Following the publication of the article “Marketing at OGC Nice: Poor Choices by Roy” on the website www.nicepremium.fr on February 4, 2007, here is the response press release from Eric ROY, Marketing Director of OGC Nice.
The Marketing department was established upon my arrival under my initiative in August 2005. It is divided into several sectors: communication led by Virginie Rossetti, sales by Laurent David and Sylvie Paturel, merchandising by Frédéric Mattei whom I recruited to develop derivative products, and additional marketing and communication activities by Nicolas Bernard.
Upon taking office, I identified three major projects, conceived as follows:
1. Structuring our efforts with the companies that support us.
2. Retaining our subscribers.
3. Developing the merchandising and the “OGC Nice” brand.
I will now address some points that you mention and which I formally contest.
“The operations conceived in recent months have not been plentiful”
To achieve the objective of structuring our action among the supporting companies, I envisioned and implemented a “Partners Club” project, animated regularly by our team through the organization of multiple recurring events (preview presentation of the professional team; soccer, golf, tennis tournaments…) and occasional events (discussion with Frédéric Antonnetti, night events at the Hippodrome, concert invitations…) allowing companies to meet in a different setting than the Ray Stadium.
These privileged events are accessible and offered to all our partners, unlike some other Clubs…
“In terms of sponsorship, it’s somewhat of a no-man’s-land…”
Regarding our newest main jersey sponsor, TAKARA, a beautiful and dynamic company from Nice, contrary to what was stated in your article, I confirm that I initiated and concluded its involvement as a main partner alongside Rica Lewis, Gorenje, and Pizzorno.
Today, our jersey is valued at more than 1.5 million euros… few clubs of our standing can boast such figures.
Moreover, during a press conference on Saturday, February 10, preceding the Nice-Troyes game, I will unveil, after several months of negotiations, the club’s new equipment supplier who will sign a five-year contract multiplying the financial allocation from Puma, our current equipment supplier, by more than three times.
“The French Riviera is full of large companies”
I would like to remind you that Nice is unfortunately not the regional capital, and thus most decision-making bodies are located in Marseille, making our prospecting efforts more complex than they may seem.
Still, our commercial revenues (Club Passion, Club Privileges, PR operations, Ray Stadium signage, club media supports…), generated by our commercial sector during the 2005-2006 season, saw an increase of 37%, about 500,000 euros more than the previous year. For this season, I can already announce that our revenue will once again increase.
Furthermore, several national companies such as Castorama, Loxam, Big Mat, Paru Vendu… have joined us this year, proving that the OGC Nice Côte d’Azur brand is attractive.
It’s also in this spirit and always with the idea of developing the “OGC Nice” brand that I equipped the club with a branded bus, without any financial counterpart for the club. For your information, some major French clubs do not have one.
The same applies to merchandising where foundational work has been done to establish our products across all commercial zones of the region (official store, tobacconists, sports stores, large retailers, online sales…). In six months, the number of our sales points has multiplied by six, which has resulted in a doubling of the revenue despite the sporting results.
“Many avenues remain unexplored such as creating a cable channel… like broadcasting matches live…”
Unfortunately, we do not currently have the means to sink tens of millions of euros like Marseille and Lyon to develop a private television, certainly an image accelerator and a real communication vector but oversized compared to the club’s finances.
In this perspective, we have oriented our strategy by creating a web TV powered by Konio Production, which produces high-quality programs for supporters, with free access.
Regarding the broadcast of the matches, I must remind you that no French club has the right to schedule its matches live for the simple reason that the rights belong to Canal+ until midnight on the day of the match.
I take this opportunity to announce that the matches of OGC Nice in full will be available on our website starting Saturday, February 10, at midnight.
To conclude, I consider that in 18 months, the journey seems more than positive with objectives and results largely achieved. It is evident that many projects are still to be developed, especially with the prospect of a large stadium that would allow us to be even more ambitious.
As you highlight, criticism can be constructive, but it must be founded and based on verified and correct facts.
I think it is my duty as a team manager to rectify certain truths, and it is in this sense that I ask you to communicate this right of response.
