LOI Promotion Activities

[pineapple stu]

Andy Keogh is the only former Cabo player who's played at full international level. In men's, that is. Stephanie Roche also played for them underage.
Wiki says Alan O'Brien as well, which is why I mentioned him

[Philosophizer]

Probably not the right thread but was just listening to 98fm on the way home from work in Dublin and they had a sports bulletin around 5:30 and they led by announcing the rovers, Bohs and Pats matches on tonight. No mention of other matches but it's a just a Dublin station so it's understandable. No mention of premier league news or anythin. They followed with some rubgy and news about the Crucible. Nice to see the LOI being prioritised.

[Martinho II]

Probably not the right thread but was just listening to 98fm on the way home from work in Dublin and they had a sports bulletin around 5:30 and they led by announcing the rovers, Bohs and Pats matches on tonight. No mention of other matches but it's a just a Dublin station so it's understandable. No mention of premier league news or anythin. They followed with some rubgy and news about the Crucible. Nice to see the LOI being prioritised.

their podcast is top notch in my opinion!

[RathfarnhamHoop]

May be the wrong thread for it but I though programmes are a sort of promotion so I'll put it here. Interesting bit in the Rovers programme last night about how Bohs had a dig at Rovers in the recent derby programme. Apparently (I haven't seen the programme) Bohs claimed to have had the most memorable results citing Santry 2001 and they also called Tallaght the SDCC stadium. Rovers writer pretty much said that they seemed to have a rose tinted view to the results and as for the stadium people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I must say the Rovers programme has been especially good this year so if any contributors are reading this well done keep it up.

[Mr A]

Jeez, hardly the most cutting of digs in fairness.

[sbgawa]

Jeez, hardly the most cutting of digs in fairness.


We are sensitive souls :)
I think it was the pettiness of it really , it should be beneath them.
The programmes this season are good I agree with Rathfarnham hoop on that, whoever is doing it fair play

[Mr A]

I remember feck all Bohs Rovers games specifically but I do recall the 6-4 one in Santry so I think that is fair enough. The other dig is a bit petty, but it's pretty much as bad to even rise to it.

[sbgawa]

agreed

[Charlie Darwin]

Rovers, Pats and Bohs all have little digs at each other at times. The SDCC one is a bit bizarre given their current situation but I suppose it makes them feel better. Who cares if they think their results were better?

[Mr A]

Just listened to the Newstalk podcast, they read out the editorial from the Rovers programme and holy feck it was quite something. Starts at about 30 minute mark https://soundcloud.com/user-672606955/neil-mcdonald-on-his-limerick-plans-programme-battles

Very, very funny indeed.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

I remember feck all Bohs Rovers games specifically but I do recall the 6-4 one in Santry so I think that is fair enough. The other dig is a bit petty, but it's pretty much as bad to even rise to it.

I remember the 2-1 in tallaght when twigg scored twice and know a few who remember the fai cup game in 2006.
I wasn't really referencing it to highlight what was said more because it's stuff like that in programmes that I enjoyed, the bit of banter between clubs and stuff.

[sbgawa]

Couldn't imagine it in the man utd programme in response to liverpool mischif. ...not corporate

[Mr A]

I am all for abit of back and forth, it was the fact the Rovers programme went into it in depth while saying they were going to rise above it that I found properly #GreatestLeagueInTheWorld

[sbgawa]

I know but isn't it part of what makes us all feel so close to our clubs....it's like two lads rowing in the pub �� #greatestleagueintheworld

[osarusan]

Just listened to the Newstalk podcast, they read out the editorial from the Rovers programme and holy feck it was quite something. Starts at about 30 minute mark https://soundcloud.com/user-672606955/neil-mcdonald-on-his-limerick-plans-programme-battles

Very, very funny indeed.

Just listened to it. That is some sad sad stuff.

I can understand a few people feeling that way, but for the editorial to actually go through whatever of stages approval there are and finally get printed, is actually pathetic.

