Why football clubs have fans, not customers.

By Andy Lovell, Senior Account Manager

I’ll be honest, I’ve been looking for an excuse to get Birmingham City into a Studio Notes article for a while now! However, it turns out, football and branding have more in common than I first thought.

For me, Saturday afternoons have pretty much been the same for nearly 30 years. Come 3pm, it’s either walking to St Andrew’s or turning on the TV to watch us win. (I’m going to skirt over the fact that I’ve seen more losses than wins - before any Villa fans pipe up!)

There have been some brilliant days. There have been some absolutely dreadful ones. We’ve been relegated. Promoted. Nearly gone out of business. We’ve watched parts of our ground literally fall apart. We’ve had owners who promised the world, and others you barely knew were there. But at no point have I ever thought, “Maybe I’ll support someone else.”

Football doesn’t work like that. It got me thinking…

Why don’t more brands think like football clubs?

There is something football clubs understand that a lot of brands don’t. People don’t become fans because they’re sold to.

They become fans because they feel like they belong.

When you support a football club, you’re buying far more than a ticket. You’re buying into memories. Traditions. Shared joy and shared disappointment. The way you’re feeling, you know thousands of other people are feeling exactly the same. Weirdly, there’s something really comforting about that. You become part of something. And if I’m honest, the football almost becomes secondary.

Brands often do the opposite.

They spend thousands trying to attract new customers while forgetting about the people they’ve already got. Every email is another sales message. Every social post is another product. Every campaign is another discount.

Eventually, people stop listening.

Football clubs don’t have that luxury. They have to give people reasons to keep coming back. Not just when they’re winning, but more importantly when they’re not. Even after everything Birmingham City supporters have been through over the years, thousands of people still turn up every other Saturday. Not because anyone’s selling to them, but because they feel part of something.

That’s where loyalty is built.

The businesses I remember aren’t always the cheapest, or the biggest. They’re the ones that remember my name. Ask how the family’s doing. Remember my coffee order. Those little moments matter. They make me want to go back.

That’s exactly what football clubs have been doing for generations. They’re constantly creating moments that remind people they’re part of something bigger.

As a creative agency, we spend a lot of time talking about branding, logos, websites, campaigns. They’re all important, but none of them create loyalty on their own.

People become fans because of how a brand makes them feel over months and years, not because of one clever advert or a nice colour palette.

Maybe that’s what the best brands do.

They don’t spend every day trying to find new customers.

They spend every day giving the people they’ve already got another reason to stay.

Football clubs have understood that for generations. And maybe that’s what more brands should be aiming for.