Author: Goodform

Goodform is thrilled to announce that it has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Data-Focused Agency Category at the DBM Awards 2016.

The prestigious event, now in its sixth year, is judged by a panel of industry experts that previously presented Goodform with the Outstanding Data-Focused Agency award in 2014. Looking to regain this accolade, Goodform is among four agencies to be shortlisted.

Over the last year, Goodform has been involved in an array of successful multi-media and data driven campaigns, including work for British Athletics, Silverstone, Watford FC, British and Irish Lions, Six Nations, 2017 World Athletics Championships and the English Football League.

Alison Dalrymple, Owner of Goodform, commented: “Being shortlisted for the outstanding data-focused Agency is testament to our team’s passion for excellent service and the emphasis placed upon maximising customer data and insight driven campaigns. It is very satisfying to gain this recognition”.

All winners will be unveiled at the awards ceremony at The Brewery in London on Thursday 29th September 2016, which is shaping up to be great event, and hopefully a successful evening for Goodform.

A full list of finalists for the awards can be found here: http://dbmawards.com/shortlist-unveiled-for-dbm-awards-2016/

A poll to over 6,000 fans conducted by Goodform on behalf of the EFL, has seen supporters predict it will be Newcastle United, Sheffield United and Portsmouth that win silverware as Sky Bet EFL divisional champions at the end of the season.

Newcastle fans themselves predicted they would finish in first place in the Sky Bet Championship, and it was a view matched by fans of every other Championship club, with a huge 74% saying it will be the Magpies who lift the famous Lady trophy in May.

In Sky Bet League One, Sheffield United (24%) are the fans’ predicted champions, though there was also strong backing for two teams looking for promotion back to the Championship at the first attempt – Charlton Athletic (20%) and Bolton Wanderers (18%).

In Sky Bet League Two, Portsmouth are the strong favourites among fans to win the division with 42% of supporters backing them, followed by newcomers Doncaster Rovers (18%) and last season’s defeated Sky Bet Play-Off finalists, Plymouth Argyle (12%).

Newcastle United fans have also been revealed as the most optimistic supporters in the EFL ahead of the start of the 2016/17 season. With an average optimism rating of 4.78 out of 5, more fans of Newcastle supporters than any other club say they are feeling ‘very optimistic’ ahead of the new campaign.

Having suffered relegation last season, the new sense of optimism among Magpies fans has seen them predict they will finish top of the division and seal an immediate return to the top flight.

Just behind Newcastle in the Championship optimism table were Sheffield Wednesday fans (4.69), with Derby County third (4.41).

The most optimistic fans among teams in Sky Bet League One are Scunthorpe United supporters (4.43), followed by Millwall (4.39) and Sheffield United (4.31). Among fans in Sky Bet League Two, those most optimistic about their team’s chances this season are Portsmouth fans (4.73), followed by Luton Town (4.53) and Doncaster Rovers (4.40)

The results are based on an EFL survey, conducted by Goodform, of 6,128 supporters across all 72 EFL clubs, which also asked fans what position they think their team will finish in, which team they thought would win the division, which fixture they are most looking forward to, who would be top scorer and which player from another team in their division they would most like to sign.

The full results of the EFL fan survey can be found at http://www.efl.com/news/article/2016/fans-predict-newcastle-sheffield-united-portsmouth-to-win-divisions-3225302.aspx#cGhTg2JkQEqruHpa.99

November was an outstanding month for Premiership Rugby following the launch of their partnership with CRM Marketing experts, Goodform. In one month alone Premiership Rugby saw a 30% growth in their emailable database which takes the total database growth to almost 50% in just 8 weeks of the partnership being launched.

Goodform’s work as their CRM Agency has resulted in the Premiership Rugby database being significantly enhanced which has resulted in an impressive increase in email open rate from 25% to 30% in November alone.

A comprehensive digital marketing campaign around the London Double Header held at Twickenham last weekend, saw 81% of ticket sales to new purchasers, showing once again the commercial impact of targeted engagement within a database.

A significant part of this growth was achieved through the innovative newsletters sent to Premiership Rugby fans. Try of the week dynamic images and fans social media posts have seen engagement rates rise. In addition, Supporters are able to select their preferred Premiership Rugby club, which then dynamically populates each newsletter they receive from Premiership Rugby, creating a highly personal, and effective, approach.

