Are Arsenal Falling Behind The United and Chelsea Marketing Machine?
July 25, 2008
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As United prepare to face the Kaizer Chiefs in the final of the Vodacom Challenge, news comes that the club are considering taking up the offer a pre-season tour of India next year.
Anyone who has ever been to India recently, knows that whilst football is gaining in popularity in that vast country - it can’t hold a candle to the country’s obsession with cricket.
Spend the evening winding down in your hotel room in Mumbai, Kolkata or Delhi, switch on the TV and you will seen cricket highlights, cricket analysis, cricket gossip, cricket quiz shows. Open your morning newspaper - the rear 20 pages (and many of the rest) are all cricket, with maybe a page and a half reporting on the English Premier League football.
There’s plenty of money in India these days - just ask Mukesh and Anil Ambani - but as far as sport sponsorship is concerned, most of it gets poured into the national sport. The phenomenal success of the ICL and IPL cricket tournaments bears witness to the financial dividends that shrewd sporting investment can yield.
Whilst cricket remains currently unassailable, football is making inroads into the wider national consciousness, beyond the relatively small fraternity of very knowledgeable fans. Once the tipping point is reached and football-mania breaks out into the populace at large, the clubs and their marketing departments are looking at another customer-base in excess of a billion people.
As United know, having the good fortune to be at the front of a marketing awakening offers terrific long-term advantages - to wit, United’s number one ranking in sophisticated or ‘awoken’ markets like Japan, Korea, China, Malaysia and Thailand.
United’s pre-eminence - alongside Real Madrid - in these markets is largely down to being the right club at the right time.
United’s era of dominance in the Premier League co-incided with the explosion of television syndication. You don’t have to travel very far in Hong Kong, Tokyo or Shanghai to find a bar showing the latest Premier League matches - even in middle of the night.
Yet United were shrewd enough to know not to rest on their laurels. It’s not enough to simply appear on television once or twice a week. To maintain, re-invigorate and expand the appeal of the club and in so doing swell the club coffers, it is necessary to ‘deliver the dream’ to those overseas markets - and that means getting on a long-haul flight once every July.
If we look at United’s pre-season trips over the past five years we see two visits to Asia, one to the States and two to South Africa.
Peter Kenyon - he’s a lifelong United fan you know (…) - had a different strategy when he arrived at Chelsea. Knowing full well that the United / Real stranglehold in Asia would be difficult to tackle, he looked across the pond to that other huge and slowly awakening market in the US. Three pre-season trips to the US were followed this pre-season with a trip to China - the club’s identity now being sufficiently mature to make an impression on that comparatively more savvy market.
But what of Arsenal? Whilst United have been schlepping around these distant trails, where have Wenger’s men travelled?
From our - admittedly cursory and exclusively Google/Wikipedia-based research - they appear to have travelled to the likes of Austria and Holland for at least the past four seasons without venturing further afield in search of those lucrative emerging markets.
Wenger recently explained the club’s rationale in avoiding aping United and Chelsea’s far-flung ventures.
He claimed his squad would be fresher and less jaded at the season’s outset, precisely because they had remained in Europe. There is perhaps some truth in that but it is hard to believe United and Chelsea’s pampered millionaires have suffered that much travelling in those first class berths and resting on those five-star beds.
Wenger’s observations fail to acknowledge the real motivation for these long haul trips - they have relatively little to do with team tactics, fitness or motivation. They are instigated by the marketing department for the purpose of maintaining a financial advantage.
Recently, the Arsenal boss wryly observed that Arsenal would have to be a selling club for the next 17 seasons or so, in order to not jeopardise the prudent business model the board has chosen.
Yet does this cautious business model also really preclude the expense of travelling far way for the pre-season ? It’s hard to believe Arsenal’s decision to stay closer to home is exclusively determined by footballing reasons.
If Arsenal - a club vastly superior in marketability to Chelsea surely - want to break the hegemony developed by United and Chelsea in recent seasons, they have to add these long-haul trips to their overall business strategy.
A little money spent up front could reap far greater dividends in the long term.
As long as they fail to invest as much money and time in these ventures as the current top two, they’ll be treading water or heading backwards.
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20 Responses to “Are Arsenal Falling Behind The United and Chelsea Marketing Machine?”
