Juve lead the way with stellar project

A myriad of stars, bearing the names of 50 all-time Juventus greats and over 68,000 fans of the Serie A giants, will surround the club’s new 41,000-capacity stadium.

Accendi una stella (Light a star) is the name of the ground-breaking initiative which will transform part of the new stadium’s pavement into a kind of hall of fame.

The earmarked space will be split into 50 different sectors, each dedicated to a player who has made a rich contribution to the Juventus legend.

After voting for the 50 Big Stars in an internet poll, the Juve fans can have their name etched on a star close to their favourite player.

The Accendi una stella project is the brainchild of Gianni Filippini, a consultant for Juventus who had been instrumental in the discussions that led the Serie A high-fliers to hold a winter training camp in Malta two years ago.

Filippini and Amabile Zammit, his Maltese business partner, recently visited the Juve Vero Amore Club in Malta to promote their ‘stellar idea’ among local Bianconeri.

“This project has been in the pipeline for three years,” Filippini said. “In Italy, the clubs don’t own the stadia but Juventus are now building their own ground. This idea aims to give fans the chance to become part of the history of Juventus.

“This is the first initiative of its kind, a tribal marketing concept that I chose to propose to Juventus. Not even top-level clubs like Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Manchester United have ever undertaken a project of this magnitude.”

After selling his concept to Juventus, Filippini conducted a research to gauge the fans’ interest in the project.

“Over 1.2 million respondents expressed a preliminary interest in buying a star,” Filippini said, “We have set an initial target of 68,000 fans as a first step because Juventus being such a great club, they can’t afford to fail.

“We also had an internet poll among fans to select the 50 Juve legends who will feature on the big stars.”

Juve and Filippini have long embarked on an intensive promotion campaign for Accendi una stella. With the blessing of club administrator Jean-Claude Blanc, Filippini has visited all 230 of Juve’s fan clubs across Italy.

“As part of this initiative, the fan clubs are authorised to set up a Juve outlet within their premises,” Filippini said. “They are considered as Juve’s partners in their respective territories and this is the first time that the supporters’ branches are officially representing the mother club. This is part of Juventus’s modernisation process.”

Juventus are set to spend around €4.5m in publicity for the Accendi una stella project and apart from Italy, Filippini has also been on promotion trips to Switzerland, Belgium and Malta. The price of a gold star is €250 while a platinum star costs €350.

“Those purchasing a star will have their name and surname (maximum 16 letters) etched into the hall of fame,” Filippini said.

“They will also receive at home the exclusive personalised kit containing a welcome letter, the table-top reproduction of the star, free Juventus Premium Member enrolment for 12 months and a limited edition T-shirt.”

The initial feedback has been very encouraging as 13,000 stars were sold in the first 45 days after the launch of the Accendi una stella initiative.

The new €105m stadium, due to be inaugurated in July 2011, is expected to double Juve’s annual revenue. Juve expect to recoup €75m of the expenses from the sale of the stadium’s naming rights while the Accendi una stella campaign is expected to yield a further €20m.