Letting fans have say
Alex Lawson on duo getting a kick from Snack Media
IF you want to become the next Zoella, start chatting about West Ham on YouTube. Well, that’s what Snack Media believes. The North London business — which began life as a humble podc ast recorded in a kitchen and now handles myriad digital and social media marketing disciplines — has carved out a niche using fans and bloggers to develop a different voice in the crowded market looking to cash in on the lucrative beautiful game.
Niall Coen and Sa r a h G ro a rke founded Snack Media in the latter’s spare room in 2007 and now boast the likes of Unilever, BT Sport, Capital One and BP in their little black book.
The pair were determined to break the monopoly the biggest clubs had on the media. “The problem was the top six got all of the airtime, with the likes of Sky Sports and Match of the Day consistently giving a one-sided opinion from an ex-player,” says Coen. “Our tagline is ‘real fans, real opinions’ — we believe they should have a voice.”
The duo were clutching £1800 each, raised from their families, on founding the business. Coen was venturing out from a career in selling outsourcing contracts. His original idea to sell podc asts of proper t y seminars was kyboshed by the financial crash. So he turned to his first love for inspiration: Tottenham Hotspur.
Teaming up with old schoolfriend Groarke, Coen combined his connection with the ordinary fan with her experience in marketing male brands, including Gillette and Right Guard. “It was sheer drive and stubbornness that got us through,” she says.
This stubbornness has seen the fledgling firm build a network of 160 football fansites — including FootballFanCast. com and sites for Liverpool and Manchester United. It has also built former England Spurs star Glenn Hoddle’s site ZapSportz and partnered with 5Mag, Rio Ferdinand’s site and magazine venture. In total, it represents more than 200 sites in the ad market, selling off the back of 20 million unique users a month.
After originally encouraging fans to create their own podcasts, its activities have evolved and it has received backing from ad king Chris Ingram on the way. Snack moved quickly to take advantage of fans second screening — using their mobiles and tablets while watching telly — during games. Its idea is to tap into the captive audience by offering interesting pictures, videos and competi- tions from its clients during the match as well as handling corporate Twitter accounts. It has worked with Ford during the Champions League: “Within 90 seconds of a Gareth Bale goal, we can have branded official Ford photos from Uefa circulating on Twitter.”
The discipline that has given it the most bite in the heated world of footy fandom has been its work with bloggers. The clout of bloggers and vloggers has been evidenced not only by Zoella’s success but production giant Endemol’s Skip festival, which aims to bring thousands of fans to see internet starts on stage at the O2 in September.
Working with the fans behind the likes of El Centrocampista, The Busby Way and Gunnersphere, Snack gets bloggers in the pub with ex-pros including Steve Claridge and Jimmy Bullard to live-blog big games syndicated across its sites and offer a tone of voice far different to established marketing.
“If you are funny or have an opinion and offer a more interesting view on the game, then people engage with that. A guy sitting in his house in Manchester can get more retweets than Alan Shearer,” explains Coen.
However, trench warfare is a significant factor where football rivalries are concerned. Snack has had to tread a fine line when handling Celtic’s live app content amid the blood and thunder of Glasgow’s Old Firm and gives its bloggers training.
“One of our clients was keen for us to tweet a competition just after Spurs had fallen behind in a north London derby. Fans look to vent at anyone when they concede so we had to convince them it was a bad idea,” explains Coen.
But Snack is not simply focused on football. It is increasingly branching out, selling ads and handling social media for the likes of The Cricketer, NFL.com and The Rugby Paper, the last of which will prove a key client with this year’s World Cup on the horizon.
The business has to keep on top of each social trend, from Snapchat and Meerkat to Yik Yak to engage with fans. It will handle the content marketing for N5L — the National 5s League — a glitzy mix of NFL American football, BMX biking and live bands at Wembley Arena on July 22 and Birmingham on July 29.
Away from the pitch, the duo are primed to test the muddy waters of music festivals, beginning with the UK Festival Awards at the Roundhouse at whi c h it s a pps s ubs cr i b e r s co ul d upload nominations for the worstdressed attendee. “We want to capture the fans’ passion for the events before and after, as well as when they’re dancing,” says Groake.
So what do Coen, father of three, and Sarah, mother of two, fit in the chink of time between work and family? “Play football,” says Coen, ever the fanatic.
‘If you are funny or offer a more interesting view on the game then people engage with that’