[sbgawa]

Stages of approval ?? #greatestleagueintheworld

LOIweekly on soundcloud this week is interesting with Dan McDonnel , Stephen Mcphail and the new Limerick Manager Neil McDonald,
McDonnel has a lash at the FAI over the Utd friendly possibly clashing with a European game for Dundalk, cork rovers or Sligo.

[sbgawa]

doh ..derry

[Mr A]

With it being the editorial, there probably were no stages of approval. Wouldn't see it as a big deal, just quite funny. Possibly they were even taking the mick a bit.

[Mr A]

Also- Holy Crap McPhail is boring.

[sbgawa]

That's harsh Mr A. :)

[nigel-harps1954]

Cracker of a promo video for Harps v Shamrock Rovers.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZefY5gOoFg

[EatYerGreens]

Cracker of a promo video for Harps v Shamrock Rovers.



Is there a part of Donegal as far from the sea as Ballybofey is ? ;)

[nigel-harps1954]

Is there a part of Donegal as far from the sea as Ballybofey is ? ;)

Lifford, probably.

[Philosophizer]

I've started seeing ads for Bohs at bus stops on the northside over the last week or so. There's one on the Navan road and another in Stoneybatter, among many others i'm sure.

Nice branding imo.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzcw1X3_rpLhpUFuW_lGqPGy7MVvKYq Zr5BKyOiTs3cRtVpzlh

*editing because embedding the image failed

[EatYerGreens]

I've started seeing ads for Bohs at bus stops on the northside over the last week or so. There's one on the Navan road and another in Stoneybatter, among many others i'm sure.

Nice branding imo.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzcw1X3_rpLhpUFuW_lGqPGy7MVvKYq Zr5BKyOiTs3cRtVpzlh

*editing because embedding the image failed

So Jonathan Gabay was right after all...

[EatYerGreens]

I've started seeing ads for Bohs at bus stops on the northside over the last week or so. There's one on the Navan road and another in Stoneybatter, among many others i'm sure.

Nice branding imo.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQzcw1X3_rpLhpUFuW_lGqPGy7MVvKYq Zr5BKyOiTs3cRtVpzlh

*editing because embedding the image failed

This is good to see - though being a marketing anorak, I'd have loads of questions around that poster. For a start it doesn't include Boh's branding as far as I can see (couldn't open the image much larger than shown). Also - does it even make clear who or what Bohemians are - i.e. that it's about football ? You can't assume people know anything with stuff like this - particularly re LOI football with its low public profile.

Also - what's the image of the woman 'screaming' Bohs all about ? What does it say about the club or football ?

So good to see this happening, but it seems to have missed a number of basic things you'd expect to see on there - so a bit of a missed opportunity in fairness. I guess people will just be happy to see something done a bit right re club promotions, rather than nothing at all. But the league can aspire to better than that.

[Mr A]

It ties in well with the Hipster vibe Bohs have developed in recent years in fairness.

Incidentally we were planning as far back as February to do flyers with our fixtures on them and distribute to all tourist spots like hotels, attractions etc.. but the idea was blocked by uncertainty over when some of the matches would happen. Think we're finally past that but so much of the season (both ours and tourist) is already passed. It's a basic thing but very frustrating.

[Philosophizer]

This is good to see - though being a marketing anorak, I'd have loads of questions around that poster. For a start it doesn't include Boh's branding as far as I can see (couldn't open the image much larger than shown). Also - does it even make clear who or what Bohemians are - i.e. that it's about football ? You can't assume people know anything with stuff like this - particularly re LOI football with its low public profile.

Also - what's the image of the woman 'screaming' Bohs all about ? What does it say about the club or football ?

So good to see this happening, but it seems to have missed a number of basic things you'd expect to see on there - so a bit of a missed opportunity in fairness. I guess people will just be happy to see something done a bit right re club promotions, rather than nothing at all. But the league can aspire to better than that.

I found a bigger image of it (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCO9IKmXgAABCLJ.jpg) on google.

I like it, but admittedly i'm no marketing guru.

