Until now, relatively few high-level French women’s clubs have built a solid marketing strategy to develop the economic and media potential of their structure. Yet the few who have tried it are now reaping the first dividends. Decryption.
June 28, 2019 is a date to engrave in the history of French women’s sport. More than 10.7 million French people on average gathered in front of TF1 to watch the quarter-final of the World Cup between Les Bleues and the Americans, the big favorites and future winners of the competition. An audience that even crosses the bar of 11.8 million viewers by adding the ratings of Canal + co-broadcaster of the meeting. A few days earlier, TF1 had already attracted 10.64 million viewers for the qualification of Les Bleues against Brazil. “We broke a glass ceiling. When there are more than 10 million viewers for Les Bleues matches, it’s exceptional. It was also a turning point that showed us how TF1, as a leading media group, had the ability to ramp up an event, with its promotional strength, the possibility of making subjects in the news, documentaries…” recently pointed out Julien Millereux, Sports Director of TF1, in the columns of the Team.
These tremendous audiences reflected a palpable enthusiasm felt throughout France during the organization of this 2019 World Cup. Unfortunately, the bellows quickly fell the day after the competition and the top-level French women’s clubs only very few surfed this wave to accelerate their development. The outbreak of the health crisis, only a few months after the end of the competition, did not help. But it should not be held solely responsible for this inertia.
“In some D1 Arkema clubs, the operation of the women’s section is still at an amateur level. Clubs need to be better structured in terms of communication. In a number of stadiums, the reception conditions for spectators must be significantly improved. Even today, in D1 Arkema, we evolve in facilities that would not be tolerated for the organization of a National meeting for men” deplores Vincent Cottereau, Head of Branding, Sponsoring and Influence at Arkema, namer of the D1 women’s football in France.
Metz Handball, an example to follow in French sport
However, all the top French women’s clubs do not neglect their marketing strategy. Outside of football, the example of Metz Handball is particularly interesting. In addition to capitalizing on the many successes and titles gleaned in recent seasons, the teams of the Lorraine club devote a lot of energy to strengthening its marketing assets, especially on match day.
“We rely heavily on the matchday experience to grow our communities. Unlike football, we are really part of a show sport policy. We will not neglect any detail of the match day experience: reception, accessibility, orientation, catering, shop, entertainment… We seek to develop each component of the match day experience so that all our spectators have a good evening. , regardless of the end result. Spectators who leave the Arena must want to come back as soon as possible,” explained Sébastien Robert, Marketing/Event Manager at Metz Handball.
