HUDDERSFIELD GIANTS hope a leading Yorkshire marketing agency will help them reverse a decline in attendances, safeguard Super League status under the grading system and point the way to a prosperous and successful future.
Giants owner-chairman Ken Davy is targeting a new stadium and Grand Final appearance by 2030 for a club that hasn’t made the Super League play-offs since 2022, recently parted company with coach Luke Robinson after losing their first five Super League games of this year and face a spell playing outside the town when they leave the Accu Stadium, which they deem too big for their needs, at the end of the season.
Davy has already brought former club and RFL chief executive Ralph Rimmer back as ‘director for change’.
And Huddersfield have launched ‘Giants Unleashed’, a campaign to modernise operations and build a team capable of challenging the game’s highest achievers.
Now they have partnered with Fantastic Media, who started out in Huddersfield in 2006, are now based in Leeds, and have developed a reputation in sports marketing, having worked with football clubs Leeds United and Huddersfield Town.
Working closely with the Giants, the agency will develop a data-driven strategy focused on strengthening the club’s brand, fan engagement and commercial performance.
Central to the approach is Fantastic’s INSIGHT programme, designed to identify key drivers within the business and translate them into tailored marketing plans.
Fantastic chief executive Andy Hobson said: “Rugby League clubs are some of the most important cultural institutions in the communities they serve.
“They represent civic pride, identity and belonging, yet too often clubs underestimate the role brand plays in winning the hearts and minds of fans, partners and investors.
“The most forward-thinking clubs are those willing to truly understand what makes them unique and use that to shape their future.
“The newly demonstrated ambition and energy at Huddersfield Giants is aimed at doing exactly that, as they build towards an exciting new era.”
Huddersfield managing director Richard Thewlis added: “We have engaged Fantastic Media to advise and deliver a bold business and marketing strategy as part of our vision to establish the Giants as a major force in world rugby, alongside our move to a brand-new stadium by 2030.
“This partnership demonstrates our ambition and is an indication of all that is going on behind the scenes.
“At the heart of this are our fans. We want to reignite the identity that makes people fall in love with the club again and make everyone proud to say they support the Giants.”