Building a Media Department for a Club on the Rise
Project delivered: February 2025 to June 2026
TL;DR: Over 17 months, Red Rose Media & Marketing helped Hednesford Town FC bring its media team together, introduce consistent systems and standards, and strengthen communications across the club’s digital and matchday platforms.
The work supported a period of rapid growth, including back-to-back promotions, increased attendances, 178,000 website users, more than two million website interactions, 44 million Facebook impressions and a 218% increase in LinkedIn followers.
The Challenge
When I began supporting Hednesford Town FC in February 2025, the club was already moving in an exciting direction.
The foundations were there: passionate supporters, ambitious owners, committed volunteers and a team delivering success on the pitch.
What the club needed was a dedicated media operation capable of reflecting and supporting those ambitions.
Media responsibilities had previously formed part of a wider operations role. While a hardworking group of volunteers was already producing valuable content, there was no dedicated media specialist leading the function and no single structure bringing everyone together.
As the club prepared for the next stage of its journey, there was an opportunity to improve communications, strengthen supporter engagement, support growing commercial ambitions and create a more professional and consistent presence across every platform.
Following an initial period of observation and hands-on support, I moved into a more central leadership role ahead of the 2025/26 season.
The objective was not simply to produce more content. It was to build a media department capable of supporting a football club growing rapidly both on and off the pitch.
"Penny has been Hednesford Town’s Media Manager for a little over a year now, and the difference she has made has been clear for everyone to see. She has helped bring a much more professional feel to the club’s content, improving the way we communicate, present ourselves and engage with supporters. That has been especially important during a period where the club has been growing quickly, both on and off the pitch."
Craig Gwilt, Hednesford Town FC Chairman
Bringing People Together for Efficiency and Consistency
Creating Structure
The first priority was simple: create one team.
Working alongside a small but dedicated media team, I developed a structure that provided clarity, support and consistency. New processes, guides, reporting systems and policies were introduced, including:
Social media policy
Tone of voice guidance
Matchday procedures
Content planning
Media roles and responsibilities
PR tracking
Performance and analytics reporting
The purpose was to ensure everyone understood their role, where to find support and how their contribution fitted into the wider operation. This improved consistency across the club's communications and gave volunteers and staff the clarity, confidence and support needed to develop their skills.
Chief Executive Marvin Robinson said: "By introducing clearer processes, guidance and expectations around content planning, tone of voice, matchday procedures and reporting, she gave people greater clarity and the support they needed to develop."
Developing Local Talent
"One of Penny’s biggest strengths has been her ability to build and manage a large media team made up of both volunteers and paid staff. That is not an easy thing to do in a football club environment, but she has handled it with professionalism, organisation and care."
Craig Gwilt, Chairman
The goal was also to create an environment where people could develop.
Students were given opportunities to build professional portfolios through match reporting, photography, videography and content creation. Local creatives gained valuable experience within a fast-paced sporting environment, while existing volunteers were supported to build new skills, take on greater responsibility and grow in confidence.
For the club, this increased the capacity of the media operation, broadened its skillset and created a sustainable pipeline of future creative talent.
Marvin said: "Penny deserves huge credit for the environment she has built around the media team. This is what Best in Class, Local First looks like in practice: opening doors, developing people and using the Club’s platform to help local talent grow."
When the club advertised for additional volunteer support, more than 80 applications were received from people keen to become involved.
The response demonstrated both the growing profile of Hednesford Town and the appetite among local people to gain meaningful media experience within football.
Marvin added: "Receiving more than 80 applications for media roles and developing a department that included two part-time members of staff and around 16 volunteers demonstrated both the level of local interest and the strength of the environment she had created."
By the end of the season, the department included two part-time members of staff and around 16 volunteers sharing responsibilities across the club's teams and matchday operations.
Importantly, volunteers remained engaged and committed throughout the season, creating a dependable and sustainable support network for the club.
Telling the Full Story: Locally and Internationally
Football clubs are about much more than 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon.
One of the biggest opportunities was to tell the wider story of Hednesford Town FC: its players, supporters, volunteers, sponsors, infrastructure projects and place within the community.
Working closely with the club’s in-house graphic designer, I helped implement and maintain a refreshed brand identity across digital channels, printed materials, press releases and matchday communications.
Content and Communications
More than 100 club news articles written and published.
Consistent coverage of football, commercial activity, community initiatives and infrastructure developments.
Stronger visibility for sponsors, volunteers, supporters and partners.
Regular content for the website, social media channels and matchday programme.
Public Relations
Regular coverage secured in the Express & Star.
Features in international publications including the New York Post and Panenka (see version in English publication).
Proactive press releases and media relations support throughout the season.
