SPORTS BRANDS
PhD Arto Kuuluvainen
ARTO KUULUVAINEN
- PhD (International Business), Turku School of Economics, 2011
- Currently: Research Manager in Danish marketing researchcompany (M3 Research A/S)
- Previously: Over 8 years in TSE (f.ex. Teaching of Sportsmanagement & -entrepeneurship course)
- Business experience from sports-related companies
- Sports background: Floorball, Tennis, Icehockey, Football
SPORTS CLUBS & BRANDS
- Sports clubs create stronger emotionalreactions than majority of other industries
- Sports clubs have started to systematicallybuild their brands only rather recently (mainlyfrom 1990’s)
- Why sports is so special industry? Because of this.
BRAND BUILDING IN SPORTS
Same principles than in ”normal” business.
Aims to:
�More spectators ���� more gate receipts
�More involved consumers
�More merchandise sales
= More income ���� better possibilities for success!
THE MOST VALUABLE SPORTSBRANDS BASED ON FINANCIAL
DATA (FORBES, 2013)Clubs:
1. Real Madrid $450 million
2. New York Yankees $443 million
3. Manchester United $433 million
4. FC Barcelona $361 million
WHY TWO LA LIGACLUBS IN TOP 5?
1. RM €140M
1. Barça €140M
3. Valencia €48M
4. Atléti €46M
5. Sevilla €31M
6. Betis €29M
7. Villarreal €28M
8. Getafe €18M
9. Espanyol €17M
10. Athletic €17M
11. R.Sociedad €15M
12. Zaragoza €15M
13. Osasuna €14M
14. Málaga €14M
15. Mallorca €14M
16.Levante €14M
17. Sporting €14M
18. Granada €14M
19.Rayo €14M
20. Racing €13M
� Own TV-deals (Table
from 2011) & own
merchandise deals
� Different system in
Premier League, Serie A
and so on.
� May change also in La
Liga soon.
BUILDING BRAND EQUITY IN A SPORTS CLUB
(GLADDEN ET AL. 1998)
BRAND IDENTITIES; ESPOO BLUES VS. HIFK (HELSINKI) (JOKINEN
2013)
ESPOO BLUES: BRANDINGPROBLEMS
- Pre-season ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bKNQpBhpjQ&feature=player_embedded
- What happened soon? (Koskinen, IkonenR)
- Follow your brand statement & be committed! Otherwise it is useless.
10
SOCIAL MEDIA
ATHLETES AS BRANDS
- Sports stars are not anymore only on-field performersbut also off-field commercial properties (i.e. brands)
- Players have been advertising products already for decades BUT now they’ve become brands bythemselves.
THE MOST VALUABLE SPORTSBRANDS BASED ON FINANCIAL
DATA (FORBES, 2013)Athletes:
1.Tiger Woods & Roger Federer $46 million
2.LeBron James $27 million
3.Phil Mickelson $25 million
4. Mahendra Singh Dhoni $21 million
FOOTBALL PLAYER AS A BRAND
‘ A unique, distinctive combination of unplanned and
planned factors that mark out a player as being
different to other players thus enabling the immediate
identification of the player and the activities in which
they are involved’. (Burton & Chadwick 2008)
- However, unlike other brands and/or products, people are unique. It is difficult to imitate and impossible to replicate brands such as Ronaldo or Beckham
- Athlete brands are relatively short-living brands and ageing of the athlete will change these remarkably.
.
GLOBAL SUPERSTARS
CR7Becks
WHAT’S COMMON?
- Sportiness
- Appearance + status symbols (fancy cars, outgoing lifestyle etc.)
- Football skills
- Representation of globally leading football clubs (ManU, Real Madrid etc.)
- Symbols? (Beckham: Tattoos & hair, Ronaldo: Hair & jewels)
- Something else?
TOPSTAR(BURTON & CHADWICK 2008)
- Helps to understand athlete brands
Team – the team(s) that a player plays for or has played for; the associations a player has with a particular team; the profile, reputation and success of the team; the player’s role withinthe team
Off-field – where the player lives; who the player socialises with and where; who the player is married to or is dating; the type of house the player lives in, the car they drive, the clothes they wear
Physical characteristics, mentality and values – the facial appearance and physique of the player; other distinguishing features such as hairstyle, tattoos etc.; the way a players thinks and the views they hold;
Success – the player’s on-field record; the number of trophies, medals and prizes the player has won; the winning teams and games in which the player has been involved
Transferability – the extent to which the player appeals to males and females, young and old, followers and non-followers of football; the extent to which the player and their image are culturally and geographically transferable; language(s) spoken;
Age – the stage at which a player is in their career; viewed in product lifecycle terms, this will have an impact on the profile, characteristics and longevity of the brand as well as influencing how the brand is managed;
Reputation - the player’s reputation as footballer; style of play; disciplinary record; the player’s reputation outside of football; way the player deals with public and media attention.
GUERILLA MARKETING & STORY TELLING IN SPORTS
Sporting Lisbon
Duracell & NFL
TUTO HOCKEY VS HC TPS
Be Creative!