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.

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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!