It doesn't contain the official club crest or the name "Bohemian fc", but it says "Bohs" and the colour scheme is right, so that's on-brand i suppose. The "the people's club" motto seems pretty cool to me too. It fits in with the club being fan owned, rooted in it's community, inclusive (see the flags and murals around Dalyer welcoming minorities) and maybe will appeal to people who want to be part of a real cause, supporting a real community club, as opposed to some corporate monster floating on the stock exchange. I think i've also seen that motto on hoardings at Dalyer - not sure if it's a new motto or one that they're trying to revive. It also lists the remaining fixtures for the rest of the season so i'd assume that anyone who has even a passing interest in Irish sport would quickly figure out that it's promoting Bohemian football club - they're one of our most famous clubs after all. So maybe that's the target audience, lapsed fans or people on the northside who have an interest in sport but who've never given the LOI a shot.

It's a bit on the obscure side i suppose, but maybe that's the intention - to get people thinking. Isn't that the main aim of advertising after all, to get inside the head of the consumer irrespective of how you do it.

[brendy_éire]

Incidentally we were planning as far back as February to do flyers with our fixtures on them and distribute to all tourist spots like hotels, attractions etc.. but the idea was blocked by uncertainty over when some of the matches would happen. Think we're finally past that but so much of the season (both ours and tourist) is already passed. It's a basic thing but very frustrating.

I've been asking Derry to do these leaflets for years. Needless to say, it hasn't been tried.

Regarding fixture changes, a note to ask people to check the website for confirmed dates would suffice. Football fans are generally aware that fixtures get moved about for various reasons.

[Mr A]

I know yeah, but when we were looking there were 3 games that would be potentially moved and 2 almost certainly and we felt that was too high. Especially when one of the games was our most attractive. We should have proceeded in retrospect, but we didn't expect the Derry fixture to take so long to be finalised. Lessons were learned.

[Philosophizer]

It ties in well with the Hipster vibe Bohs have developed in recent years in fairness.

I thought that too. The image and just the general design gives off a hipster vibe. It's very Bohs.

Overall I really like it, but then again i've been known to be a bit of a hipster. :D

[JC_GUFC]

I know yeah, but when we were looking there were 3 games that would be potentially moved and 2 almost certainly and we felt that was too high. Especially when one of the games was our most attractive. We should have proceeded in retrospect, but we didn't expect the Derry fixture to take so long to be finalised. Lessons were learned.

I presume you were right about the ones that were moved?
You could have just put TBC on the ones with doubts over them.
As a matter of interest what was your idea for the design? Literally just a 1-page flyer was it?
I remember the fold-up pocket fixture lists the eircom League brought out. They were good but not necessarily something to attract tourists.
I definitely think that's a huge market that has been missed for too long by clubs and the league.
Tourism is one of the biggest industries in the country and the average spend from a tourist who visits a game must be well up on a regular punter as many will buy scarves & memorabilia

[Mr A]

The ISN found the average match day spend for a regular fan was around €30, but I would still expect tourists to average more.

Idea was a brochure type, so fold out 2 or 3 panels with the fixtures and a little about the club. Bohs do this already, and Galway United did this year also.

As I said, we should have proceeded, but we thought we'd get things clarified soon enough to have it fairly accurate for peak season. A mistake on our part but there you go.

[EatYerGreens]

I found a bigger image of it (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCO9IKmXgAABCLJ.jpg) on google.

I like it, but admittedly i'm no marketing guru.

It doesn't contain the official club crest or the name "Bohemian fc", but it says "Bohs" and the colour scheme is right, so that's on-brand i suppose. The "the people's club" motto seems pretty cool to me too. It fits in with the club being fan owned, rooted in it's community, inclusive (see the flags and murals around Dalyer welcoming minorities) and maybe will appeal to people who want to be part of a real cause, supporting a real community club, as opposed to some corporate monster floating on the stock exchange. I think i've also seen that motto on hoardings at Dalyer - not sure if it's a new motto or one that they're trying to revive. It also lists the remaining fixtures for the rest of the season so i'd assume that anyone who has even a passing interest in Irish sport would quickly figure out that it's promoting Bohemian football club - they're one of our most famous clubs after all. So maybe that's the target audience, lapsed fans or people on the northside who have an interest in sport but who've never given the LOI a shot.

