Morecambe FC’s stunning success at the British Pie Awards 2011 delivered some serious ‘wins’, and demonstrates exactly why Football Clubs around the UK should seriously consider entering such Awards schemes – as well as the Football Pie League!
‘Head Chef Graham Aimson and Sous Chef Douglas Fishwick with just a few of their trophies!’
First win: happy team, happy club
Sharing in success and recognition is a great motivator, not only helping productivity, but also reinforcing pride in work and the quality of products. Having tasted two of the Morecambe pies H and C News can testify to the quality, and will be back for more!
And, of course, winning is great for the wider club and its fans: everyone enjoys the ‘lift’ that is brought by success.
Second win: publicity
Graham Aimson, Head Chef at Morecambe FC, has at times almost been overwhelmed by the volume of publicity. Of course, he and his team have not just triumphed at the British Pie Awards: other honours include silver for Best Steak Pie (EBLEX); 4 Awards at the Hospitality Exhibition in Birmingham; 3 Awards at the Wessex Show…
The coverage has been wide-ranging and extensive: local and regional press; Midlands TV; national and local radio interviews (including Chris Evans on Radio 2); the One Show on TV; and even coverage in the Hairy Bikers ‘Best of Britain’ series.
To this day, Morecambe FC and Graham’s team continue to get calls and messages from across the UK – and overseas – wanting to know about their pies and where they can buy them.
Third win: sales, sales, sales
But what’s the payback? Competing for awards takes time, even free publicity takes up more valuable time, and time costs money.
The answer is in the sales!
Last season, Morecambe sold around 9,000 pies during the season: not bad, you might think, for a club that averages around 2,000 at home games.
This season, to the start of February, sales have soared to in excess of 21,000 – that’s an increase of 133% for the season so far! At times, close on half the crowd are sampling one of the pies! We’ll leave you to consider the revenue upside.
And Morecambe’s is not a unique example: Ipswich Town FC’s Portman Pie – winner of last year’s Football Pie League – also built on the quality of the pie, and the publicity generated around competing for and winning the Pie League, to substantially increase sales.
It’s simple:
Quality (and these pies are genuinely very good) + awards + publicity = sales
Find out more about the British Pie Awards, and be sure to enter by 13 April, visit
http://www.britishpieawards.co.uk/
To sample a Morecambe FC award-winning pie, you can’t do better than go to a match!
And – make sure YOUR football club is competing in The Football Pie League