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I think arsenal are really missing a trick by not going to places like china, hk and japan often enough. utd and madrid are the biggest sides in asia but arsenal are respected for their foobtall - i think they could be even bigger one day
Man Utd and Chelsea have been chasing the pot at the end of the rainbow with tours to Asia, Africa, USA and Australia for years now, an to what effect?
Arsenal’s turnover is not far behind Man Utd;s and dwarf’s Chelsea’s. Arsenal have other marketign tools that cover Asia, Africa and USA we do not have to whore our team across the wordl to keep our supporters. We have shops across Asia, were one of the first clubs to have their internet site translated into Chinese and with Arsenal TV Onlien, Arsenal fans can see Arsenal and keep in touch with the club witha click of a button.
I think Wenger is spot on - we always seem to start fresher at the beginning of the season and when injuries set in January time Chelsea and United have spending power to bolster the squad.
In fact the money spent compared to Chelsea and Man U is remarkable and makes you think what Wenger would do at a club with money.
Chelsea and United are sell outs in my opinion. Unfortuantely its the way Football is turning,
Yes you do make valid points. However you have to remember, success creates market. The day Man U stop performing on the pitch, people wont be interested in watching them.
India is a big market, and I know as I was born there and lived there for 25 years. Now i live in the UK. Irrespective of where I was I supported arsenal for more than 10 years now, when i watched them on star sports/espn, due to the style of play. Besides supporting Man U or Chelsea in India is considered akin to being a glory hunter. I know that, many of my friends in India follow EPL, they support those who win.
How can Indian market affect EPL? Advertising and merchandising revenue. In the future when there is a possibility of teams selling their own telecast rights, things could get interesting. Here I accept Arsenal may fall short. However, I do not envisage the tv rights to be individually sold for another few years. By then Arsenal will have consolidated to compete. And remember now we are creating our own stars from our own academy, we can send a second team overseas which will be equally good as the first team. At the moment Man U nor Chelsea can say that.
Another point the comment in news of the world about arsenal needing to sell is incorrect. Why would Arsene call up NOTW and tell them this? All d- grade reporting.
Also just to tell you a matter of fact, there is an Arsenal Club in Bombay, there is none Man U or Chelsea one. Now that says a lot about Arsenal’s reach in India.
Perhaps you should read this:
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7526018.stm
about Arsenal INVESTING in India’s footballers.
The closing paragraph:
“However India’s national coach, Englishman Bob Houghton, has often said that European clubs are more interested in promoting their commercial interests than helping the game in India.”
just about sums it up for me.
Arsenal just like to do things long-term and with a litle more class….
As a gooner, I rarely comment on rival sites, but as part doctor and part businessman I wish our board could read your article. You also failed to notice that both UTD and Real played in Saudi with lots of spectators pouring from Kuwait, Qatar, and Emirates. That is yet another market in a not-too-poor spot. Dare I say, but well done UTD albeit OFF THE FIELD! (I can’t stress that anymore, can I?)
For a team that doesn’t go around the world - The Gooners have done a lot to secure brand recognition via their football - I’ve seen their huge following in India, China, Thailand & all over Africa.
Stay in Austria - I say!!!
The market in india might offer massive numbers but is there any money?
The IPL couldn’t attract paying customers for most of the matches and the majority of the tickets were given away in the end.
Having 100 million fans in a country where only a very few have money might sound great but is unlikely to add much to the balance sheet.
Despite the efforts of the likes of United and chelsea the american market still hasn’t paid the dividends many thought it would, why should india be different?
different teams have different marketing strategies.
Manu and chelsea make long trips all over the world while
Arsenal plays the best football in the world.
i believe manu were smart enough to know that asians and africans will have more interest in football than americans. chelsea is just wasting their time. america has baseball, ice hockey , basketball, american football and their own football league which is gaining in popularity. i doubt chelsea will make breakthroughs in the U.S
it’s a waste of time. but then again kenyon should be applauded it was not a bad idea. but his wasting his time
Arsenal may not tour the globe, but they invest real money in these emerging markets so they can improve their football. Arsenal have academies in Thailand and India, etc. (”The Arsenal Way” program). This goodwill will eventually set Arsenal apart from the other major European clubs that just want to TAKE from these countries and not GIVE anything back. The citizens of these nations aren’t stupid, they will notice whose hearts are in the right place.
