Posted:26-November-2024
Minuteman Press Franchise Scores Branding Partnership with Dorchester Football Club
David and Juanita Prince are the owners of Minuteman Press in Dorchester since October of 2023. They previously operated as Sprint Digital and joined Minuteman Press to strengthen their capabilities. For the 2022-2023 football season, Minuteman Press sponsored the Dorchester Ladies Football team with an away kit. This opened the door for David and Juanita to build a winning relationship with the Dorchester Town Football Club and their apparel kit sponsor Acerbis. As a result, Minuteman Press in Dorchester is now the primary branding partner for Dorchester Town FC kit.
David shares the progression of this relationship, from a post-pandemic sponsorship in 2021 and printing smaller jobs to producing branded kits (football shirts and shorts with logos) in 2024.
How did you get started with Dorchester Ladies FC? How did that relationship grow?
David Prince: “We started sponsoring the Dorchester Ladies FC following the pandemic for the 2021 season helping them with match fees. In 2022, we sponsored an away kit for the ladies. For the past few years, we have printed stickers, some paper programs, weekly game posters, and small-run club signage for the main Dorchester Football Club. These were all small jobs.
In April of 2024, we were approached by one of the Dorchester Town youth teams about providing them with a branded kit. In trying to find the right logo, we were approached by the main Dorchester Town Football Club asking if we were interested in attending their youth tournament and potentially working with their kit sponsor Acerbis and becoming their branding partner. The tournament hosted over 200 teams over the May bank holiday.
We met with the GM of Acerbis UK and then attended the tournament where we showcased some of our branded items. Things have progressed from there and we started working with them on more and more kits.”
What was your first big order that you handled?
David Prince: “The first job we were asked to complete was to apply the Dorchester Town FC badge and sponsors’ logos to the First Team training kit. This was 245 items of clothing, and about 300 logos which Juanita turned around in two weeks! The next stage was the First Team home and away kits. We needed to apply various sponsors’ logos across various kit items, shirts and shorts. This added up to over 540 different logos.
Subsequently, we have branded the U23s kit and have branded two youth teams, one with a full home kit and the other with training wear. We also have two more teams in the pipeline, and we are now branding over 230 Items for their youth team managers, which is another exciting and profitable piece of business that we won in late August of 2024.”
What are some of the other projects you are working on today?
David Prince: “We are now working with Dorchester FC and their club online shop. We have just received the first order of 45 pieces of kit which we will acquire and brand. The club will then send these out to supporters in Dorchester and across the UK. Our next project is creating non-clothing items for the club shop, such as branded mugs, key rings, boot bags, coasters, umbrellas, and other items that we can find and brand for them. This is the first time for a long time that the club has had the opportunity to offer such a wide range of products and we are all excited as to where this might go.”
What does it mean to you to work with such an important client in your community?
David Prince: “It is a great opportunity for us to work with the Dorchester Football Club which is a community owned club. The fact that we have been given new opportunities and they want to work with us so much more speaks volumes. We are hoping that as we do more for the club, we can showcase this to other teams around our area.”
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
David Prince: “All of this has created another opportunity with the kit provider, Acerbis. We look forward to working with them to expand our offerings to other sports clubs and perhaps open opportunities in motorsports apparel and vinyl stickers where they are market leaders.”
Quick Hits
Keys to Growth: “Apparel has been a major growth area, mainly from the football club. This can be attributed to marketing and exceptional customer service. Customer service goes without saying, it’s our biggest differentiator from the internet. Our social media presence helps us showcase our offerings across our Google Business Profile, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram. My BNI chapter is very small and is attempting to grow so that will be a focus as will be referrals from existing clients.”
Core Products: “Flyers, orders of service, mounted posters, banners, and apparel are our main products.”
Rewards: “Our rewards are reflected in our reviews, customer retention and winning new opportunities such as the football club. Knowing your successes are down to you and how you behave and respond to customers is rewarding, when you get time to stop and think about it!”
Advice for Others: “Treat all customers as though they are most important, you never know where or with whom your next biggest opportunity will come. Try not to turn down business unless it’s really not something you do, you never know what will come from that initial obscure request.”
Interested and want to know more about Minuteman Press?
The Minuteman Press profile outlines all aspects of their franchise opportunity and allows you to contact them for further information or to ask a question.
