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com

Theory:The Benefit Ladder: http://www.originateventures.com/media/docs/ES%20Benefits%20Ladder.pdf

Mo Salah Goal v Man City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQipg5yQ-To