Increase in New User Accounts YoY
Influenced revenue generated via WhatsApp vs Email
"Best thing in fan engagement in a generation"
Increase in Account Set Up
Cardiff City FC is a professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales, currently competing in the EFL Championship. With a passionate and dedicated fanbase, the club has always prioritised keeping supporters close to the action.
The 'Bluebirds Uncaged' campaign represents Cardiff City's commitment to deepening the connection between players and fans - bringing every supporter closer to the moments that matter. Bluebirds Uncaged is the club account offering a wide range of benefits across the fan journey. It’s aim to engage with fans at a more interactive level creating opportunities the club and meaningful experiences for the fans.
Modern football fans expect more than a matchday experience. They want to feel genuinely connected to the club, the players, and the moments that matter most. Cardiff City's digital and marketing team recognised that traditional channels like social media and email were unable to create highly personalised engaging connections while Broadcast messaging to a mass audience felt impersonal - fans wanted something that felt like it came from the club for them, not for everyone.
With a growing supporter database and ambitious plans for fan engagement, Cardiff City needed a channel that could combine personalisation, rich media, and real commercial impact.
Cardiff City partnered with CM.com to launch a WhatsApp Business channel as the centrepiece of their 'Bluebirds Uncaged’ campaign. The channel went far beyond simple notifications. Using CM.com's Mobile Marketing Cloud and Customer Data Platform, the club began sending personalised, media-rich messages directly to fans: player videos wishing them a Merry Christmas, messages from the manager thanking supporters for their backing, and pre-match hype videos from first-team players promoting upcoming fixtures and driving ticket sales.
Each message was optimised for the channel - mobile-first format, club branding throughout, and a direct link to purchase. The result was a fan experience that felt personal because it was.
There's no other channel out there that lets you do this at that personalised and authentic level. With WhatsApp, fans feel like one of our top strikers has just sent them a personal video. That's what makes it so powerful.
Head of Marketing, Cardiff City FC
The numbers tell a clear story. Since launching the WhatsApp channel, Cardiff City has seen:
20% year-on-year database growth, adding thousands of new subscriber records to their fan database.
+387% in influenced revenue attributed directly to the WhatsApp channel - a figure that continues to grow heading into the Championship season.
22% Increase in Total Revenue generated from New Accounts vs the previous season
Bluebirds Uncaged gives fans faster access to support than ever, with 1-to-1 messaging available directly via WhatsApp. Fans can message the club through their personal Bluebirds Uncaged WhatsApp chat, where a short chatbot interaction hands them off to a live advisor who can help with their query.
4.3/5 customer satisfaction (CSAT) score
1-to-1 support messaging via WhatsApp
Chatbot triage before handover to a live advisor
The fans love it. The stats speak for themselves. We're over the moon with it and we're looking forward to seeing what we do next season.
It's about bringing fans closer to the action. We're able to connect with fans at a deeper and more personal level using mediums that we would not be able to on other channels. It's been an incredibly effective channel for us.
The CM team’s support throughout the implementation process has been fantastic with their flexibility and agility to adapt around the rapidly changing demands of the football industry invaluable to us.
The introduction of Bluebirds Uncaged in my opinion has been the biggest positive for Cardiff City Football fan club engagement in a generation. The WhatsApp messages in particular feel personal to each person and the content is very informative with messages from the manager, players and staff. We receive pre match and post-match interviews with players and management staff. Personal information from players about their day-to-day life through spotlight interviews, information on upcoming events at the club, community engagement messages which include visits to schools, hospitals, and supporters, and personal messages to us. This has helped to bring us all closer together and feel part of the club instead of just a customer. I cannot reiterate what a positive impact this has had with the fan base, not a tick box exercise, but a professional, informative communication that hits the spot of football supporters.
Season Ticket holder supporting Cardiff City since 1968
With promotion back to the Championship secured ahead of the 2026/27 season, Cardiff City are planning to expand their use of CM.com's platform. The club is exploring:
AI-powered automation to handle fan enquiries via WhatsApp at scale.
Scaling messaging volumes to match their growing subscriber base.
Integrating CM.com's email capabilities within Marketing Cloud to consolidate their tech stack and reduce costs.
WhatsApp Voice as a future channel for VIP supporter engagement.
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