Major Projects
Communications support for the launch of the club's hybrid pitch.
Coverage of wider stadium and infrastructure developments.
Increased visibility among supporters, businesses, players and clubs across the football pyramid.
Marvin reflected: "As Hednesford Town has progressed on and off the pitch, our communications have needed to progress with it. Penny has helped the club tell its complete story - not only what happens during 90 minutes on a Saturday, but also the work of our players, supporters, volunteers, sponsors and partners, as well as our infrastructure developments and wider role within the community."
Montage of Penny with volunteers, staff and players at Hednesford Town Football Club
Improving the Supporter Experience
Supporters wanted more ways to follow and connect with their club.
Working with the wider media team, we expanded and strengthened coverage around every fixture through:
Live social media updates
Match photography
Video content
Website previews and reports
Match highlights
Interviews
Behind-the-scenes coverage
One of the most popular additions was live radio commentary, delivered by a dedicated team of volunteers.
By putting the necessary systems, permissions and matchday support in place, supporters could follow the action even when they could not attend or travel to a fixture.
The result was a richer and more accessible supporter experience, helping fans feel closer to the team and strengthening the connection between the club and its community.
Supporter Gareth Davies said: “As the club has continued its steep trajectory through non-league, interest throughout the supporter-base has continued to grow and grow. Over the past two seasons the media offering has more than kept pace with the clubs progress. Developments such as 'behind the scenes' previews, alongside regular interviews and innovative match coverage has enabled supporters to follow progress and keep up to date as never before. Provision of live match day commentary through several means including radio and text commentary and video highlights has been a particularly popular addition, keeping supporters in touch as the team have travelled the country.
“It's great to feel up to date and fully informed as to what is going on at 'my' club.”
Supporter Vikki Birch added: "When the updates restarted on X, Facebook and the radio commentary after such a long time without them, we were really glad to have them back. As a fan, and not being able to get to some midweek away matches, the radio was great to listen to and helped me keep up to date with the club."
The Results
The work took place during an exceptional period in Hednesford Town’s history.
The club secured back-to-back promotions and returned to the National League North for the first time in a decade.
Those achievements were the result of a collective effort across the entire football club. The role of the media department was to document that journey, extend its reach and ensure supporters, sponsors, partners and the wider community remained connected to it.
Website Growth
178,000 active website users between May 2025 and June 2026.
More than 2 million website interactions recorded.
122.5% growth in website users compared to the previous period.
132.6% growth in website interactions compared to the previous period.
Monthly traffic regularly exceeded 30,000 active users.
Newsletter Engagement
Open rates consistently between 41.9% and 50.6% (industry averages typically sit between 20% and 25%).
Club 1880 communications achieved a peak open rate of 57.89%.
Social Media Reach
More than 44 million impressions recorded across all social media platforms.
More than 2.08 million interactions generated.
Facebook engagement increased by 44%.
Instagram engagement increased by 443%.
Professional Visibility
LinkedIn followers increased by 218%.
LinkedIn engagement increased by 1348%.
Greater visibility among sponsors, partners, local organisations and businesses.
Matchday Attendance
Average attendance increased from around 1,400 supporters to approximately 1,900.
Social media campaigns promoted fixtures, season tickets, memberships and the club's online ticketing platform.
Communications supported wider club efforts to engage existing supporters and attract new audiences.
Increased excitement and awareness around key fixtures, club developments and major announcements.
"What stands out most is that Penny has not simply delivered content; she has built foundations."
Marvin Robinson, Chief Executive
Strong Foundations for Future Growth
After 17 months supporting Hednesford Town FC, the media operation looked quite different from the one I had first encountered.
What began as a collection of talented individuals working independently had become a cohesive department with clearer roles, repeatable processes, consistent reporting, strong volunteer engagement and a professional output capable of matching the club’s ambitions.
Most importantly, the foundations were in place for the future.
The club now had documented processes, an established volunteer structure, stronger relationships with supporters and media outlets, and a communications function capable of supporting its ambitions at National League North level.
Ahead of the 2026/27 season, Hednesford Town appointed its first full-time Media Manager to continue the thriving department and build upon the foundations already in place.
Marvin concluded: “Penny’s contribution has gone far beyond simply improving the club’s media output. She has helped create a proper department, with structure, standards and a real sense of purpose.
"The appointment of a full-time Media Manager ahead of the 2026/27 season reflects the sustainable platform she helped establish.”
Craig added: "Under her guidance, our media output has improved significantly, and our engagement has continued to grow. She has been reliable, creative, professional and genuinely great to work with. We are very grateful for everything Penny and Red Rose Media have done for Hednesford Town, and I would have no hesitation in recommending her."
