04/26/2023
Understanding how to leverage is a key fundamental in today's business world. Great case study!
Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney paid $2.5 million for the world's third-oldest football club.
But the team is in the 5th division of the English football pyramid and has almost no chance of making it to the Premier League.
Still, it was a genius move.
Here's why 👇
1) American investment in English football isn't new.
Half the Premier League now has American owners, including Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, and more.
And the upside is clear:
• Global game
• Increasing media rights
• Lower valuations than NFL, NBA, etc.
2) But Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney purchased Wrexham AFC, a 5th-tier club located in a blue-collar town ~25 miles outside Liverpool & Manchester.
Why?
Well, this wasn't about Premier League promotion — it was about creative storytelling & marketing genius.
Let me explain.
3) Wrexham is owned by the fans, so Reynolds & McElhenney met with 2,000+ supporters (on Zoom) in 2020 and made an offer.
They agreed to invest ~$2.5m in the club's players and facilities & even signed a 25-year stadium lease in Wrexham so fans knew they wouldn't move the team.
4) But the real play was a "Netflix-style" docu-series that tracked their purchase, investment in the club, and the team's journey back to prominence.
It's called "Welcome to Wrexham."
And here's the best part — the first season was a massive success, on-and-off the pitch.
5) Welcome to Wrexham debuted on FX in August.
The show received a 97% audience score & was immediately greenlit for season two.
The club probably made good money on the deal:
~$400k per hour of content
+ 8-part series
= ~$3.2m in revenue
But that's just part of their success.
6) Wrexham is now in 2nd place in the National League standings, and their social accounts have exploded:
Twitter: 45k to 209k (+364%)
Instagram: 27k to 208k (+670%)
TikTok: 0 to 459k
And most importantly, Wrexham has turned this increased attention into tangible revenue.
7) Wrexham AFC has signed kit sponsorship deals with several companies:
• TikTok
• Expedia
• Vistaprint
• Aviation American Gin
And the number of fans buying season tickets has nearly tripled:
2019: 2,609
2021: 5,892
2022: 6,820
So the local community is also buying in.
8) This strategy has also provided the club with global reach—something Wrexham AFC would have never achieved.
For example, Wrexham’s FA Cup qualifier versus the Blyth Spartans on Saturday will air on ESPN2 & ESPN+
That means it will be available in ~100m households globally 🤯
9) This is the perfect example of someone taking a local sports asset and using strategic marketing and creative media to make it global.
But this didn't just benefit Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney — it benefited Wrexham AFC fans too.
And that's the best part.
The Wrexham story is INSANE:
• Bought for $2.5M
• Produced docu-series on FX
• Added 1M+ social media followers
• Tripled season ticket purchases
• Signed sponsorships with TikTok, Expedia, etc.
And now they've been promoted back to the EFL for the first time in 15 years.
(credit: Joe Pompliano ✍️)
