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Twitter thread goes viral exploring Wrexham and detailing the Hollywood duo’s takeover

A Twitter thread by Joe Pompliano, an entrepreneur from Florida, goes viral exploring Wrexham and detailing the Hollywood duo’s takeover

The tweet has gone on to get over 120,000 likes within 24 hours as well as 16,000 retweets, catching every football supporter’s attention while also learning a thing or two.

This comes as a docuseries looks at the purchase and stewardship of Wrexham AFC, one of professional football’s oldest clubs, by two Hollywood actors, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Two seasons of it will explore the club, the town, and Rob and Ryan’s ‘crash course in football club ownership’ and boy has it put them on the map, getting seen my millions over the world.

Joe Pompliano has created a Twitter thread explaining finer details about the takeover, and has won praise for how well explained this was.

He said: “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 ~33-55 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 club have also just passed 1,000,000 combined followers across our social media channels, as interest grows worldwide.

They said via their website: “With interest in the Welcome to Wrexham series boosting our social media following, the Club has gained more than 200,000 followers in the six weeks since August 30, 2022.

“Interest in the Club was already spiralling upwards too, with now more than 620,000 new followers across our main social media channels – TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube – since March 1, 2022.”

This is what fans had to say as a Twitter thread goes viral exploring Wrexham and detailing the Hollywood duo’s takeover…

@tyrus24: So really the investments and community support made the players work harder because workplace more welcoming and made you want to be there.

@DannyEMiller: And they are getting true exposure, sounds like a win for owners, win for club/players, and win for fans. Only downside is if the local community didn’t want the hype, but I don’t know if that’s the case

@PJPrydderch: It’s amazing what Rob & Ryan have done for our club. I was one of the 2000 on that Zoom meeting where they made their pitch and answered our questions. These last 2 years have been incredible for @Wrexham_AFC. This will be our year for promotion!! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@Joeler_SH: Disagree on the “no chance of making it to the Prem”. Could easily argue Wrexham in terms of history and fan base is of a similar size to Brentford and Bournemouth, both currently in the Prem. No chance of winning in our lifetimes would be fair however!

@RicardoHCAFC: Agreed, throw in Hull, Swansea, Cardiff, Brighton, Huddersfield that have all played in all 4 divisions professional in short spaces of time recently. There’s not much between 4th and 5th tier so it’s not that big a leap on top

@Rob_Allspaw: Honestly, I’ve totally bought into Wrexham and football as a sport. I wake early on Sat. to check out the match of the week on NBC. I’m following the clubs progress online. I wish I knew the team was going to be on ESPN this weekend.

@lapetitemaligne: Geez, just when i thought Ryan Reynolds couldnt be a better guy

@CallumCarsonWLC: Good thread. Disagree with no chance of making the Prem though. I’ve already promised my daughter tickets to the Champions League final in 2031.

@iamJemal7: Great job they’ve done for @Wrexham_AFC. Documentary is a good watch too. Hope they get promoted to League football!

@Maccn5: This is the type of joined up strategy and commercial execution that @SandgaardThomas could only dream of – he’s probably not even capable of the dreaming bit tbh.

@georgiatwiss: this is great but also, do this for women’s sports !!!!!! this whole thing is proof that if you put a team in front of people’s eyes, and commit to investing, they will buy in and watch.

@ThePostalJoe: What many people thought was a farce… turned out to be an amazing story that is still being written. Well done to all parties involved with @Wrexham_AFC #WrexhamFX gear might start showing up in our household 🤔

@smelltheglove7: Good planning…some bigger clubs should learn from this…

@Fluffiezombie_: This is a great insight to the upside @VancityReynolds & @RMcElhenney brought to @Wrexham_AFC

@Paul_Early: I would say there is actually a very good chance they’ll eventually make it to the PL or the the Championship at least, might take a while but they’ll get there if they keep investing.

@WBATDM: A great series! Instead of the usual Prem teams, and millionaires, we get to see the ins and outs of a team outside of the main league structure. Amazing for the Wrexham fans too #WelcometoWrexham

@staylorsports: I’ve loved Welcome to Wrexham. This thread takes it to a whole ‘nother level.

@liamcox8: WEVE GOT MULLIN, SUPER PAUL MULLIN

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