Defining True Grassroots
When discussing football in England, it’s essential to understand the landscape. The game is structured in a tiered system, often referred to as the ‘football pyramid’. At the pinnacle of this pyramid, you’ll find the globally acclaimed Premier League, followed by subsequent tiers representing descending levels of professionalism and scale, stretching all the way down to the grassroots.
However, as a business our focus isn’t on the semi-professional spectrum where players receive compensation, even if it’s down to the 10th level of this English football league system. Instead, we work with those clubs that predominantly operate outside of this top ten official FA structure, with only a sprinkling within levels 8-10. These are the genuine grassroots: venues where passion trumps compensation, and the spirit of the game is as raw and real as it gets. Where players PAY to play, and are not PAID to play.
Redefining Football Sponsorship Opportunities
Football sponsorship is an attractive marketing avenue, but most attention and money flow towards the top of the pyramid, as you might expect. Yet, it’s worth noting that by focusing only on these elite levels, brands miss a significant portion of dedicated football enthusiasts: those who play and support at the true grassroots level.
By tapping into grassroots football, you aren’t just reaching out to an audience; you’re connecting with a passionate community that deeply resonates with the clubs they play for and support. Sponsoring these teams or leagues brings brands directly into this tight-knit community, offering an intimate and authentic engagement that’s often missed in more commercialised settings. It’s why we get such high brand recall figures for the campaigns we run – the audience appreciates that the advertising they see on our posters is actively supporting their club.
Grassroots vs. Semi-Professional Sponsorships
Our aim isn’t to position ourselves as an alternative to elite sponsorships – those remain in a league of their own. We don’t even want to position ourselves as replacements to sponsoring things like the FA Trophy and Vase or the upper reaches of non-league football. Instead, we want to highlight the tremendous value and potential found in grassroots sponsorships. Engaging this niche is typically challenging, given the need to sponsor hundreds of smaller leagues or thousands of clubs. However, we offer an easy way to engage a substantial yet very targeted audience. Especially if your target encompasses men aged 18-34 with a penchant for activity and football, our platform offers a cost-effective solution based on CPT.
Delivering Value Beyond Numbers
Consider this: A month with our grassroots posters delivers exposure to about 90,000 footballers, all for a competitive rate of £20k. In contrast, while sponsoring a competition like the FA Trophy offers visibility throughout a season, it often accumulates less impressions when considering the combined attendances across the games, and I suspect it costs a lot more than £20k to sponsor that competition. Additionally, our audience extends beyond the confines of the FA system, ensuring we add audience numbers instead of merely duplicating them.
Moreover, the players who encounter our posters recognise the direct investment each campaign brings to their club. This understanding translates into impressive brand recall rates exceeding 80%. Unlike merely stamping a logo beside a competition and hoping for the best, we’re talking about direct investment in the sport and tailoring ads for a keenly interested audience.
The Offer
For brands considering a more extended engagement, a season-long deal with us delivers an audience nearing 850,000 for a budget range of £50k-£70k and total impressions of around 10m a CPT of about £5. This deal not only guarantees comprehensive exclusivity but also offers abundant opportunities for creative audience engagement.
Conclusion
Grassroots football remains an underexplored territory in the world of sports advertising. By acknowledging the passion, dedication, and community spirit inherent at this level, brands can unlock a unique marketing potential. Rather than vying for attention in saturated elite leagues or the crowded semi-professional space, there’s an opportunity right here, in the very heartland of football, waiting to be seized.