The SSE Airtricity League of Ireland gets underway tomorrow and the sponsors and the league have delivered on a promise to step up the promotion of the domestic game.
Outdoor billboards will be appearing at each of the venues for the Premier League and a new social campaign based around #FanPoweredFootball will be advertised in club programmes as well as through the growing channels of social media that clubs have been building.
“For the 2015 season we want to focus in on the fans of the league, and use them as the driving force for our new creative #FanPoweredFootball,” said Stephen Wheeler, Managing Director of SSE Airtricity.
“For us, it is the dedication of the fans, the players and all the clubs, which make the SSE Airtricity League what it is. Each season is filled with excitement and dramatic endings and I am sure this year will be no different.”
Last year’s campaign was a winner with the title decider taking place on the last day and in the last game of the season, with Dundalk coming out on top and making it a different winner in each of the last four seasons.
The clubs themselves have been active in building a collective more than 70 local commercial partnerships heading into the new season.
These range from front of short sponsorships that are this season more diverse than ever given the stepping back of some of the Volkswagen dealer relationships; all the way through to local media and hospitality arrangements.
Nike have kit deals with Bray Wanderers, Drogheda and Cork City; Umbro with Sligo Rovers, St Patricks Athletic, Dundalk and Derry City; Macron with Limerick City, Longford Town and Galway United; Warrior Sport with Shamrock Rovers and Hummel with Bohemians.
RTE and Setanta Sports will continue their live coverage of matches during the season and RTE has also committed to covering the League each week during the season through their popular football programme Soccer Republic.
This will be back on screen on Monday, March 9, at 11:05 on RTÉ2, and has already been heavily trailed in breaks on that channel, adding to the buzz around the return of the League.
It is not all plain sailing with criticism in certain non sporting media about the quality of stadia and football on offer but the League and the sponsors are staying focused on what they can achieve step by step to build interest and the fan base.
The Premier League and other major tournaments around Europe still dominate so much of the soccer conversation but with the kind of money being invested there that is something which domestic soccer in many countries has to live with and work around.
The Fan Powered Football campaign will be interesting to follow this season. It will reach out for the first time ever to a twitter audience through the 12 Premier League clubs of greater than 100,000.
When we last looked at Social numbers in the League that number was less than 50,000. 10 of the clubs now have a following of greater than 5,000, up from four in 2013, while six of the clubs now have more than the top rated Shamrock Rovers 24 months ago.
This is impressive growth and if SSE Airtricity and the League can produce enough content and promotion the number is sure to climb higher. An engaged base of 100,000 fans is a fair place to start from. Now let’s see how that itself can be made to look like just the beginning.
A full analysis of social media engagement through the SSE Airtricity Premier League Clubs is available for Sport for Business Members. Contact us today if you would like a copy.
Watch out next week for news of a ‘bloody’ good deal for soccer referees…
