Football club targets local businesses to drive up commercial revenues
Haddington Athletic Community Football Club (HACFC) has released a sponsorship brochure which it hopes will encourage businesses to form new commercial partnerships with the club.
A range of sponsorship opportunities are being offered, including the naming rights of its Whittingehame Drive facility which sees more than 300 players come to train and play every week on the 3G surface.
The high-level fence surrounding the pitch is also being put forward as prominent advertising space for local companies. Each available position has been categorised into a gold, silver or bronze pricing structure. The banners will provide a highly visible form of marketing and reach a wide audience.
A Senior Member of the Club’s Committee, Martin Pirie, confirmed it’s just one of a number of exciting projects taking place at the football club during 2014.
Mr Pirie said:
“In May, over 500 players will take part in a two day Football Festival and we are also looking forward to our Easter and Summer coaching courses. In addition, we have recently launched a marketing campaign in East Lothian to raise awareness about hiring our pitches.”
We see Haddington Athletic as being core to the local community and this latest initiative presents businesses with a fantastic opportunity to engage directly with that community. It is vital that we raise additional revenue streams so that we can continue to provide the best training facilities in East Lothian.”
HACFC operates a vibrant Soccer School for children from as young as 5. More than 40 parents and helpers from the local community volunteer their time to coach and manage the players through their training and matches.
Mr Pirie commented further:
“When we moved here just over two years ago we pledged to provide a ‘pathway’ for people in the Haddington area to play football from youth age groups through to adulthood. We are delivering on that vision, but there’s always room to do more. Through sponsorship and advertising, businesses can play a major role in supporting our efforts.”
The Haddington-based firm, ELM Property and Media, has been retained by the club to handle the project. Managing Director, Iain Mercer, is hopeful that businesses will recognise the strategic benefits of being in partnership with HACFC.
Mr Mercer commented:
"Haddington is a town full of young families and professionals and HACFC is a central part of the community where people gather to watch training or matches.
We have pitched the various sponsorship packages to meet a range of budgets. We are confident that local companies will support the great work being done at the club and get their business involved.”
