I am a diehard football fan. No, not that American “throwball” game where the players wear 30 pounds of pads and throw around an odd-shaped ball wrapped in pig skin. I’m talking about the beautiful game, fútbol, voetbal, footy, or as most Americans know it as, soccer. As a football fanatic, I can’t help but get wrapped up in the drama, the passion and the obsession that encompasses every single match across the globe. In the world of football, there is a new story to be told each and every day. But football is not only captivating from a sporting viewpoint. The beautiful game is also fascinating from a marketing and global branding perspective.
The world is shrinking on a minute-by-minute basis these days, especially with the continual advances in technology. Because of this, companies are placing a much stronger emphasis on establishing global brands that can compete across multiple markets. But expanding your company into new markets isn’t as easy as it may seem. Many successful firms, even firms like Wal Mart, have struggled to establish their brands in certain global markets.
So where do you turn to find the key to expanding your firm’s identity across the globe? Look no further than to professional football clubs. Football clubs, large ones especially, embody everything that firms strive to achieve in developing a global brand. They offer unique, marketable products that are in demand worldwide, they have strong revenue streams and in some cases can be very profitable, and most important of all, they have loyal customer bases that stick with their brand through thick and thin. Take my favorite club, Liverpool FC, for example. Liverpool FC is considered one of the world’s strongest football brands. The city of Liverpool has a population of roughly 430,000 people. Compare that to the approximate 42 million Liverpool FC fans worldwide and the proof is in the pudding.
But Liverpool FC didn’t establish itself as a global powerhouse by coincidence. It has taken many years of hard work to get to where it is today. Although the success of a football club, like any sports team, is mostly determined by how well the team performs, clubs like Liverpool FC cannot rest on this fact and must continually adopt new marketing techniques to expand and foster growth of the brand. Liverpool FC is a great example of a brand that has embraced fresh approaches to marketing. The club’s web site hosts a discussion forum that encourages fans to collaborate and become a part of the club they idolize. This is approach is being adopted by many companies and helps establish stronger brand loyalty by giving customers a voice in shaping the future of the brand.
Liverpool FC also leverages social media in a very effective way, reaching out to fans and customers via the club’s Facebook page to its Twitter page. The club also continues to reach its fans and customers through different mediums, including mobile devices. In addition to the official LFC mobile apps, which provides fans with wallpapers, match updates, news feeds, etc., the club recently became the first football club in the world to launch a fully transactional mobile store.
Branding initiatives like these are necessary for Liverpool FC if they want to compete with some of the club’s strongest competitors. Like with any industry, creating a sustainable competitive advantage and providing more value than your competitors is the key to success, especially in global markets. So the next time you need a reference for how to expand your brand globally, look no further than the beautiful game.
Images: Liverpool FC
