It was a great feeling to be part of the team that won ‘Best Fan Engagement’ at the Football Business Awards of 2015 – with a strong social media presence at the heart of the nomination.
The Wembley initiatives in the FA Cup matches against Liverpool and Arsenal – #Teamtalk, #FinalWord and YouTV on social media as well as mosaics in the semi and final – were rewarded by the 34-strong panel.
Supporters were asked to inspire the players using the hashtags above and the messages were then used to decorate the dressing rooms at the home of English football.
This was an initiative to bring fans closer to the club – and closer to their heroes.
The emphasis was on aspirational messages which would spur the players on – an opportunity to interact directly with them in a way that no other club had before.
To further ensure supporters were closer to the club in the build-up to the Wembley encounters, the marketing and communications team introduced an innovative video sharing platform, YouTV.
This enabled fans to share their stories of the prestigious cup competition – and the clips were then pieced together to form an emotive video which was shared and featured in the concourses at Wembley pre-match.
The marketing arm of the department also knew that on the day of the semi-final the club’s supporters would have a vital role to play in helping the team beat the odds and reach the FA Cup final for the first time in 15 years by creating a fantastic atmosphere just before kick-off.
To help with this, the club took on board the ideas of several fan groups – and created the ‘VILLA’ crowd mosaic across the lower tier of the national stadium.
This effect was then replicated on a larger scale at the final with 30,000 souvenir scarves creating a spectacular claret and blue sight.
Paul Brown 