Open Letter: Dear Orlando Pirates, Your Websites Suck!
To Our Beloved Bhakaniya,
Usually at Purple Online Media Solutions, when we see something we don’t like we view it as an opportunity to propose a solution and hopefully solve the problems through private and constructive feedback. But in this case there’s literally been a year’s worth of back and forth involved and not too much progress from us even being heard.
The current website, seesh
About this time a year ago we came up with this awesome pitch (well we thought it was awesome) which we tried to pitch to Orlando Pirates (with initial correspondence having been made with Ntate Shoes Makati, RIP) and after his passing we eventually got through to the club CEO. We were pretty excited partly because we really wanted to work with a major South African footballing brand (after the most awesome World Cup yet) and partly because at the time our entire team was made up of Orlando Pirates supporters.
So today we decided to have another look at Orlando Pirates’ current web presence, hoping more as a fan, that they’d finally overhaul it and their online marketing would surpass Kaizer Chiefs’ (yeah we know we know, we are kind of obsessive at beating Chiefs at everything lol). So there we went, huddled around a PC and entering our beloved clubs URL again, www.orlandopiratesfc.com… Hai around a year later still sucks big time. Now we were left scratching our heads. Were our ideas that bad? Does the marketing team at Orlando Pirates follow more than they lead? Do they think the current website looks great? We just did not understand the reasons why the website still looks the way it does. Believe us we respect our team and the current marketing teams talents at Orlando Pirates, we have seen them being one of the first clubs in South Africa to create platforms to market their brand on an unprecedented platform. From their deal with Adidas and Vodacom to being voted a Super Brand when most teams were still hand washing their uniforms for their next match. So why does such a powerful marketing force lack abysmally online? Is it not important perhaps? Not viable? (This would be pure ignorance considering Kaizer Chiefs has more than double the online market that Pirates’ does). So we figured this can’t surely be a marketing problem, that team must be one of the best if not thee best in South African Football. Who is to blame? Who is too afraid to go to their online supplier and give them a little roasting ala Steve Hofmeyer style?
Below are suggestions, yes we being very open about what we proposed, not because we feel we are better (we know we are :p), but because even if Pirates doesn’t use us to develop their new online direction, ATLEAST IT GETS DONE! As fans first and foremost, we want to see a proper website (and mobile site), proper push content, proper social media integration, marketing and engagement as well as proper industry leading online marketing strategies. I don’t want us to follow Chiefs/Sundowns etc, but they must follow us. For all the wonderful heritage Orlando Pirates chooses to focus on in their marketing, isn’t it also time to integrate that part of history into building the future of the brand?
So from proud Bhakaniya’s, please guys UPDATE YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE & CONTENT (even if it’s not by us, although we’d put passion into it lol)!
Love,
The Purple Online Media Solutions Team
Once A Buccaneer, Always A Buccaneer
Note. All designs and ideas below are the property of the designer, Purple Online Media Solutions. Designs or ideas are not to be copied or manipulated in any way for sale or profit.
A simpler more forward thinking website that focused on simple and modern aesthetics. Everything within eyes view (depending on user resolution), but kept the colours the same and the direction new and fresh.
The social tab popped out (yes we eventually used this idea in our own website, they stagnated what can we say), and if you check it out you will see how implementing content that’s needed within eye’s view works
The player profile page which uses a lot of HTML5 and Div Tabs.
The current website, seesh