Geoff Wilson

Head of Marketing & Communications,

Irish FA

Our WOW moment!

It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.
John Quelch that appeared in The Financial Times (2008)

SMEs see direct mail as offering the best return on investment of all their marketing spend.
New Brand Vision Group 2008 Survey

Head of Marketing and Communications Irish FA

Various Marketing Posts in BT Northern Ireland (Market research, Market Intelligence, Market propositions, Database Marketing, Business Marketing and Consumer Marketing TV production, Billboards, Press Ads, Online (emails, web), 3 rd Party Channels, Telesales/Sales Channels, Direct Mail, Magazines, PR, viral campaigns, event management)
2008 Marketing Director of the Year CIM (All Ireland)
Re-branding work for the Ulster Grand Prix
Columnist with a Daily Newspaper in NI
Currently Marketing Consultant with UEFA

Background pre 2005

Paper Based System
One Stand alone PC for ticketing
Dependence on Operator Expertise
High staff resource demands especially ticketing
Manual data processing was time consuming
No communication with our customers or sponsors
Image of the Association

The Challenge
Introduce a new database that will be able to touch all areas of
the Association from
1.) Administration to
2.) Revenue Generation/Marketing

Introduce the new system in a short period of time 6 months

to 1 year
Able to use the data generated in the new database for specific
IFA requirements ie Marketing Campaigns

The Overview; System Scope

Coaching

Player

E-Learning

One main
Database

Club Web sites

NIBFA

Email/Letter/SMS

Womens

High
Performance

FSI
Data

Discipline

Email/Letter/SMS
Data

Data

Comp/Fixture
Management

Email/SMS/Letter

Referees

Membership
Loyalty Caps
Loyalty Points

Data
Email/Letter/SMS

International
Management
Media
Accreditation

E-Marketing

Ticketing
Event
Management

Main CRM System

Admin: Competition & Fixture Management

Admin: Player Registration

Admin: Discipline

Admin: Coaching

Admin: Refereeing

Admin: International Management

Revenue: E-Ticketing Loyalty Caps

Revenue: Fans Membership (inc Loyalty caps and points)

Marketing: Event Management

Marketing: E-Marketing Email

Marketing: E-Marketing Texting

The IFA today

Integrated Solution
Increased revenue
Single Record for each Individual
Audit trails and accountability ticket sales
Reduced Human Error due to applied rules in the software
Increased accessibility to data real time
Future proof expansion able to add additional modules to the
main CRM system
Reduced demand on IFA staff ie ticketing
Able to market and communicate to our fan base

Users of the System

Competition Services
Ticketing Department Finance review ticketing reports
Marketing Department
League Secretarys
Referees
Coaching Department (including grassroots, excellence)
Womens and boys FAs
International Department

Advantages v Disadvantages
Advantages
One database, one record per
individual
Plug and play system with a company
with previous history in the sports
sector
Transformed our processes
Modular based system so the database
can be expanded in the future
Access to the system is via an internet
browser
Database for Marketing (Revenue
generation and keeping fans informed)
and administration (cost saving/more
efficient in the way we work)

Disadvantage
Guinea Pig it has been hard
work! First users in some of
the modules
Culture Change getting staff
to change the way they are
working
Cost for change requests
Issues if the internet goes
down

Learning's
This is not an easy project!!
It is good to have one project manager in your
business who has previous experience and
knowledge in database and data cleansing.
Scope all areas first (be specific as possible
and try to cover all areas) change request are
costly!!
Hold monthly conference calls and develop a
work stack report

Learning's
Agree maintenance fee up front
Agree a change request fee up front push
them down on price!
Bring on board a partner who has previous
CRM knowledge

Basic Tips

Be clear on the business objectives for implementing a

database
Prepare a scoping document and involve all the key
staff
Implementing CRM solution can be expensive but if
you dont have the funding start with collecting contact
information and product history on Excel/Access. Or
you can rent a CRM system!
Identify departments and internal processes that will
benefit from introducing a CRM system ie Customer
Service, Sales, Marketing, Engineering
Ensure you have captured the main decision maker in
your database

Basic Tips

Think about where you can generate data on your

customers competitions, online, events etc
Start building a picture on your current customers,
where they live, what they have bought from you,
buying patters, contact information
Think about using geo-demographic data
When your customers contact you, reconfirm their
contact details keep the database up to date
Dont just send on Direct Mail sequential DM
strategies should be employed
Introducing a CRM system will mean a cultural
change and will require staff training be warned!

Basic Tips

Pin Point those customers who buy from you and get
them to spend more (high valued and most profitable)
this is one of the ways to tough out the recession!
Introduce a loyalty scheme to reward your customers
Target new customers with the same profile as your
current profitable customers
Make sure your DM has the right message to the right
customers, a call to action, may be lead with an offer
Data Protection Act make sure you comply with this
Act
Make sure your database is flexible ie able to expand,
add more fields etc.

Basic Tips

If you are using telesales on the back of a DM

campaign, make sure you have fully trained sales
advisors in place
If you can personalise your DM or telesales ie Dear
Mr Wilson, then this would be preferred

Campaigns

BT
Direct Mail campaigns acquisition and retention
and loyalty campaigns
Irish FA:
Renewal of our block booking ticket sales
Identification of new Sponsors telesales

Campaigns: BT take BB during Christmas DM and call

Campaigns: Members promoting 10% discount and

Summer offers Letter and email only

Dear Official Supporters Scheme Member,

The summer is now approaching and I am sure you are thinking
about your holidays. So why not visit our online shop or our shop at
20 Windsor Avenue for a range of Northern Ireland merchandise from shorts and t-shirts to baseball hats and the all important beach
towel.
As a member of the Official Supporters Scheme you automatically
receive 10 per cent off Irish FA merchandise (excluding sale items) in
store and online and in addition you are awarded loyalty points every
time you make a purchase.
So why not visit us today at www.irishfa.com/shop or call in our shop
at Windsor Avenue.
Regards
Geoff Wilson
Head of Marketing and Communications

Campaigns: Referees Joining the OSS email and call

Campaigns: members to our legends evenings

Campaigns: Members IFA Magazine