James Tyler, Head of Marketing at Premiership Rugby commented, “Continuously increasing the understanding of our fanbase is crucial for us in order to grow and further engage with Premiership Rugby supporters. Goodform have very quickly helped us identify more fans than ever and we are now working together to create more personalised email marketing campaigns. We are delighted to be seeing such positive results already, Goodform’s expertise and innovative ideas are invaluable to helping us realise our objectives in this area.”

Michael Jones, Managing Direction of Goodform, added, “Following the success of our extensive research project with Premiership Rugby, we were delighted to extend the relationship and be appointed their CRM Agency. The growth and engagement figures we have already seen have been an excellent representation of our positive partnership and we look forward to a very positive future with Premiership Rugby.”

Goodform, the CRM Marketing experts, are working with the highly respected Conservatoire of Dance and Drama, confirming the need for consistent and effective data handling and reporting across sectors.

The Conservatoire comprises eight specialist schools delivering world-leading education and vocational training in the performing arts. The Conservatoire schools train the performing artists and production professionals of the future: actors, circus artists, dancers, stage managers, technical theatre practitioners, choreographers and directors. Across the Conservatoire, students benefit from an unrivalled quality of teaching, to which access is given regardless of background or financial circumstances.

As a publically funded institution, the Conservatoire faces all the same challenges of accountability and reporting to government as much larger universities, but with the challenges of lower staff levels and associated budgets.

The Conservatoire enlisted the assistance of Goodform given the CRM Agency’s specialism in delivering consultancy and services around data and CRM. Goodform are working closely with senior managers at the Conservatoire to ensure good data governance and that the organisation’s unique needs are met throughout the process.

As part of the project, Goodform have undertaken an initial systems evaluation to fully understand the current complexities of reporting activities to the government across all eight schools. Given the demand for the availability of useful management and financial information in order to monitor the effectiveness of the organisation, Goodform are helping to strengthen the efficiency of these processes.

With multiple schools to consider, and the high demand to gain a place at each school, there is a clear need for one consistent, flexible and transparent approach. Following the systems evaluation, Goodform will work with the Conservatoire on the development of an Information Strategy to highlight the extent to which a modern, complex organisation rely on information. Primarily, the strategy will focus on the information flow from the individual schools to the collective Conservatoire overview and then to Government, providing the cornerstone of a process to procure suitable software and systems for administering the schools and aiding the Conservatoire in its reporting obligations.

In essence, Goodform’s approach involves identifying the inputs and outputs required today, making allowance for the fact that some of these will change over time and, only then, commencing the process of identifying the best software/hardware solution to meet those needs.

Mahua Nandi, Director of Finance at CDD, commented, “Goodform have been an invaluable partner in making sense of the complexities inherent in our institution. They have brought a wealth of experience, good humour and a clear head to the process, for which I have been immensely grateful.”

 

*Image: Central School of Ballet, by Bill Cooper

Research carried out by Goodform in the wake of Rugby World Cup 2015 has informed a new report on the economic impact of the Tournament, published by Ernst & Young.

Rugby World Cup 2015 was, according to World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset, “the most competitive, best-attended, most watched, most socially-engaged, most commercially-successful Rugby World Cup”, and the fifth largest single-sport event of all time. Having been appointed as retained CRM and research partner for the Tournament in 2012, Goodform’s work did not stop when Richie McCaw lifted the trophy.

With the need to evidence the economic impact of the Tournament in mind, Goodform distributed a survey to all international residents on the Tournament database, The Front Row, in order to capture key information from international visitors to the UK during the Tournament.

Via an online survey which received an impressive 11,111 responses, Goodform explored international fan visits to the UK during the Tournament and their behaviour and spend whilst in the country.

Key statistics included in the economic impact report are derived from this crucial research piece, including the length of stay in the UK, the cities visited, and spend on areas such as food & drink, accommodation, shopping, entertainment and activities.

The research also highlighted extremely positive views of the UK and the Tournament from international fans, as EY’s report highlights: 72% scored their experience of the Tournament as 9 or 10 out of 10, with 69% describing themselves as ‘extremely likely’ to return to the UK in the future.

