UEFA Grow: FSGC at the Conference on Communication, Marketing and Commercial Activities

A new high-profile event organised by the UEFA Grow team, this time dedicated to Communication, Marketing and Commercial Activities. The two intensive days on 18-19 March offered a wealth of ideas and insights into recent continental and global trends and developments in the areas covered by the conference. Representing the San Marino Football Federation were Andrea Nardoni (Head of Marketing and Commercial) and Luca Pelliccioni (Head of Communications).

A specific focus on storytelling featured in the very first presentations delivered by the experts who took turns on stage at the Andaz Hotel in Vienna. As a lever to develop more effective and deeper relationships with one’s audience, the narrative skills on which every editorial product is based are a powerful means of fully achieving objectives also linked to the marketing and commercial areas. In this regard, learning tools to prevent and counter the spread of fake news is a highly relevant skill in today’s world. Through the direct experience of Alastair Campbell, former Director of Communications to then UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, and that of Salomé Leal – journalist at Poligrafo – participants were able to familiarise themselves with a number of undeniably useful tools to safeguard the integrity of the information circulating around their organisations and their representatives. No less important was the storytelling-brand pairing, explored by Adrian Goldthorpe (LBA) and Martin Drust – the latter presenting the case of FC St. Pauli, an outstanding example of a brand’s ability to create affinity, even beyond sport.

The themes of geopolitics – when these come into play in sports communication – and of the relationship between national governments and football associations in the context of financial support for federation projects opened the second day’s proceedings. In particular, the aspect linked to SROI (Social Return On Investment) captured attention in the first part of the morning, when an up-to-date overview was provided of sponsor behaviour at European and global level, through the analysis shared by Sophie Morris of ESA. The evolution of football-related multimedia content and platforms brought the UEFA Grow Conference to a close, offering all attendees an updated overview of contrasting themes and styles across traditional media (TV4 Sweden), digital platforms (DAZN Germany) and collaborations with influencers and content creators for the distribution and discussion of products such as, for example, matches of France’s Under-21 national team (Zack Nani).