They may not have won the League of Ireland since 2009 (or an FAI Cup since 2008), but off the pitch the Bohemian F.C brand has blazed a trail when it comes to being culturally relevant and genuinely standing for something. Other brands could learn a thing or two from the club, writes Viv Chambers.
Traditional marketing is struggling. You can see it everywhere: campaign manifestos that blur into a sea of sameness, ads that struggle to hold attention in an increasingly distracted world, and brands investing millions in engagement – only to see diminishing returns.
As Nick Law, creative chairperson of Accenture Song put it to delegates to Cannes in 2023, “brands are failing to cut through because they rely on traditional models that no longer work. We’re in an era where belonging, not broadcasting, matters most.”
So what happens when a brand doesn’t rely on a manifesto, a broadcast schedule, or an algorithm? What happens when a brand is ‘earned’, not bought?
Dan Lambert, chief operating officer of Bohemian F.C, didn’t set out to build a brand. And yet, without ever running a paid ad, without an ounce of traditional strategy, he has turned Bohemian F.C into one of the most culturally significant brands in Ireland today.
He should be on the list for a Marketing Institute award, not just for what he’s done for Bohemians as a club, but for what it shows us about the future of marketing – a future built on belonging.
Let’s spell this out a bit.
Belonging, Not Borrowing
For decades, marketers have treated culture as a stage to perform on. Find the hottest trend. Chase the coolest subculture. Pay the influencer. Do the big “cultural” campaign.
But here’s the truth: culture isn’t something you ‘borrow’. It’s something you ‘belong to’. And Dan Lambert’s Bohemians ‘belong’.
When Christy Dignam of Aslan passed away, Bohemians didn’t strategize a tribute. They didn’t “leverage” his cultural significance. They made a jersey, fast, and they wore it. No announcement. No PR team. Just action and word-of-mouth. In a week, they raised €150,000 for the hospice that cared for him.
They’ve done this time and time again. “Refugees Welcome”. The Bob Marley tribute kit. The Dublin Bus shelter jersey and more recently the Fontaines D.C. sponsored Palestine jersey.
These are not “campaigns” – they’re moments. Beautiful, culturally resonant moments. They truly mean something.
Each jersey is a souvenir of a culture and a set of values. This means they sell all year round and year-on-year to buyers across the world. Football jerseys are usually perishable, so out of date when the season ends. But not at Bohemians F.C.
Traditional marketers love to say their brands are “culture-led”. But ask yourself: when was the last time a campaign moved you to wear its logo on your chest? Bohemians don’t just create cultural impact – they become it. Fans, musicians, artists, and even people with no connection to League of Ireland football wear their jerseys because they stand for something.
Bohemians are ‘values-first’, and that’s what makes them ‘culture-first’.
This is what Marcus Collins gets at in his recent book ‘For the Culture’: the strongest brands are not megaphones. They’re magnets. Bohemians don’t chase attention – they attract it.
The Power of Earned Relevance
Look at most marketing plans today, and you’ll find a pipeline of KPIs. Impressions. Reach. Share of voice. Every campaign – no matter how “cultural” – is still a broadcast, an exercise in volume. And volume doesn’t work anymore. People don’t ‘hear’ it.
Dan Lambert has cut through the noise without a single paid ad. How? By making Bohemians relevant to what people really care about.
Earned Relevance
Lambert understands something fundamental: if you want people to care about your brand, you have to care about what they care about.
He’s opened the stadium to grassroots causes, hosting repeal movement events and poetry nights. He’s turned jerseys into storytelling devices about values – about Palestine, about social justice, about Dublin icons. He’s partnered with music subcultures (like the Fontaines D.C.) and made Bohemians a home for the countercultural, the independent-minded, the ones who don’t fit in conventional corporate boxes.
(At Bohemians the corporate box is called the non-corporate box and it has hosted local kids groups with special needs on match days).
This isn’t bog standard marketing. It’s earned relevance. Lambert isn’t selling Bohemians—he’s making it matter. And when something matters, people do the marketing for you.
Be Bold to Win
It’s easy to dismiss Bohemians as a niche phenomenon – a small football club with big ideas. But the results speak for themselves.
The club represents 25% of the League of Ireland’s entire commercial and merchandise income as a whole. 25%! They’ve gone from annual merchandise revenue of €80,000 to over €2m. They’ve built a brand that’s adored by fans, respected by partners, and recognized around the world – all without a single media buy.
This should challenge every marketer in Ireland. Why? Because it shows there’s another way to win. Not by shouting louder. Not by spending more. But by being braver.
Braver about values. Braver about culture. Braver about who you stand for and what you stand against.
Lambert and his colleagues have turned Bohemians into a case study in brand strategy without the jargon. This isn’t about “cultural positioning” or “tribes” or “distinctive assets”. This is about showing up. Being human. Doing things that are worth talking about.
And people are talking. And sharing. And following.
The Future of Marketing: Brands that belong and create belonging
If you work in marketing, you need to pay attention to Bohemians. Not because you’ll copy what they’ve done – you can’t. The Bob Marley jersey worked because it was true to the club. The Refugees Welcome message resonated because it was earned. These things don’t work if you don’t mean them.
But Bohemians are proof of what’s possible when you stop marketing and start mattering. When you stop obsessing over reach and start building relationships. When you stop speaking to audiences and start showing up for people.
This is the future of marketing. It’s not about making ads – it’s about making moments. It’s not about saying you stand for something – it’s about showing it. And it’s not about chasing culture – it’s about belonging to it.
Bohemians belong. Not only that, they offer a route to belonging in a world we know is setting records for isolation and loneliness. And in doing so, he’s shown us what a brand can be when it’s driven by values, not vanity.
He should be listed for a marketing award. Not for what he’s done, but for what Bohemians F.C represents: a new way in marketing.
To every marketer still clinging to the old broadcast model: stop shouting. Start belonging.
Viv Chambers is managing director and director of strategy for Bricolage.