Speaking of the research, Peter Arnold, Director of Ernst & Young’s Economic Advisory, said, “Goodform’s research enabled us to evidence the economic contribution made by international visitors during the Tournament. Goodform’s market research expertise ensured that the survey provided invaluable data from a very robust number of international visitors. This data underpins many of the report’s key findings, from the number of nights visitors stayed to their likelihood to return in the future. Crucially, we were also able to use the data from the research to derive overall international visitor spend, and the impact on individual host cities.”

Alexandra Kyrke-Smith, Head of Research & Insight at Goodform, added, “The fantastic response rate to this survey is illustrative of what an engaged database The Front Row was, driven by high levels of personalisation and the use of dynamic emails to target relevant information. This research piece was a fantastic project, reaching residents of over 100 countries, and we’re delighted to see the data from our report underpinning so much of EY’s publication.”

You can download Ernst & Young’s full report at http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/163399

Goodform are delighted to announce Wembley Stadium Tours as a client once more.

From England’s emphatic World Cup victory in 1966, the unforgettable Live Aid concert in 1985, or the historic ongoing tradition of the FA Cup Final, the popular Wembley Stadium Tour gives fans the chance to go behind-the-scenes at the most famous stadium in the world.

Goodform run the enquiries and bookings centre for Wembley Stadium Tours, handling calls and processing bookings to ensure the Tours remain a popular visitor attraction.

Richard Manning, Retail & Tour Administration Manager, at Wembley Stadium, said “It is fantastic to be working once more with Goodform. Even though some of the personnel have changed since we last worked with them, the company ethos has not. It gives me great pleasure to have the team running our call centre operation as they understand our needs and requirements, and deliver a great service at all levels.”

Goodform are delighted to announce its most recent project with Premiership Rugby and the creation of its own ‘Premiership Rugby Fan Panel.’

Over 3,000 supporters signed up to be a part of the Panel after Premiership Rugby and its clubs publicised it to their databases and we contacted those on our own Sportsfan Panel who stated an interest in rugby.

Upon sign-up, an autoresponder email was sent with a short survey asking a few demographic questions and which Aviva Premiership Rugby team they support. This initial profiling survey was completed by 66% of those who signed up and this information was used when analysing the results from subsequent surveys.

Four surveys were then sent out to the Panel over the course of the 2014/15 season, which averaged 45% completion – well above industry average. The first survey focused on how supporters like to interact and engage with their club, the second on supporters’ match day experience, the third on supporters’ attendance at matches – both now and in the future – and the fourth on attitudes towards the Premiership Rugby brand and its sponsors. This included capturing data around awareness of and attitudes towards Premiership Rugby’s title sponsor, Aviva.

An additional research piece was also carried out about fans’ experience of the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final which was held at Twickenham on 30th May, with positive feedback received on spectator experience. Along with analysis of ticketing sales data for the event, this research will be used to inform planning and marketing strategy for future Premiership Rugby Finals.

Supporters are encouraged to give their feedback with incentives such as VIP tickets to the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final, tickets to other Premiership Rugby games and signed club merchandise.

Speaking about the Fan Panel, James Tyler, Premiership Rugby’s Head of Marketing, said, “The surveys are key to helping Premiership Rugby identify the changing needs and behaviours of rugby supporters and the clubs will use this feedback to inform future decisions affecting their match-day services and how supporters can interact with them.”

Further surveys will be sent to the Premiership Rugby Fan Panel (which we will continue to grow) over the course of the 2015-16 season.

As CRM, data and research partner to Watford FC, Goodform are pleased to have conducted research to find out fans’ opinions on ticketing allocation, ahead of the club’s first season back in the Premier League.

The club was keen to hear the thoughts of regular match ticket buyers and season ticket holders on how tickets should be allocated this season, where demand for tickets will significantly outweigh supply.

The survey was structured to find out views on priorities for home and away fixtures, and also whether a small allocation per game should be available for adults with a strong buying history to bring their children with them. The headline findings were then used to help shape the club’s home and away ticket sales policy.

Speaking of the findings, Goodform’s Head of Research and Insight, Alexandra Kyrke-Smith commented, “This was a really interesting piece of research to deliver for Watford, who are putting the opinions and views of fans at the forefront of their strategy. We were delighted with the response rate for the survey and look forward to seeing the insight gained influencing the ticketing strategy this season in the Premier League.”