P.S. A fairly fresh squad is what allows Arsenal to even be able to compete with clubs that can use loans to buy players (Arsenal used loans to build a revenue generating asset without taxpayper money: big difference) and thus spend 4+ times as much money on players. Everyone’s situation is difference. Man U can go to Saudi Arabia mid-season and it not effect them and go on to overtake Arsenal and win the title. Arsenal tries that and they probably would have less points that Pool last season.
Sorry for another post, but Arsenal also have a Center of Excellence in Denver Colorado and will host an Arsenal Cup there as well where kids from all over America will come and participate. You don’t have to go and play meaningless pre-season games to develop a brand overseas. Programs where everyone wins is another way to do it.
how much marketing does a team need?
all teams are shown on a weekly basis on television isn’t that enough?
most fans who become fans have never seen their teams play live.
i think it’s better for arsenal to play semi-competitive games to reach match fitness before the season begins.
chelsea and manu can play in my backyard if they want, will that make me their fan?
i think the truth lies somewhere in between. Arsenal have a sophisticated longer term strategy for developing their profile in these emerging markets as you call them. This mirrors their overall business strategy - which may not provide the spectacular gains inthe short term but may stand us in better stead than manure and chelscum if they experience some form of economic shock
nonetheless, i think we are missing a trick somewhat and if i were an arsenal fan in say hk - there are many - i would go nuts to see the team in my home country.
maybe we should think about it. and it would give us a good excuse for some nice hols!
Yeah it’s a good point as we could surely do with the extra cash given what Wenger has said recently. However it is also well documented how methodical and stubborn Wenger can be and he is totally against these kind of promotional trips. I respect his decision and not being a football manager would not say whether it is the right choice or not.
A thought provoking article.
If anyone actually knew what marketing really worked and what didnt then everyone would be doing exactly the same thing.
The difference here is that Chelsea and Man U are trying to market and undertake these tours, rightly or wrongly, for commercial reasons (I may be wrong but I think I read that Chelsea are being paid £1m a game for their three games in China/Malaysia).
Arsenal are obviously above this sort of thing and their pre season is clearly for football purposes only (not that its helped their staying power over a long season in the last couple of years).
That is their choice but in not following the commerciality of others (and its many more clubs than just Chelsea and Man U) it helps perpetuate their poor little Arsenal who cannot compete with the nasty big boys complex which in turn takes pressure off their manager from actually being held accountable for not winning anything for years.
Basically you are whores
Stan you clearly totally miss the point regarding Wenger and Arsenal. Wenger keeps his job at Arsenal because he makes money on transfers, keeps us in the top four each year and had a huge hand in the rebranding of Arsenal going from being a team that plays awful football to one that plays in a way that is universally admired.
If any of this was to change his job would no doubt be in jeopardy. Had he demanded millions to spend on players and not delivered then he would have lost his job a long time ago. So enough of the ‘poor little Arsenal’ thankyou very much.
I’ve been thinking about these things too as a Gooner and as a marketing pro. I won’t go into Wenger’s philosophy of how to best prepare for a new season, some of the posters highlighted the main sporting reasons above.
In terms of marketing, I think you made some valid points, but some, to be honest, lack a bit of depth in insights into the overseas market. It’s also natural that a ManU fan might not know so much about Arsenal’s overseas endeavours. I lived in 5 Asian cities and travelled to many places in Asia for work/leisure before and I guess I can provide a bit more perspective, something we don’t see it out of the UK:
1. Arsenal have strategic alliances with one team in the US (Colorado Rapids in the MLS), one in Vietnam (Hoang Anh Gia Lai) who’s also got presence, one in Thailand (Bec Tero) and, like someone pointed above, a coaching programme in India. There’s also a deal with an African bank in supporting local grass roots efforts. These are a combination of technical/coaching/scouting efforts as well as marketing ones. e.g. the Thailand partners run the only official Arsenal store in Asia in a large shopping mall in Bangkok. The American partners are planning the Arsenal Cup that will bring together the smaller clubs that have relationships with Arsenal to the US for a tournament to raise the club’s profile.
