A GLASGOW-based creative agency has set its sights on winning marketing business with football clubs around the UK after working on the successful Rangers First fan ownership drive.
Reflexblue has provided ongoing marketing support for the campaign since launching a "call to arms" video appeal for supporters to sign up a year ago.
Now it is aiming to use its success with Rangers First to win marketing work with other football clubs.
The campaign has seen the agency create adverts, launch social media activity and record video messages from ex-players and famous Rangers fans, including Scottish athlete Lynsey Sharp.
It has also worked with Rangers First on solutions to generate income, including by selling affiliate advertising on the website.
Its work to raise awareness of the campaign has helped membership soar from 200 picked up in the first month to nearly 13,000.
Four thousand signed up on the back of a radio advert earlier this year, with around 6000 joining since the start of February as the campaign to oust the old board gathered momentum.
The role of Rangers First was credited with being highly influential in forcing recent boardroom change at the Ibrox club.
Supporters pay between £5 and £20 per month in subscription fees, and so far their contribution has allowed the group to purchase more than two million shares - 2.46 per cent of the total issued share capital.
Reflexblue's Rikki Neill is now a director of Rangers First, having been proposed by the group following his work on the campaign.
Brian Wishart, head of creative at Reflexblue, said it's been a "fluid" campaign to engage in".
He said: "As things are happening we are maximising it for Rangers First.
"And it's very much being in the right place at the right time as well, with everything that's happening at the club in terms of the board.
"It's about building this strong fan base up. We've got no idea how big it could become - in one year's time there could be 30,000, 50,000 members. It's an ongoing campaign."
Mr Wishart said Reflexblue has held talks with other football clubs in light of its work with Reflexblue. But it will not be confining its services to developing fan ownership.
Mr Wishart said the agency, which has also done work for Tennent Caledonian and Taylor Wimpey, can offer services such as season ticket campaigns to ways to unlock revenue from regular supporters.
He said: "Now we have got a really great case study with Rangers First, we can take it and move it into some other clubs. There are certain elements of the Rangers case study that we can apply to other football clubs, so we are looking to move into that area a wee bit more.
"We would like to get in now and work on the ground level with clubs, work for their marketing departments and provide them with our bread and butter - marketing campaigns for season tickets, match day programme advertising, digital screen advertising [and] social media.
"We can also take that forward and give them different e-commerce ideas."
The agency's work with Rangers First has coincided with a busy spell for Reflexblue on the music marketing front.
Through its relationship with record label BMG's artist services arm, which grew from the agency's work with local band Glasvegas, Reflexblue has been working on media campaigns by artists such as The Charlatans, Smashing Pumpkins and Bryan Ferry.
Mr Wishart said the work focuses on the "fast and furious end of marketing albums, and involves creating outdoor posters, digital advertising and "last minute" bookings on media websites to supplement record company promotional campaigns.
In such cases, the agency is briefed to come up with creative solutions inspired by the albums' original artwork.
Mr Wishart said: "We're the guys they come to for the marketing campaigns when they want to get the stuff out there - outdoor posters, online advertising, [and] digital screen stuff for [new Charlatans album] Modern Nature, Bryan Ferry's new album and for the Smashing Pumpkins as well.
"It's all stuff you don't mind doing at the last minute because it's high profile."
Reflexblue has a core team of 12 in its office in Glasgow's west end, and calls on freelance back-up in the shape of web developers, designers, copywriters and photographers at busy times.
It is owned by Colin and Linda Docherty. "We've got a tight-knit team," Mr Wishart said. "We've all been forever - I've been here since the company started 12 years ago. Most of the team have."
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