Toulouse not a football city? “Leisure, culture, rugby, the competition is rude” explains the marketing director of TFC
Olivier Duhamel, sales and marketing director of Toulouse Football Club, explains the club’s strategy to attract people to the Stadium, and keep the “hard core” of supporters.
For this match against Sochaux, you focused your communication on “Toulouse not a football city?” ” Why ?
We wanted to “sting” those who love football, their city and the TFC a bit, in an offbeat tone. In short, we tell them: “Come and certify that Toulouse is a football city”. And that seems to be working pretty well, as we’re expecting 15,000 spectators, which is 5,000 more than our best turnout this season.
How do you explain this craze?
The sporting stakes of this match are interesting, the TFC, at the head of Ligue 2, receives the third, Sochaux a historic club, and then interest rises for a team which offers a beautiful spectacle. The Stadium is the venue where we see the most goals in France, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 combined: 3.8 goals on average. At the Parc des Princes, it’s 3.5 but per game. I do not compare us to PSG! But this is an interesting fact …
Why is the TFC struggling to fill the Stadium (33,500 seats?)
The cultural, leisure and sporting offer is quite plethoric in Toulouse. We are sometimes opposed to rugby, and that’s natural. We live in the city of the best club in Europe! It forces us to raise the bar, from all points of view. But there are also big theaters, other elite clubs (handball, volleyball), national concerts …
How to struggle in this abundant offer?
By communicating! On this match, we deployed 160 posters in town and in the metropolitan area, radio spots, a Tisséo spot. And by constantly improving the spectator experience at the Stadium: less waiting, refreshments, parking, ticket offices.
What is the TFC fan base in Toulouse and how to attract new ones?
We have a hard core of 5,000 people, ultras, subscribers, families. They are the most loyal supporters. But we know that 3,000 new spectators, never seen this season, come to every game. After the game against Sochaux, around 30,000 people will be venues at least once at the Stadium this season. The goal is for them to come back as often as possible, and to attract as many new spectators as possible.