Aston Villa hires communications consultants to ‘raise its profile’
Premier League outfit Aston Villa has appointed Birmingham-based Liquid as its communications consultancy for the coming three years.
Founded in 2004, Liquid is an award-winning consultancy specialised in communications and public relations.
Along with offices in Jersey, Guernsey and London, the company has an office in Birmingham, where it is headquartered. This local tie has helped the firm win a major local contract with one of the county’s biggest football clubs.
Aston Villa has tasked Liquid with “supporting the development plans for the club” with a focus on “raising its profile nationally and in the Midlands”, as the club looks to grow its growing Premier League stature – having returned to the English top flight three seasons ago.
A former European champion, Villa saw a protracted fall from football’s top table in the last three decades – however, since its return to the Premier League, the club has seen television revenues boost its revenues dramatically. According to KPMG, Villa now has the 20th highest revenue of Europe’s top football clubs.
Using that economic momentum to build for success on and off the pitch, Aston Villa is currently finalising the redevelopment of its stadium’s North Stand, to increase capacity and improve fan experience.
Paul Tyrrell, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Aston Villa Football Club said, “With the development of our stadium we realised we needed a team to concentrate on the consultation and community engagement while we keep up with the day to day demands of a Premier League club.”
Asked why the firm selected Liquid, Tyrrell said, “Liquid showed understanding, expertise and above all a passion for sport within the Midlands, having worked across a variety of sports, clubs, charities and regeneration projects.”
Also part of Liquid’s remit will be to support awareness around Aston Villa’s Foundation, helping the club highlight to a wider audience the grass roots community work, impact and opportunities the charity provides.
Liquid CEO Elisabeth Lewis-Jones said, “Villa Park is not just the heartbeat of the community in Aston and beyond it is an important sporting venue for the Midlands that will continue to raise the profile of the city and the sporting capabilities and opportunities we have in the region.”