Why Digital Isn’t Just a Marketing Channel: Insights from the Canterbury-Bankston Bulldogs
Last night, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs finals run ended, but what they’ve built won’t be undone by an early exit. Their digital ecosystem is now a core strength; they haven’t lost connection, momentum, or relevance. That payoff, in fans, in partners, and in brand strength, is the long game worth investing in.
“Digital isn’t just another marketing channel.” That’s how Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton frames it, and it matters. Too often, sport organisations treat digital as just output: more posts, more graphics, more hype. But what the Bulldogs are showing is that digital, when properly resourced and invested in, can reshape a club’s trajectory.
I’ve been thinking about what it takes to make that investment real, because investment isn’t just money...
✨ It requires more than a digital/media manager working in isolation. You need alignment from the top to support content planning, production, post-match rawness, and off-field storytelling.
✨ Not just highlight reels, but giving athletes agency: behind-the-scenes, personality content, letting them lead stories and shape how fans see the club.
✨ The Bulldogs’ digital channels have a polished look, but it isn’t all gloss. It’s consistent branding, balanced with personality and culture: humour, authenticity, journeys (like the Built on Belief campaign) that let fans feel part of something bigger than results.
✨ Their TikTok wins (e.g. Stephen Crichton’s “China” filter moment with ~30 million views) show what happens when you lean into authentic moments. Those can’t be manufactured, but you need a system to capture and amplify them.
Even without a grand final appearance, the Bulldogs’ digital investment has measurably flowed through the organisation:
✨ Membership numbers hit 32,000 in 2025, up from ~25,000 in August 2024, a 28% increase
✨ Crowds have doubled, including 2 of the biggest in NRL history (65,305 & 59,878)
✨ Corporate partnership numbers have increased
✨ Social media following has surged: 1.2 million now; ~300,000 added this year
✨ Annual video views jumped from ~10 million to ~225 million
You don’t see a direct “$ from this TikTok view”, but you do see ecosystem effects: fan trust, engagement, visibility to sponsors, stronger atmospheres, higher campaign participation, and richer digital assets for media, merch, and brand value.
What can others learn?
✨If senior executives and boards see digital as marginal, it stays marginal. When leadership buys in, the organisation follows.
✨Build for consistency and serendipity. Polished campaigns matter, but so does space for unscripted, authentic moments.
✨Measure what you can; believe in what you can’t (yet). Track memberships, crowds, sponsor growth, and engagement. But don’t ignore qualitative value: culture, loyalty, and identity reinforced through storytelling.
The Bulldogs’ finals campaign was "Built on Belief", and while that run ended early, the belief remains because they’ve built something that goes beyond the scoreboard