Building on previous membership and post-event research carried out for Badminton England, Goodform have completed a piece of qualitative research to help Badminton England further understand its members and their needs.

Following previous research carried out by Goodform to provide an understanding of the views of current members and of event spectators, this further research has helped highlight the different requirements of members and key stakeholders.

Goodform carried out focus groups with key stakeholders: club officials, county officials, and league organisers, in order to gain insight into their perceptions of, and suggested improvements to, their relationship with Badminton England and the membership offering. To supplement this, Goodform carried out phone interviews with lapsed members, and an online survey with casual or occasional players, to ensure that views of all stakeholders are taken into account when reviewing the membership offering.

Earlier in the year, Goodform also completed post-event research for Badminton England following the YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships, surveying attendees to gain their feedback on the event and to inform marketing strategy for future years. The survey was wide ranging, covering topics such as how attendees heard about the event, their motivations to attend, and their likelihood to attend in future years, as well as their views on specific aspects of the event experience. The survey received an excellent response rate, with 30% of the 2435 ticket purchasers who were sent the survey completing it, giving a sample of 720 respondents. Such a strong sample size allowed us to analyse the results by different demographic segments to provide detailed insight and actionable recommendations for future years.

Tamsin Graveson, Marketing Manager at Badminton England said, “On the back of our long-term relationship with Goodform and the research support we have received across our membership proposition and major events we have been keen to explore the opportunities to ensure our Membership product continues to grow and develop. Goodform have helped us understand all our various stakeholder groups in detail to ensure we are meeting their current and future needs within the sport. And we are extremely excited about applying the insights uncovered.”

If you are interested in talking discussing research options with Goodform please contact Alexandra Kyrke-Smith, Goodform’s Head of Research and Insight, alexandra@goodform.info.

New findings from Goodform’s research brand Sportswise have highlighted the increased awareness of, and appetite for, Women’s elite sport.

Sportswise recently conducted new research into men’s and women’s sport viewing habits, and their attitudes to women’s elite sport. Utilising Sportswise’s Sports Fan Panel, a unique research panel comprising consumers, spectators and participants from a wide variety of sports, almost 2000 sports fans took part in the research, which has provided new insight into the growing profile of women’s sport.

It is clear that men watch more sport (with 68% of the men surveyed watching over 3 hours a week, compared with 50% of women), but what Sportswise’s findings also suggest is that the appeal of women’s elite sport is much broader than many may think: in many cases, male sports fans are as engaged with women’s elite sport as female sports fans are.

The research highlights that the increasing media profile of women’s sport is certainly having an effect. 57% of men and 55% of women stated that they are more interested in women’s sport now compared to two years ago. The picture is similar when we look at high profile women’s sporting events: 26% of men surveyed stated that they watched the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2014, versus 19% of women. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015 was one of the highest profile female sporting events of all time, with every match being shown live on the BBC in the UK. Again we see interest from both male and female audiences: 40% of men surveyed tuned in to watch, as did 37% of women.

The research also covered men and women’s participation in sport, and their motivations for and barriers to getting involved.

The Sports Fan Panel is available for use by organisations in the sports industry who are looking for quick and accessible insights.

To find out more about this, or the recent research project, please call us on 01926 458 180 or email us athello@sportswise.info

Follow the Sports Fan Panel on Twitter: @Sports_FanPanel

Hants are one of only two counties to see an increase in attendances across all three domestic competitions in 2015.

Hampshire Cricket have posted a record-breaking increase in attendance figures year on year across all domestic and international matches at the Ageas Bowl in 2015.

Hampshire’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign was responsible for the biggest rise in attendances with an increase of 20% from the previous year whilst the club’s Royal London One-Day Cup and LV= County Championship matches at the Ageas Bowl also both saw increases.

Hampshire are one of only two counties to record an increase in all three domestic competitions in 2015.

In total, almost 40,000 people witnessed two thrilling Royal London One-Day Internationals at the Ageas Bowl this year as England faced both New Zealand and Australia in exciting 50-over contests.

Stuart Robertson, Hampshire Cricket Commercial Director said: “To be one of only two counties to show improvements in all three formats is fantastic and the on-field successes and hard work behind the scenes have no doubt contributed significantly to this. It’s no coincidence that the significant increases has coincided with the first full season since the completion of the £50 million re-development at the Ageas Bowl.

