Transfer Announcements On Social Media: Ten That Hit The Back Of The Net!
Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. director Richard Payne and marketing and business manager Edward Willis have tracked and debated the reaction to some of 2018’s most talked about transfers through their social monitoring tool SMS INC. Radar.
Here, they pick out ten of their favourite transfer announcements of recent years.
It’s no secret that social media is becoming a more and more powerful tool for football clubs to connect with their supporter base and that’s simply because more and more fans are using it. Not only are older generations of fans switching to social media, but the platforms lend themselves to monitoring and engaging with fans in real-time, unlocking the opportunity to deepen engagements and commercialise relationships.
With the summer transfer window having just closed, it was fascinating to see some of the creative ways that clubs have announced new signings. Gone are the days of a few handshakes, a dull press release and a quick photo with a club scarf. Nowadays the method of the announcement can often get people talking more than the name of the player. The associated noise that these creative unveilings can stimulate is often above and beyond the power that you would expect a club’s social presence to create, allowing smaller clubs to also join the conversation. Here are ten of the SMS team’s favourite examples.
Aston Villa & Andre Moreira – 2018
ICYMI: Love Island might be over but we’re delighted to announce that a new boy has entered the Villa…#AVFC pic.twitter.com/I2rwt6RnDK
— Aston Villa FC (@AVFCOfficial) August 1, 2018
Love Island might be over, but Aston Villa struck while the iron was still hot with this reality TV show themed twitter announcement of new signing Andre Moreira. Demonstrating a clear attempt to piggyback on popular culture, their tweet that focused on “a new boy entering the villa” drew mixed reactions, some in stitches while others dubbed it “cringeworthy” or “embarrassing”. That being said, nearly 500,000 people have now viewed the tweet that has racked up nearly 3000 retweets and 8000 likes.
West Ham & Jack Wilshere – 2018
Our new midfielder has arrived… #WelcomeJack pic.twitter.com/kPd7hm4YxZ
— West Ham United (@WestHamUtd) July 9, 2018
Starting his journey at ‘Arsenal tube station’ former Arsenal and England midfielder Wilshers makes his way via cab across London to West Ham, where he enters the changing room and puts on the new shirt. Simplistic, low cost and humorous. It ticked all of the marketing boxes, tapping into a younger audience through usage of a strong urban vibe that flowed through various fonts and audio blends.
Juventus and Ronaldo – 2018
.@Cristiano https://t.co/vzGBI3d8kh #CR7JUVE pic.twitter.com/UB7BwBdDWe
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 10, 2018
This may have been one of the biggest shocks in recent transfer history, however when Juventus executed his unveiling, they chose a more understated approach.
A simple image combining the traditional colours of Juventus along with Ronaldo’s iconic celebration proved a truly artistic image, one that captured both Ronaldo and Juventus in unison and also highlighted Ronaldo’s own CR7 brand. Perhaps more enlightening, however, is the impact an individual player can have on a club’s following. As the most followed footballer in the world, Ronaldo’s first tweet in Juve kit attracted far more engagements than either side’s announcement of the news, actually stimulating a loss of one million Real Madrid followers – in contrast, Juventus gained a similar figure!
Nantes & Lucas Evangelista – 2018
Il y a du nouveau dans la squad… pic.twitter.com/NIqLdwqklC
— FC Nantes (@FCNantes) July 27, 2018
The Ligue One side decided to act upon current trends when unveiling their man, and this is one transfer unveiling that is likely to make many other players such as Griezmann and Dele Alli extremely jealous.
Using the huge video game phenomenon Fortnite, the club developed some in-game content where Nantes coach Miguel Cardoso unveiled their player inside the game. The announcement was a clear attempt to appeal to a younger generation, with Fortnite fever was already sweeping football, this advert took the game’s crossover to a whole new level. As e-sports continue to grow in popularity, it would be no surprise to see more clubs turn to video game crossovers for wider marketing campaigns.
