Bristol, UK, 11 February 2008 – smartFOCUS, the international multi-channel marketing software company, has been selected to provide Manchester United Football Club with its Intelligent Marketing Software and services. 

After a period of unparalleled achievement both on and off the field, Manchester United is recognised as one of the world’s leading sports brands, with a following that spans the globe. Developing a better understanding of its supporters is seen by Manchester United as a key component of the Club’s business strategy, aimed at increasing their understanding of the needs of their fanbase around the world.

The Club’s vision is to have a CRM business solution that enables it to manage and enhance relationships with supporters on a global basis. The cornerstone in achieving this will be information about supporters and how they interact with the Club. 

smartFOCUS has provided its market leading Campaign Management and Marketing Analytics technology, coupled with the necessary consulting services to build a single view of supporter across all Manchester United related transactions. A key element of the solution is the management of international data and in particular double-byte characters for data sourced in Asia.

During the selection process Manchester United stressed the fact that they were not looking for a supplier but were seeking a long-term business partner with whom a transparent relationship could be developed to assist the Club in meeting its CRM objectives.

Steven Falk, Director of Commercial Services at Manchester United, said: “We constantly strive to improve the relationships we enjoy with our fans and sponsors to ensure they get exemplary customer service and stay connected to the club. Our fans represent a growing and vibrant global community and with smartFOCUS we can better communicate and cement relationships with them, keeping them at the very heart of our success both on and off the field.”

Steve Klin, Sales Director, smartFOCUS, said: “We are delighted to add Manchester United to the high profile users of our marketing technology systems. Manchester United is a legendary brand and smartFOCUS will help the club make the best use of the supporter information gathered from its millions of fans worldwide.”