Our partnership with specialist sports CRM agency, Goodform, has also enabled our marketing strategies to be delivered efficiently, allowing us to engage with our fans and members on a number of platforms, whilst also attracting new supporters which we hope will continue heading into next year.”

Working closely with Goodform, England 2015 used innovative ways to firstly engage fans and then maintain their interest throughout the record breaking Tournament.

The Rugby World Cup emerged as the biggest single sport event ever for fan engagement.

Goodform, the CRM and research specialists behind several initiatives for England 2015, has revealed the staggering numbers from a range of projects before and during the competition.

Since Goodform first became involved with RWC 2015 in 2011, there have been 43.3million emails sent over 316 campaigns. Impressively, there were nearly three million click-throughs – an average open rate of 37% and a peak of 89%.

Survey responses have been equally impressive – pre-tournament surveys brought almost 100,000 responses, and total Rugby World Cup 2015 research survey responses amounted to 156,314.

Joanna Manning-Cooper, Communications and Marketing Director, England Rugby 2015 said, “We wanted to take rugby fans on a journey with us to Rugby World Cup 2015, and we set up our ‘Front Row’ database three years before the tournament. We built a loyal and committed customer base, and worked closely with Goodform to create engaging and dynamic content and strong and creative campaigns, powered by targeted analytics.”

Alison Dalrymple, Managing Director of Goodform, said, “It’s been a record-breaking tournament in so many ways. A highly successful engagement strategy, reflected in a substantial database growth, led to unprecedented ticket sales and attendances.”

Already, World Rugby and England Rugby 2015 have declared it the biggest and best tournament ever. Ticket sales reached 2.47m across the 48 matches, the official Fanzone attendance surpassed the 1m mark and Wembley Stadium drew two consecutive Rugby World Cup attendance records.

Alison added, “We believe that our figures set their own benchmarks for fan engagement.  The email click-through and open rates alone were double the industry average.

Personalised campaigns enabled us to fully engage with the audience which saw open rates of over 70% for priority ticket sales. This has undoubtedly contributed in securing the highest ever attendance at a World Cup.”

Head of Research & Insight at Goodform, Alexandra Kyrke-Smith, added, “This positive relationship between fans and Rugby World Cup 2015 is further demonstrated by the high number of responses to the customer surveys. This allowed comprehensive research and insight to be used as an evidence base for planning and match-day experience improvements.”

Goodform began their work in 2012 and went on to conduct pre-tournament surveys, which received almost 100,000 responses. It allowed organisers to shape ticket policies, provide comparisons between the different venues, and enabled the provision of detailed information specific to each venue.

Alison added, “By starting to engage with fans following the 2011 World Cup, we were able to build up a loyal and committed customer base. By the time the tournament came found fans felt they were part of an exclusive club and wanted to participate even more.”

Goodform’s targeted approach also included 16 different ticket buying guides. Fixtures Guides contained specific detail on the fan’s local RWC 2015 venues – matches, players to look out for and local attractions. Venue Guides were personalised with pictures of the area, information on Fanzones, and different category prices.

Applicants who missed out on tickets in the first instance were then approached with a ticket buying priority window. Fans were contacted based on their previously shown ticket interests, with more than 45 different versions of emails created. These dynamic emails suggested games featuring a previously chosen team and/or venue, or suggested alternative category tickets available to the originally desired game.

The findings showed the most important parts of match experience were the entry of the teams and the national anthems. Expert commentary and big screens were also crucial, and a fully functional RWC 2015 app proved very popular with fans.

Joanna Manning-Cooper, Communications and Marketing Director, England Rugby 2015 added, “We were delighted with the results, not just in terms of record breaking ticket sales, but also in terms of general engagement and connection with the fan base. Goodform were great partners, and a key part of our team.“

Alison Dalrymple added, “Given the sheer scale and length of the tournament, the organisers took an unprecedented approach to engage fans. Truly creative campaigns inspired people from all over the world, all underpinned by our CRM strategy which built and utilised a database of over 1 million sports fans.  This ground breaking approach to a tournament delivered tangible results in terms of ticket sales and engaging and inspiring not just sports fans but the sports industry.

The numbers are a great illustration of how the tournament captured people’s imagination.”