It's a bit on the obscure side i suppose, but maybe that's the intention - to get people thinking. Isn't that the main aim of advertising after all, to get inside the head of the consumer irrespective of how you do it.

You can't assume anything in advertising/marketing. Doubley so for a league that most Irish people have ignored utterly for over a generation. And especially in a city where a large part of its population are either not from there, or not even from the country.

The poster doesn't mention football once. It would be wrong to assume that those reading it would know that's what it's all about. What about tourists/visitors to Dublin ? What about non-nationals - who must surely make up 15%+ of Dublin's population ? Some of whom may have come from places with more of a culture of supporting local teams.

Say if the ad did tweak your interest. It doesn't give any details of where Bohs play. Dalymount Park may be well known to Dubs, but what about everyone else? So you've no idea if they're round the corner from you or a trek to the other side of town. All marketing aims to either create awareness and/or encourage trial of a product. That poster obviously aimed to both inform and encourage attendance, yet only managed to do less than one of those 2 core tasks (how do you encourage people to attend a fixture in an undefined sport without making the location clear ?).

There's no information on how much the games cost to get in - which is a massive omission, especially as LOI is a cheap night out.

I also don't understand why they listed the away fixtures on there. Is someone standing at a bus stop really going to leap from having no or little interest in the club to then deciding to go to Limerick for an away match, just because they saw a poster ? Realistically not. So listing the away fixtures is just a distraction form what should be a very simple message - 'There is a football club nearby - go and watch them - this is how'

It would have been extremely easy to ensure this ad kept all the things that people on here like about it, but also added n the simple core basics that are missing. There's so much blank space on there that a crest, address, simple directions etc could easily have been added without over-cluttering it or leaving the eye not knowing where to look. I personally think it would look better with those things in, as it currently looks more like a flyer than a poster. It's a case of design triumphing over function, and I guarantee you that's what happened.

[Kingdom]

You can't assume anything in advertising/marketing. Doubley so for a league that most Irish people have ignored utterly for over a generation. And especially in a city where a large part of its population are either not from there, or not even from the country.

The poster doesn't mention football once. It would be wrong to assume that those reading it would know that's what it's all about. What about tourists/visitors to Dublin ? What about non-nationals - who must surely make up 15%+ of Dublin's population ? Some of whom may have come from places with more of a culture of supporting local teams.

Say if the ad did tweak your interest. It doesn't give any details of where Bohs play. Dalymount Park may be well known to Dubs, but what about everyone else? So you've no idea if they're round the corner from you or a trek to the other side of town. All marketing aims to either create awareness and/or encourage trial of a product. That poster obviously aimed to both inform and encourage attendance, yet only managed to do less than one of those 2 core tasks (how do you encourage people to attend a fixture in an undefined sport without making the location clear ?).

There's no information on how much the games cost to get in - which is a massive omission, especially as LOI is a cheap night out.

I also don't understand why they listed the away fixtures on there. Is someone standing at a bus stop really going to leap from having no or little interest in the club to then deciding to go to Limerick for an away match, just because they saw a poster ? Realistically not. So listing the away fixtures is just a distraction form what should be a very simple message - 'There is a football club nearby - go and watch them - this is how'

It would have been extremely easy to ensure this ad kept all the things that people on here like about it, but also added n the simple core basics that are missing. There's so much blank space on there that a crest, address, simple directions etc could easily have been added without over-cluttering it or leaving the eye not knowing where to look. I personally think it would look better with those things in, as it currently looks more like a flyer than a poster. It's a case of design triumphing over function, and I guarantee you that's what happened.

I think you're being extremely harsh to the club. While I'm Bohs-friendly, I'm not a regular and on a different side of the city, but Bohs are absolutely everywhere on social media, and absolutely and fundamentally linked to Phibsborough and the general regeneration that is taking place in the larger D7 region.
While it's a jibe, it is relevant, Bohs have been remodelled (unsure if it's intentional) as a hipster club. The social issues they highlight, their support of minorities, their actual involvement in the community for the goodness of the communities rather than just fleecing cash from the poor, has been massive. They are involved with the businesses properly in the immediate area around Phibsborough too.

