Southampton FC: We want to engage with our fans like a brand, not a football club

For anyone interested in the business and marketing side of things:

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/10/03/southampton-fc-we-want-engage-our-fans-brand-not-football-club

While this might seem the antithesis to what most supporters want (!) it sounds like they are getting savvy - investing in building mechanisms to build business.

For anyone interested in the business and marketing side of things:

http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/10/03/southampton-fc-we-want-engage-our-fans-brand-not-football-club

 

While this might seem the antithesis to what most supporters want (!) it sounds like they are getting savvy - investing in building mechanisms to build business.

We'll be the Southampton Saints before too long...(nooooooo...)

We'll be the Southampton Saints before too long...(nooooooo...)

That's OK as long as we don't have to play in Blue!

That's OK as long as we don't have to play in Blue!

No problem it will be green

"The club was named the fastest growing football brand in the world after rising in value by 89 per cent in the past year to $183bn, according to the Brand Finance Football 50"

Is that really the value of the club today I know we were only worth 3m sterling when bought but surely that hasn't grown to 183 Billion dollars! that cant possibly be right and would put us amongst the top dot coms in terms of capital value if true!

"The club was named the fastest growing football brand in the world after rising in value by 89 per cent in the past year to $183bn, according to the Brand Finance Football 50"

 

Is that really the value of the club today I know we were only worth 3m sterling when bought but surely that hasn't grown to 183 Billion dollars! that cant possibly be right and would put us amongst the top dot coms in terms of capital value if true!

Valuing a brand is different to valuing a business. Let me look up a definition for how these particular valuations were calculated, but in the meantime, here's the Brand Finance Football 50's summary of the Saints performance:

The Saints Go Marching On

Southampton is another club to have benefitted. The Saints’ brand value has grown more than any other this year, up 89% to $183 million. However Southampton has been more than a passive beneficiary of booming broadcast revenues. Despite changing manager twice and selling many of their top players to larger clubs, it has gone from strength to strength since promotion in 2012. The club’s apparent knack for indentifying talented young players at a reasonable cost and developing them into stars has enabled it to climb the Premier League rankings whilst turning a tidy profit. Ronald Koeman has masterminded a 7th place finish that means a club facing administration in 2009 and playing in the third tier of English football in 2010 is just two points behind Liverpool, a club with an enduringly popular global brand. Southampton can look forward to European football next season and the chance to build its own brand on the international stage.

Southampton’s recent rise is one of the features that explain the popularity of the Premier League. Though the Bundesliga is efficiently and equitably run, arguably offering a better deal for fans, and La Liga has the drama of El Classico, neither can match the Premier League for drama. Three different teams have now won the title in the last three years. Though five or six dominate the Champions’ league places, any of these big beasts can be toppled by dogged opposition from provincial minnows that fight until the end of injury time.

PDF download here:

http://brandfinance.com/images/upload/bf_football_50_low_res.pdf

Edit: just spotted the methodology for valuing the brand is in the link above, pages 16-17.

Good stuff. Thanks Lou.

Surely the brand is going to best served if its perceived as a club as opposed to just another product? Club = loyal customers. A brand tends to get deserted once its not top or fashionable.

Surely the brand is going to best served if its perceived as a club as opposed to just another product? Club = loyal customers. A brand tends to get deserted once its not top or fashionable.

What else would it be perceived as?

A well managed brand ensures it remains relevant and popular.

I have missed Lou. These dark autumn nights just aren't the same without her/him.

"The club was named the fastest growing football brand in the world after rising in value by 89 per cent in the past year to $183bn, according to the Brand Finance Football 50"

 

Is that really the value of the club today I know we were only worth 3m sterling when bought but surely that hasn't grown to 183 Billion dollars! that cant possibly be right and would put us amongst the top dot coms in terms of capital value if true!

Whoever wrote that needs new glasses - the report say's $183m, not $183bn ... !!

Also, quite a few mistakes in there such as, "had of marketing".

Most people in the workplace swap out 'engage with' for 'speak to'. I haven't heard anyone say 'in the future' for many a moon. Maybe going forward I will

so they'll be dressing up as jesus and preaching on youtube then?