One of the most unique business sectors in the UK is the trade of clubs and associations! In Britain, latest estimates show that about 60 per cent of all adults aged 17 and over in England (an estimated 21.3 million people) are currently active members of a club of some kind. This stretches from gyms and leisure centres to football and rugby clubs, to less active clubs such as bowls and chess! Either way, clubs need marketing strategies in order to create new members up and down the country.

Right now, the number of sports clubs within the UK stands at 151,000, a figure that has almost doubled since 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a resurgence of members of the public get involved in clubs all around the UK, with many creating their own, so why not tap into this market of attracting even more members to join yours?

But with a large amount of clubs present and plenty of options for those to choose from, this means clubs and associations face heavy competition when it comes to attracting members to join them over others. Of course, people must consider factors such as cost, location and schedules, but this is a method of advertising that your club should be utilising to attract those who you want to join. Perhaps you have a large fan base and want to alert them of upcoming news or offers, or maybe you are a smaller club looking for active members to join and participate?

This made us think…what marketing strategies are you currently using to gain the best rate of response? You are probably using platforms that many others are using; social media, emails, banners…etc, but are you taking advantage of what print marketing has to offer?

Especially in the clubs and associations trade, there are endless possibilities when it comes to the ways that print advertising can be used to take you and your club to the next level, surpassing and leaving your competition behind. Especially if you are a team club, you want the best potential participants possible to compete at the top. Or maybe you want to reach out to active members surrounding club offers, news or deals (seasonal offers, parking information…etc), the possibilities are endless when it comes to personalised printing.

Many are unaware that advertising combining digital and print together saw a 25% higher response rate than campaigns that used digital marketing alone. And as we have mentioned in our leaflet, personalisation is the method to take advantage of.

This is an essential reason for the success print has been able to achieve; when customers feel they are being personally spoken to by a particular brand or person, it has massively positive repercussions for retention and engagement. If a customer was to receive information from the person who directly spoke to them in person a few days or weeks before, seeing a familiar face will prompt this rate of response, ultimately making it increasingly likely that they go forward in joining your club or at least making close affiliation with you.

From something simple such as a club members name, people will more than likely read a piece of information that is directed specifically at them. This could be invitations, offers, club updates, information about the next game/event; the list goes on. When people see information that speaks to them personally, this is something that instantly grabs their attention.

When you think of the additional digital noise that goes along with online advertisement – from pop-ups, virus risks, flashing banners and ads, notifications, and auto-play videos – it makes sense that many consumers when surveyed rate forms of digital advertising so lowly as compared to print. Adding a personalised element to this already advantageous position only increases your chances of successfully retaining and gaining members to join your club or affiliation.

As long as you have the information and can provide it easily (customer name, club name, club crest, information relevant to potential member), we can do all the work for you after this, creating a piece of genius marketing that can be sent to the client with imagery and information personalised only to them. Whether this be a few hundred invitations, or a few thousand, we can complete any job given to us through our expert printing and fulfilment services.

Personalised print is one step in the right direction when it comes to engaging an audience base. It’s direct, physical and if done right, can grab the attention of a potential member in an instant.