Sources:
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=452437&cpid=703&title=Gunners+announce+deal+with+Vietnamese+club
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=news&article=447154&lid=NewsHeadline&Title=Arsenal+enter+partnership+with+Colorado+Rapids
http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/dec/21ars.htm
http://www.arsenal.com/article.asp?thisNav=News&article=492006&lid=Homepage+-+Have+you+seen…&Title=Arsenal+agree+partnership+deal+with+UBA
2. Online content partnership with a top portal in China. http://arsenal.tom.com/ to tap into the huge amount of Chinese football fans online. I believe most of the top clubs are doing these things already. No surprise there.
3. I understand where you’re coming from when you said Chelsea were aggressively promoting themselves in Asia. But to do marketing right, you have to get the timing right. Let me tell you one fact: they sold only about 15,000 tickets as of one day before the friendly match in Guangzhou, China. If you throw in the free tickets for sponsors and organisers, one of the major newspapers estimated that they would have about 30,000 “fans” at the stadium. (I know, don’t laugh..!) The organisers didn’t confirm the actual figure after the match which was held at a 80,000-capacity stadium. They’re in Macau today, I’m sure the sponsorships weren’t a problem. But what some of us in the UK don’t see is whether these trips really generated the crowd and buzz around the team enough to raise its profile significantly. We’re talking about a team which can’t sell out their own home ground. The local press are saying things like “Chelsea couldn’t generate the same crowd as ManU did.” (They played in the same Guangzhou stadium, ManU had a crowd of 50,000 last year.) In my own opinion, it was just a bit too late or too soon for Chelsea. They either should have done it when they were winning major trophies, or later when they become “hot” again. If you do it, you have to do it right to make it worthwhile. Money wise, these trips are usually underwritten by sponsors, so that’s covered. But as a promotion effort, not all clubs get the marketing effect they might have wanted.
4. Which leads to my next point. Fans in the UK look at these things from your own perspective, which is to give a club your lifelong support. Let’s not forget one fact about these overseas fans that there’s a trade-off between the quantity and the quality (for lack of a better word) of the support we’re talking about. Part of these fans who get a couple of shirts when a team visits them are glory hunters, if you like. One short trip is not going to swing it immediately. It takes much more effort and a more long-term vision to keep cultivating these markets. Which happens to be something Arsenal are trying to do - instead of going to a place for a few days, they set up these partnerships which last a lot longer and run a lot deeper into the local communities both for sporting and “branding” reasons.
5. Just an example: the Emirates Cup was a sold-out success last year. 60,000 tickets x 2 days = 5 million in revenue, at the minimum. Of course the club had to pay for teams like Inter, Valencia, Juve, Real, etc. to come to London. But the home team did not need to fly around the world to test themselves against some good teams in summer. Same logic applies to taking part in the Ajax Tournament - limited travelling, fairly strong opponents, good spectacle (for friendlies), decent promo, decent money. If you’re generating the revenue and profile back home, why travel?
So Arsenal aren’t making trips to those markets because the manager believes pre-season is meant for proper preparations; and that travelling around the globe, playing some weak oppponents and the players spending more time with the media than with each other on team building isn’t his idea of good preparations. The club also understands that and has come up with a lot of other initiatives (what I named above are just a few of them) as more long term investments.
Sorry for being so long-winded. Just a few thoughts that I thought could complement the article.
Hey, I just saw some more funny stuff about Chelsea’s “marketing” trip. Pics of Chelsea players in a Macau casino and my point of view here:
http://www.arsenal.vitalfootball.co.uk/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=9026&posts=27&mid=119065#M119065
mate//
india national sport - hockey not cricket//
relatively small fraternity of knowledgeable fans? we might be a small percentage but actual numbers are quite large.. agree tho, fans are getting younger and younger over here which is a good thing//
man utd vs pompey at abuja was barely half full… the goons make up a good share of revenue through the emirates cup// having been to highbury and emirates many times, i would never cough up 100 plus quid to watch the gooners anywhere else, the atmosphere just isn’t the same//
spot on borsilave…. corporates were practically throwing away tickets for ipl matches// doubt you would be able to fill a stadium of 60,000 in india//