CLUBS DON’T JUST BUY A STAR, THEY WANT HIS TWITTER FOLLOWERS TOO
How football transfers have changed forever
cent uplift in Daley Blind’s Twitter following, within 14 days of signing, is often quoted.
United also cite Twitter and Facebook numbers as they try to build on more than 70 commercial partners across the globe. It’s why Woodward often quotes the figures when he is speaking to the club’s institutional investors.
He told them in May that United were accounting for almost half of all social media interactions on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter of the 20 Premier League clubs. Of the 510m likes, comments, shares or retweets for 20 Premier League clubs, United had 250m of them.
Sponsors get product placement in the videos. Everton’s Rooney film-makers subtly panned across signage reminding us that Russian holding company USM sponsors Finch Farm. Adidas gear is visible in a Pogba Instagram film of his celebration with Romelu Lukaku at a pool in Los Angeles, after the Belgian’s move to United. (Pogba’s clearly the boss: he didn’t let Lukaku post it.) And when United wrested the Pogba film-making away from adidas they put the Frenchman in a red Chevrolet — their shirt sponsor.
Players’ pursuit of a digital following — with the improved club contracts and sponsors they see it can buy them — has given birth to an entire new industry of specialists offering to help them.
‘It’s become huge,’ says one agent. ‘Many firms supply it but only a few do it well. Some just string images together. The good ones understand the player.’
When Kyle Walker signed for Manchester City last week in a then world record deal for a defender, he produced his own film, through social media specialists 90/24, while City’s own substantial in-house team added theirs. 90/24, an AngloDutch outfit, also work with Liverpool’s Divock Origi, Spurs’ Eric Lamela and Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben among others.
Other players include Social Chain, who work with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Seven League. And then there is the highly active Dugout, who this week added England player Jill Scott to a large roster, including Spurs’ Dele Alli and Harry Winks, Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla and Patrice Evra, now at Marseille.
All attempt to capture an appealing, candid picture of their apparently laid-back clients, though it is a transfer which provides the best opportunity to build a following, for clubs and players. ‘Most opportunities in football are tied down in rights deals but transfers sit outside the normal TV deal,’ says Dowling. ‘Transfer announcements are a window that people have not sold yet but we might see that happening. Sports marketing is notorious for seeing something and wrapping a rights deal around it.’
For the time being, the digital industry is making hay with a genre which is sending itself up already. Crystal Palace posted a film of white-smoke emanating from the chimney of a shop around the corner from Selhurst Park. It was a well-received wry commentary on their search for a manager. Southampton have won plaudits for their excellent ironic film of reserve keeper Stuart Taylor renewing his contract.
Domestically, little can beat what Rooney is delivering for Everton. On Thursday, he reached 15 million Twitter followers and announced he was giving away one of his signed @everton shirts to celebrate. ‘Just RT (retweet) to have a chance of winning,’ he tweeted — and 61,000 people have done precisely that.
But Ronaldo occupies another stratosphere. He is presently using his post-season break to promote himself and his sponsors in China. Three moody Instagram images of him wearing their gear in Beijing have collected two million likes.