The Big Interview: Richard Masters

Richard Masters, managing director at the Premier League, spoke to sig-staging.ypstagingserver.com/ at the launch of Premier League Primary Stars – a free curriculum-linked teaching resource for parents, teachers and young pupils – about the new community programme and launching the organisation’s first ever national ad campaign…

How does the Premier League Primary Stars fit in with the Premier League rebrand?

“The move away from title sponsorship was not just a commercial decision but also liberated our communications. The move away from the previous strategy has enabled us to speak with much more confidence about who we are and what we stand for. The Premier League Primary Stars programme has enabled us to bring the rebrand to life and it is just the start of many years’ work.

The Premier League launched a new rebrand for the 2016/17 season – it’s first in a decade.

“This is the first time we have done a television advert and the rebranding process has given us the confidence to do that along with other things. The hope is to reach millions of people in a way in which we have never communicated with them before.”

How would you assess the reaction from fans and clubs to the rebrand?

“We have been delighted with the response to the rebrand. From a club’s point of view, we have tried to create something complimentary to their own club brands and heritage, without being overpowering.”

BPL Live: Cape Town has been shortlisted for Entertainment Experience of the Year at the BT Sport Industry Awards 2017, how do your international initiatives such as these fit in with your national work, such as Premier League Primary Stars?

“We will carry on with our international programmes where we look at our international markets where there is a support for the Premier League established and can grow. Our top markets are the US, India and China where there is huge potential for growth and interest in football.

We were recently in Mumbai doing two things: the development of domestic football and the Indian Super League who we have a co-operation agreement with. The fan engagement where there was a fan park in a shopping centre in Mumbai where people could turn up and experience a little bit of the Premier League. Following on from this we are looking to do another fan park in a city in India which will be confirmed when the fixtures are known so we can build it around screenings and plan it properly due to time differences. There is that and we are also committed to doing international tournaments every other year, and we will be in Asia this year with a few of our clubs which will be announced next month.

We are also committed to a massive digital engagement programme, with a rebrand of all the digital services and tried to bring as many people into the Premier League as possible and pushing them out to the clubs to get them supporting a football club if they are not already. The international strategy is based around events and digital.”

Our most ambitious community project to date – #PLPrimaryStars – is aiming to inspire the next generation…

More: https://t.co/Y5xohq9ZiS pic.twitter.com/FVDObSxeoh

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 31, 2017

Are there any initiatives in the pipeline to build on or expand the Premier League Primary Stars programme?

“We see the Premier League Primary Stars as the start of a different way of communicating with a much bigger audience about different topics. Even if they don’t have any interest in football, we want to still communicate about the what the clubs and Premier League does to a whole different audience. That is the strategy and we hope that if this is successful and we can prove that it works we can warm people up to what the clubs and Premier League is really all about.

This programme is very much a long-term vision, looking at 3-6 years’ targets and not just for the summer.”

How achievable is the target to reach 10,000 school by 2019?

“The simple tracking process will allow us to know if schools are registered and engaging with the programme, through a digital tracking process. This will give us the targets on a basic numbers level, but we are very active with the clubs on a local level and have a stronger feel where it has been successful. There is one thing signing up and another getting something out of it. All the signs are that it works.”

How do you see this programme reaching out to the diverse population of thousands of primary school children across the country?

“We know there are a number of people not interested in football and it is not only a way of engaging their lessons and their academic objectives, it is also a good way of getting people interested in football. In terms of diversifying our audience and reaching new audiences it is an additional plus.”

Are there any broadcast or commercial plans for the Premier League Primary Stars?

“From purely a sponsorship point of view we have changed the structure of our sponsorship programme in consultation with the clubs, and looked to the seven-partner programme. We are now very pleased with the partners we have on board including the three new partners we have on board: Tag Heuer, Cadbury’s and the return of Carling. We are very pleased with the outcome of that and it has worked for us on every level. From that point of view we are pleased with the results. This is the first year of three and the commercial programme goes on and the broadcasting side is a topic for another day.

We are lucky we are able to do the Premier League Primary Stars programme as in some ways the revenue we are spending on this derives from commercial income. We haven’t needed sponsorship support so everyone can feel part of it without have a badge on top of it.”