Liverpool & Mo Salah – 2017
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 22, 2017
Excited by the prospect of signing one of the most talented wingers in the world, it was no surprise that Liverpool fans were getting frustrated and impatient that the confirmation was taking so long.
With hundreds if not thousands of fans taking to Twitter to release their emotions, Liverpool came up with the #AnnounceSalah video, with the Egyptian winger scrolling through the many tweets before announcing himself as a member of the club.
As a simple announcement compared to some on this list, it was interesting for its use of twitter as content as well as a medium. Not only that, but as the first response read, ‘Chelsea flop for 45mil, what a joke’ it goes to show how opinions aren’t always correct!
Southampton & Stuart Taylor – 2017
Are we doing this right? #saintsfc pic.twitter.com/TaByabGqci
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) July 13, 2017
Deliberately spoofing the over the top transfer video, Saints brought the full Hollywood approach to the relatively mundane signing of a reserve goalkeeper on a 1 year contract. The resulting advert was something you’d expect to see at the cinema rather than on a football club twitter page.
Southampton opted to use a movie trailer style approach to unveil their new man, including action film staples such as yachts, helicopters and a car chase along with intense music to build up the suspense.
It might have been deliberately over the top but with with over two million views the widespread reaction was to commend the marketing department behind the stunt!
Oxford & Matt Paterson – 2017
ICYMI | We are delighted to announce Matt Paterson has joined ahead of the 2017/18 season pic.twitter.com/SyUHAf5jiM
— Oxford City FC (@OxCityFC) June 2, 2017
With Premier League transfers usually seen as quite a big deal, it isn’t always the same story when you go down a few leagues.
Due to the huge reduction in funds and revenue, Oxford City decided to unveil their man with a picture of him signing his contract in McDonald’s with a free Barclays pen.
The unusual location generated significant buzz, with Oxford’s tweet retweeted over 1,000 times and picked up by several sporting publications. Even the McDonald’s UK Twitter page got in on the act, retweeting and helping Oxford City share their news with wider sports fans who follow the restaurant.
Roma & Lorenzo Pellegrini – 2017
#ASRoma pic.twitter.com/mjgBrwduHV
— AS Roma (@OfficialASRoma) June 30, 2017
Here, Roma combined the most popular footballing game in the world ‘FIFA’, with reality.
They had their new signing play the game as a Roma player, scoring the winning goal to then run to the corner flag to reveal his name. As a club with one of the most active and engaging Twitter accounts of European football’s major clubs, this was another well executed attempt to engage with a younger, millennial demographic for whom sport and video games are much more intrinsically linked than in older generations.
Manchester United & Paul Pogba – 2016
Creators United. @PaulPogba x @Stormzy1: The new young kings of @ManUtd.https://t.co/iA95041HbA
— adidas (@adidas) August 8, 2016
Part cult, part music video, part footballing news, Paul Pogba’s return to Manchester United for a then world record £89m was the transfer that cemented social media’s role as the primary means of communicating transfer news with the world.
Timed for maximum impact in the far East and USA, the news appeared just after midnight UK time, a clear nod to the commercial reality that shirt and merchandise sales are now as much a part of the ROI of a transfer as on-pitch performance.
The #PogBack hashtag sought to build a homecoming narrative as the player returned to the club he left in 2012, while famous grime star Stormzy’s inclusion helped spread the news to audiences far beyond football. For adidas, with trainer sales and other sports to appeal to, it was a canny move.
Yeovil Town & Alan Tate – 2013
A clearer picture for our new arrival. pic.twitter.com/VKdpa9hCLw #ytfc
— Yeovil Town FC (@YTFC) July 23, 2013
The Glovers decided to use the Royal baby announcement as an excuse to have some fun and be creative.
A message was posted on an easel outside their stadium (Huish Park) stating that Alan was safely delivered to the ground. As a great way of using the news agenda to create a potentially viral stir, it generated news coverage far beyond what they could have expected by announcing the former Swansea defender in a traditional manner.
Sms Inc. Radar is a human intelligence and social insights tool produced by UK research company Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.
