Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Kick Starts Membership Program With Zebra Card Printers
03 May, 2004
category: Biometrics, Education
Membership Cards are Crowning Glory of Club Benefits Program
The Tottenham Hotspur Football Club began humbly in 1882, when a local cricket team merged with students from the elementary school and formed the Hotspur FC. The Spurs, as they are now known, went professional way back in 1895, and won their first Southern League championship in 1900.
In 1908, the club joined the Football League and, after a successful run in that league, became a founding member of the FA Premier League in 1992. Today, the club boasts a large and loyal following of ardent football fans (that’s soccer to those on the west side of the Atlantic).
Members of the Spurs fan club enjoy a variety of benefits, including priority on match tickets, discounts on Spurs merchandise, free admission to reserve matches, Cup Final tickets, and more. But the most prized part of the package is a personalized Spurs Membership Card, which not only identifies proud fans but gives them access to many of their club benefits.
“When we realized that we had to automate the production of Membership Cards and how we wanted to do it, we asked around amongst our traditional printing suppliers and a dealer’s name, DED, came up,” said Linda Watkins, Members Club Manager for the Spurs. “I contacted them, explained what we were trying to do and the rest, as they say, is history. The Zebra P310’s have proven themselves very reliable.”
Installed some 12 months ago at the Paxton Road Members Club, which sits in the shadow of the legendary White Hart Lane ground, the two card printers are used to produce some 36,000 full color membership cards every year.
The barcoded cards – Adult and Junior Members have their own individually styled cards – are used not only for ID purposes but also for purchasing match tickets over the counter. They were introduced by the club in order to cut down on the labor intensive data entry originally involved in these processes. Now the bar-code is flashed and the Spurs Member is instantly identified by their name and membership number.
The membership cards are printed with information that gives each member access to an exclusive “behind the scenes” area of the Spurs’ official website. They also provide instructions for accessing other benefits including priority tickets and discounts on stadium tours, merchandise, the new Club yearbook, and information from partners such as Thomson Holidays. Last, but not least, the cards come with custom leather Membership Card holders.
The Zebra P310
The Zebra P310 printer offers fast, full-color, high-quality plastic card printing that’s never been more affordable. Printing personalized loyalty and membership cards, employee and visitor badges, and student ID and access control cards is easy, fast, and simple with the Zebra P310. The P310 prints sharp, readable bar codes, ID photos, graphics and text, edge-to-edge, in just seconds. Quiet operation and small footprint make it ideal for desktop and reception area printing.
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Zebra Card Printer Solutions – 1001 Flynn Road-Camarillo, Calif. 93012-8706 – Phone 805.579.1800 – website www.zebracard.com
Linda Watkins
Members Club Manager
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
P-020-8365-5150
www.spurs.co.uk
For more information, contact Leslie Brigham at 818-716-9021; email [email protected].
NOTE TO EDITORS: A high-resolution photograph of a P310 printer is available for download at http://www.brighamscully.com. Click photos, then Zebra.