I appreciate you might have principles by which a marketer might adhere to, visual, detail etc. My take is that Bohs aren't trying to appeal to the local non-indigenous market - they have them already -

What stands out on the image? Very obviously: Bohs. I open a fresh search engine, cleared of cache, google "Bohs", and what's the first return? Bohs fc with the stadium linked to google maps, refered to as the historic home of Irish football, the previous two results and the next fixture with a time.

With the prevalence of smart technology, across all sections of society, young/old, rich/poor, I think that leaving a little bit of an aura on a poster that entices the viewer in to do a bit of digging is smart.
While LOI people might not agree with this as an opinion, it is out there that LOI matches are too expensive. I don't agree, I think they're value for money. But if you put the cost of a game on a poster, immediately you're setting a price for a person, and they may decide nope that's not for me.
However, if you pique their interest, and they click the Youtube video, or see that Bohs have beaten the most famous club in the country and the league leaders in the last two games, before telling them the price, then perhaps the emphasis is on the Bohs experience before setting a price.

The actual info on the poster is minimal. Young people like minimal. It's proven that attention spans and information dissection is on the wane. Did you think that maybe the club do not want the FAI logo on the poster, or the LOI logo on the poster due to the negative publicity they both get, and focussed on the gloss and the positivity surrounding their own club?

Again I appreciate your background, I just think you're overly harsh there.

[EatYerGreens]

The actual info on the poster is minimal. Young people like minimal. It's proven that attention spans and information dissection is on the wane. Did you think that maybe the club do not want the FAI logo on the poster, or the LOI logo on the poster due to the negative publicity they both get, and focussed on the gloss and the positivity surrounding their own club?

I never said they should put the FAI or LOi logo on the poster. I said they should put THE BOHS LOGO on the poster. It's a Bohs poster, without Bohs' own branding on. Page 1 in any marketing textbook.

If you think that pricing is best left as a mystery that requires a treasure hunt, then you'll be sorely disappointed by the harsh reality of just how lazy most people are. And you've just pointed out about how attention deficit people are. Sure why not write the whole poster in Esperanto, and leave it for people to translate it first whilst we're at it ;)

I'll leave the rest as differences of opinion. I guess my point is that if you're going to do something, get it right. Especially as you wouldn't lose anything of what you're trying to do by getting it right.

Marketing is one of those things that everyone thinks is easy - until it comes to doing it, when they don't even get the basics right and don't realise how or why they haven't got the basics right. There's a reason why marketing people get paid good money to do messaging. This poster just looks like a designer was asked to do something - and hence they've focused on making it look 'cool', not the functionality of ensuring it actually does the job it's supposed to do.

[Mr A]

There's also the consideration that not every piece of marketing is aimed at every audience and maybe Bohs know what they're doing. Bohs brand at the minute is that hipstery, non conformist vibe. Keeping to conventions may not jive with that.

[Philosophizer]

There's so much blank space on there that a crest, address, simple directions etc could easily have been added without over-cluttering it or leaving the eye not knowing where to look. I personally think it would look better with those things in, as it currently looks more like a flyer than a poster. It's a case of design triumphing over function, and I guarantee you that's what happened.

These are all very fair points. In their defence, the poster was probably designed by a fan (for little or no fee), who may not have had all the knowledge that you possess. It's still a nifty design imo. Could have been top notch if you're recommendations were included.

[Philosophizer]

On the subject of posters/flyers, i can't believe clubs don't put flyers through letterboxes. I've lived on Dublin's northside for 4 yrs now and this Bohs ad on the bus stop is the 1st bit of marketing i've seen around town for a LOI club.

Flyers through letterboxes have such an immediate impact. I heard Brian Kerr speaking on the LOI Weekly podcast a few months ago and he mentioned how he and a few mates spent a few evenings putting flyers through letterboxes all around Inchicore and surrounding areas before Pats' 1st home game of this season. The attendance for that game was greater than what they've had on an opening day for years. I even checked the attendances on ET just to be sure, and he was right.

