Case Study #3: Northport Youth Football Club

by | Jan 6, 2018 | Online Marketing for Sports

CSI Case Study #3

Company name: Northport Youth Football Club, Inc
Type: Non-Profit, Youth Football Club
Services Rendered: Consulting, Marketing
We were hired as a consultant in 2010, and to also handle the marketing for the organization. At the time the club was experiencing an all-time low in enrollment, a financial crisis, infighting & disarray, and turmoil. We worked strategically with the leadership and we brought back Joseph Fortuna an influential leader in football circles.

Upon Fortuna taking office we were hired to re-vamp all of the marketing and events for the organization. At the time the club was putting up paper signs around town for advertising, had an unprofessional website with a poor domain name (www.npyfc.com) that was impossible to find on the internet, and it was hard to tell that there was a kid’s football program in town. Here is what we accomplished:

  • Rebranded the organization promoting a new culture conveying the values of: Community, Family, Integrity, Class, Honor
    Created a full social media plan and instituted regular updates to further the organization.
  • Initiated notable press releases and integrated valuable content, stories, videos and images to the marketing efforts.
  • Launched www.NorthportYouthFootballClub.com
  • Through our SEO efforts, NPYFC went from being invisible on the internet to being listed on the 1st page of google for a variety of local and national keyword searches and has been listed alongside multi-million dollar football organizations like Pop-Warner, AYF, USA
  • Football and more. First page Google ranking for any business, organization, or non-profit is the “holy grail” of marketing.
  • Started the most successful email campaign in youth football history to communicate news, announcements, programs, alumni stories, safety, fundraising, and more to build the culture.
  • Created and promoted a number of new “community building” events to build the brand and culture of the organization. These events included a Super Bowl registration contest for the upcoming year, Pee Wee Homecoming, Spring Combines, Movie Nights & Movies on the Lawn, Clam Bake&Bonfire, Free Clinics, Kickoff Jamboree/BBQ and more.
  • Set a record for Football and Cheerleading enrollment the first year and have broken it every year since, including for 2015 where two 12 year old teams were fielded as well as a 13 year old team for the first time ever.
  • Set enrollment records for Northport’s youth Football and Cheerleading Summer Camps which has increased revenue significantly for the club.
  • Was able to move the annual Awards Brunch to the beautiful Larkfield Manor as a result of increased summer camp attendance.
  • Chosen by USA football to film a Super Bowl commercial for Heads Up tackling.
  • Won numerous awards and grants for safety and the success of the club through social media marketing, viral videos, stories, events, email promotions, and website.

Youth football enrollment increased tremendously from 2010-2015 accompanied by excitement and pride in the community. From 2015 onward the program has seen a decline, but while some programs have folded, Northport has survived. This has been due to the marketing of the program as well as distribution of education materials and safety information. The lower numbers follow the country-wide hysteria over the safety of the game.