ToffeeWeb - Season 2008-09

The Mail Bag

Web presence

I'm one of the many unemployed journalists in the US and I was looking at an industry job website and on it there was a listing for a job with the Arsenal USA website. I'm wondering why Everton can't do something similiar. It often seems EFC doesn't stay abreast of trends. Am I wrong?
Paul Conatzer, San Antonio, Texas Posted 29/03/2009 at 02:09:53

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Mike Kennedy
1 Posted 29/03/2009 at 10:52:11

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I assume Everton do not feel there is a big enough Everton fan base in the States to justify the investment. The OS has a link to an American Everton website and looking at the posts that trickle in their ones and twos compared to Arsenal?s equivalent, on which they have hundreds and hundreds of posts, it is plain to see that we do not have sufficient profile in the States.

Martin Cutler
2 Posted 29/03/2009 at 11:44:42

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Mike, what or where is the link you?re referring to?
I?m in the States and I?m not aware of the link.
In any event, I think if they put the effort in to provide a website on the US side (and keep it fresh, updated and relevant etc., etc) then the use of it would grow.
I?ve seen a couple of fan sites and they?re basically a waste of time... if there was an official site that would be worth visiting (after ToffeeWeb, of course).

Glen Anderson
3 Posted 29/03/2009 at 11:43:03

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Paul,

Yes - Everton does not have a high-profile site aimed at the US football (soccer) fan market.

Yes, you are correct - Everton may not be fully abreast of that particular trend.

No - Everton is not completely devoid of ideas in approaching foreign markets. Many fans on this site (including I) may not fully agree with the club?s approach in this matter but the club is trying. In North America our CEO reported yesterday that our "grassroots football" training guides "The Everton Way" is doing well in North America too. Look at the following link:

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/ceo-reveals-plans.html

It appears we are going for the very young fans at US soccer academies. Time will tell...

Rich Jones
4 Posted 29/03/2009 at 12:13:56

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Paul, off the field, the club are so far behind, it's frightening. In the eighties we were one of the big five and it's this lack of marketing, ambition, corporate savvy and ultimately investment which has turned us financially into a "small club".

Paul Conatzer
5 Posted 30/03/2009 at 03:31:11

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I left England in 1970 (for the first time) just after Everton had swept to the title with that magnificent midfield. Well, we all know what happened after that.

I came back just as Kendall was starting to build his great team of the 80s and then moved back to the US (I?m something of a gypsy). It wasn?t until I got on the internet etc that I?ve been able to follow Everton as I would like again.

Before I was laid off, I covered high school soccer in South Texas, where it is pretty big, and I let everybody know about Everton and won a few converts. I?ve seen the Everton Way video and I?ve also saw the reality show Everton had on Fox Soccer Channel, but never heard anything more about it... I think EFC needs to look at expanding its brand in the US ? after all, we already have some name recognition with Tim Howard.

As a side note, I would happily buy stuff from the official club shop, but the shipping costs are unbelievable....

Brian Wolf
6 Posted 30/03/2009 at 09:35:04

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"with the club shop the opportunities are endless of what they can sell."

Unfortunately our beloved clubs marketing team doesn?t seem to capitalise on this.

Paul Conatzer
7 Posted 31/03/2009 at 06:37:27

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By the way, I checked with the club?s megastore and it?s basically £25 to ship to the US...

David McBride
8 Posted 31/03/2009 at 17:14:37

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Paul,
I totally agree with your comments. I live in Vancouver, Canada.

Having paid the ridiculous shipping costs (plus Canadian duty ? another story entirely, but suffice to say the total cost for my kit was astronomical) to order some merchandise from the official website, I was asked to participate in an online survey to provide my feedback.

I stated that I don?t think that EFC has done nearly enough to reach out to the North American market. I also don?t think they are aware of how quickly football/soccer is growing here ? particularly in Canada and the Northwestern US.

I am aware of the acadamies, and I think this is an interesting strategy. Hopefully one that helps with exposure, but still more could certainly be done...

If I go into my local sporting goods store I can find racks of Manure, Arse, Chelski, and Red Shite kits with not an Everton product to be found.

So many children participate in soccer in Canada ? and so many potential future fans are lured by the constant bombardment of marketing from the teams listed above. If EFC could even convert a percentage of these youths, I think it would really help to expand their brand.

Robin Cannon
9 Posted 31/03/2009 at 22:54:13

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To be fair, The Everton Way is a really good initiative and a pretty solid website. I can’t think of any other team that are marketing their training techniques and philosophies on an international basis, and it definitely provides a good link to young players and potential fans.

Add that to the reality TV show on the US Fox Soccer channel, and I think it’s fair to say that the club seems to be doing more than most to gain some benefit from North American markets.

Noel Kelly
10 Posted 01/04/2009 at 20:13:44

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Paul EFC cant conquer Walton never mind the States. We do need to sober up though on the thought that we have a fantastic much wanted product that the world outside of the true blue army wants a piece of and the only reason we arent dominiating teh world is down to bad marketing or business. Its a bit sad and naive- its like when my dad realised that not everybody loves Farah trousers. We cant compete with the big boys because we havent moved on from yesteryear and we havent got their recent success or appeal - thats it. Most importanly is that we’ve been average or below average in all departments for many years. End of.