2017 Feb 24th St pats vs Bray att: 1722
2016 March 4th St Pats vs Galway att: 1626
2015 March 13th St Pats vs Bray att: 1329
2014 March 14th - St Pats vs UCD att: 1200 (est)
2013 March 8th - St Pats vs Drogs att:1706
2012 March 2nd - St Pats vs Bray att: 1474
2011 March 11th - St Pats vs Bray att: 1294

[Eminence Grise]

It looks to me like the poster isn’t aimed at new customers (thinking of the AIDA process - attract, inform, desire, acquire) but at reminding (potential) customers who are already aware of the club. The locations mentioned here are local to Phibsborough. A woman on a football poster is clever – it suggests revolution, tones down the laddish/men only appeal that is a knee-jerk thought about football, and her headscarf is a little bohemian! Possibly reading too much into that! I think it gels well with the Phizzfest vibe in the area: a bit artsy, a bit ‘in the know’, and it ties the club into a community based on geography and shared interests/experiences. One thing missing, though, is a call to action – call 01XXX for tickets, follow us on etc etc.


On the subject of posters/flyers, i can't believe clubs don't put flyers through letterboxes. I've lived on Dublin's northside for 4 yrs now and this Bohs ad on the bus stop is the 1st bit of marketing i've seen around town for a LOI club.

Completely agree! I lived for 12 years in Cabra Park and never once got a leaflet in the door. Usually the first clue a game was on was the floodlights lighting up the kitchen!

[Mr A]

On flyers.. my guess is clubs don't do it because they lack the people to actually distribute them.

[RathfarnhamHoop]

To be honest that poster would be perfect if they had that dalymount logo along the bottom. It's simple, small, tells people where they are and wouldn't distract from the overall aesthetic

[pineapple stu]

On flyers.. my guess is clubs don't do it because they lack the people to actually distribute them.
You can get companies to do it for relatively cheap.

I know we did it years back (I think it was for the InterToto game in 2000; probably other times as well though) and the uptake was practically nil.

[Eminence Grise]

On flyers.. my guess is clubs don't do it because they lack the people to actually distribute them.

Get the youth team players out. Split the u-19s and u-17s in two with adult supervision (keep the health and safety brigade happy!) and you can distribute leaflets for one day every week for a month with nobody having to give up more than than a few hours once every four weeks. Trying to remember the math from my canvassing days, but I think we used to aim for 60 houses an hour per person in a built up urban area, so a team of 8 could deliver nearly 2,000 leaflets in 4 hours on a Saturday or Sunday morning. Target a different area for ten weeks then begin the cycle again. There's the added bonus of having a large group wearing club gear visible on the streets.



You can get companies to do it for relatively cheap.

I know we did it years back (I think it was for the InterToto game in 2000; probably other times as well though) and the uptake was practically nil.

One-off leafletting won't have much effect. While you might get a 50% recall rate, a 3% response rate is considered good - but bear in mind that the average leaflet has about 7 seconds to impress before a reader's attention drifts. Things like design, offers, etc make a massive difference.

[Missing Links]

I'd appreciate a critique of this Bohs poster ;)

[EatYerGreens]

I'd appreciate a critique of this Bohs poster ;)

;)

Since you've asked, in all honesty it's bad. It looks like an ad for the English Premier League. I appreciate it's for a Fantasy League based on English football (the wisdom of which I would question for Irish clubs anyway), but it looks like it has absolutely nothing at all to do with Irish football - let alone being run by one of the country's main clubs.

Again, it doesn't have Bohs branding on it. It doesn't even have their colours FFS.

Bet you're sorry you asked now :cool:

[Charlie Darwin]

It clearly does have Bohs branding on it.

[EatYerGreens]

It clearly does have Bohs branding on it.

It doesn't have the Bohs logo. Or colours.

It has the Bohs Twitter account, but even that doesn't say Bohs.

I can't see an expanded version of the poster beyond that.

[Charlie Darwin]

It's literally staring at you in the middle of the page.

[nigel-harps1954]

It's right in the middle of the poster...