Huddersfield Town
Fantastic bring everything together for Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town AFC (HTAFC) turned to Fantastic Media to spearhead a comprehensive campaign aimed at rejuvenating the club’s identity and strengthening the bond with its community. Following a period of turmoil both on and off the pitch, the club sought to rebuild its spirit, encourage a sense of unity, and chart a path back to the top flight of English football.
The collaboration between HTAFC and Fantastic, led by the club’s new ownership and management team, was taken on by Fantastic with the mindset to align the club’s ambitions with a revitalised brand identity.
The Brief.
Coming off the back of a turbulent few seasons, the club’s new owner Kevin M. Nagle had ambitious objectives to rediscover its passion, inspire pride and return the club to the top flight of English football.
Powered by its fans and guided by Nagle’s vision to back the entire town of Huddersfield, Fantastic were set the task of promoting a mentality of success and limitless thinking with the new campaign.
The brief was clear: create a marketing campaign to bring about stability for the team and fans, present some strong new branding to grow a sense of togetherness, and reconnect the club with its fans and the broader Huddersfield community.
The need was not just for a marketing campaign, but for a holistic approach that would unify all elements of the club and promote a mentality of success and pride.
The Research.
To better understand the sentiments of the fan base, a survey was commissioned to engage over 350 HTAFC fans, to determine what they loved most about the club. A recurring theme emerged from the responses—the word ‘everything’. This simple yet powerful word encapsulated the fans’ desire for unity and strength. It became the cornerstone of the campaign, emphasising that every individual associated with the club had a role to play in its success, and that every aspect of the game brings people together. The survey findings were instrumental in shaping the campaign’s message and ensuring it resonated deeply with the fan base.
The Big Idea.
The main push behind the campaign was an £8 million investment by the club into the rebrand and the refurbishment of the John Smith’s Stadium, featuring an overhaul of the stands, fan bars, concourses, hospitality areas, player changing rooms, the club shop, merchandise, reception and office spaces.
Fuelled by the ‘everything’ responses to the fan survey, Fantastic, along with the CEO of HTAFC, Jake Edwards, worked together to create a new, stronger brand identity, led by the ‘Everything Together’ campaign. This approach aimed to dispel the lack of confidence brought by the ‘underdog’ mentality and replace it with a narrative of resilience, togetherness, pride, and limitless ambition.
The Game Plan
This approach to the campaign not only focused on the club’s on-field performance but also highlighted the importance of togetherness in achieving success. New brand guidelines were established with this mentality, and meticulously communicated to everyone involved with the club, from top executives to ground staff, bringing the whole team together to galvanize the entire HTAFC community.
By bringing together fans, players, and staff under one unified message, the campaign reinvigorated the club’s spirit, created a shared vision and ambition for the future and set the stage for a new chapter in its history.
Every Fan
Improving the matchday experience was a key focus of the campaign. Fantastic oversaw the rebranding and refurbishment of the stadium, transforming it into a space that truly represented Huddersfield Town.
The ‘Everything Together’ launch campaign featured on extensive local and regional advertising, including 18 48-sheet billboards and eight digital screens, rolled out ahead of the season start and the club’s first home fixture.
New fan spaces were created, offering new social spaces to eat and drink, and the entire stadium was rebranded to reflect the club’s identity. This included new signage, designed by Fantastic and fulfilled by Leading Edge, and revitalising the grounds from top to bottom to ensure that every fan felt a renewed sense of pride when attending matches.
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Every Player
Engagement with the players and management was crucial to the campaign’s success. Fantastic managed the redesign of the changing rooms, incorporating flexible elements such as reversible crests and changeable LED lighting to accommodate both HTAFC and the Huddersfield Giants who also call the John Smith’s Stadium home. These enhancements create a more inspiring and engaging environment for the players, reinforcing the club’s brand in their daily routines.
The Huddersfield Town Academy has also been upgraded to Category Three status, seven years after its downgrade. From the 2024/25 season, the Academy will nurture young football talent from the age of eight, aiming to produce future homegrown stars and truly incorporating ‘every player’.
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Every Workmate
The campaign also targeted the club’s staff, encouraging a new way of thinking and working. Fantastic designed workspaces that fostered interaction and created an enjoyable atmosphere, making the club a more desirable place to work. Presentations were held to ensure that players, management, and staff understood and embraced the new identity.
This comprehensive approach ensured that every action taken within the club aligned with the campaign’s overarching theme of ‘Everything Together’, focusing on improving staff engagement to help to build a cohesive team environment. The improvements in the workspace have already had a positive impact, with employees feeling more connected to the club’s goals and values across the board.
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Everything Together
The ‘Everything Together’ campaign extended beyond the club’s internal operations, reaching out to the entire Huddersfield community. Fantastic utilised extensive local and regional advertising, including billboards and digital screens, to spread the message and generate excitement ahead of the new season. The campaign has been well-received, with fans calling the rebranding efforts “absolutely class”, “incredible” and “unbelievably good”, creating a buzz about Huddersfield Town and reinforcing the idea that success is a collective effort.
The campaign has seen HTAFC rediscover its identity, turning fan sentiment from negativity and anger of a relegation season to positivity, as demonstrated through increased season ticket sales. Corporate and sponsorship revenue is also up 14% in league one compared to the season before, setting out the start of a new era for the club.
View Gallery“As Huddersfield Town prepares for its first fixture of the season, the collaborative efforts of Fantastic Media and my team promise to herald a new chapter of limitless potential and community pride for the club and the town.”
Jake Edwards CEO Huddersfield Town
