Presentation on Sports Management & Sports Marketing by Bert Van der Auwera for a lecture at the Ghent University in Belgium.

1. INTERNATIONAL
SPORT(S) MARKETINGLecture at the Ghent University, January 22, 2016
Bert Van der Auwera
bert@rsca.be | @Bert_VdA

2. one
THE BASICS

3. THE SPORTS MARKET IS UNFOLDED BY SPORT(S)MARKETING
Definition?
• Marketing of sports
• Marketing through sports
Gray and McEvoy, 2005
• Domains of Sports Marketing
Fullerton and Russel Merz, 2008

4. Sale Image
Spectator Sports Participation Sports
B2C B2B
Sports Products Non-Sports Products
Traditional Approach Integrated Approach
Licensor Partner
Sponsor Partner
Athlete / Club Organisation
Theme Based
Alignment Based
Product Based
Sports Based
Domains of Sports Marketing

7. Whatever you want to do…
KNOW WHO
YOU ARE
(And write it down in a mission statement)

9. The Mission Statement
• is sacred
• and the basis of your framework
• which determines your playground
• for everything you do
• and anything you want to achieve.

10. History can’t be changed
• 1905
• Champions: 1955 … 2005/6/10/15
• To 2nd division in 1975 ‘til 1989
• Financial troubles
• Sold to Abramovic in 2003

11. But the future is yours

12. If you want to work for a brand
but you can’t live with its past,
then don’t lose any more time
and find yourself another job.

13. KNOW YOUR FANS

14. Know your fans
• no two fans are alike
• they all are client and manager in one person
• you have determined the strategy
• they have an opinion
• use it to strengthen your brand

15. …ALL YOUR FANS

16. Know your fans
• not all fans are your friends
• not all fans share your values
• fans can destroy your image
• dare to stand up for yourself
• it’s your house, you decide who’s welcome

17. Know where you are and who’s around you
• know where you operate
• know your opponents
• get a stable spot in your home market
• use that stability to develop yourself
• so you can grow and expand
• no homebase = no base at all

18. Your origin will always be part of you
• be proud of it
• use the best of it
• claim it
• market it
• it’s the start of your globalisation

19. two
THE STRATEGY

20. Never forget…
YOU’LL BE OUT
ONE DAY
(It’s your role to make sure your brand won’t)

21. Whatever you want to do…
KNOWLEDGE
IS KING
(And lady luck has been replaced by data management as queen)

22. Individual, linear data Strategy
fans and clubs clients and brands
Analytics

23. Example 1
• Season ticket holder
• Regular ticket buyer
• Irregular ticket buyer
• First time ticket buyer
Different approach but…
…is there a diversified focus?
And what about invitees,
former ticket buyers,…?
Definition of some type of fan

24. Case: RSCA youngsters

25. Case: RSCA youngsters

26. Case: RSCA youngsters

27. Data management strategies
• are crucial to every other strategic decision
• are a corner stone of whatever CRM system you use
• CRM is a corner stone of your marketing
• CRM gives you the basis to turn your fans into clients
• But… bad data management = bad CRM = bad results

29. New expectations

30. New playing field
• you have to win your audience each match night
• the number of options is growing constantly
• consumers pick based on a number of criteria
• but they never pick the option that doesn’t respect them

32. New possibilities

33. three
THE BUSINESS

34. Sports clubs, sports brands…
• are companies
• operating in a market
• competing with other companies
• but sell something all business models hate: emotions

36. THERE’S ONLY #1

37. It’s hard to get to the top, but it’s much
harder to stay there.
• sports business is about competition
• in a competition, only the best wins
• so try to be the best
• but know your own limits
• and grow step by step
• or all you’ll ever do, is fail.

38. Know your possibilities
• when your Mission Statement determines
your framework and your vision your goals,
your budget determines your strategy
• work with it and try to make it grow,
complaining about it won’t help anyway.

39. Know your focus and build around KPI’s
Experience
Differentiate
Personalize
Connect
Unite
Quality

40. Experience

42. AND THEN EVERYTHING CHANGES

43. Disruptive moments change the playing field
• Live television & Pay TV
• Bosman arrest
• UEFA Champions League
• Financial Fair Play
• The end of Third Party Ownership ?

44. The influence of live broadcasting - EPL
• In 1970, the FA Cup final between Chelsea v Leeds United
was watched by a record audience of 20 million people.
• In 1983, the first live match from the Football League
since 1960 was screened on ITV.

45. The influence of live broadcasting - EPL
• In 1992, Sky acquired the rights to broadcast live fixtures
from the newly-formed Premier League in a deal worth
£304 million.
• 2012: BT & Sky - £1.006 / season
• 2015: BT & Sky – £1.712 / season

46. The Bosman Arrest - Background
• Belgian football player Jean-Marc Bosman wanted to
change clubs at the end of his contract in 1990, but the
high transfer money asked by his ‘former’ club made this
impossible.
• He went to court and win his case in 1995.

47. The Bosman Arrest - Impact
• From 1995 on, players could change clubs for free at the
end of their contract and nationality clauses ended.
• Players gained the power to negotiate: “pay or I leave”.
• The biggest (and richest) leagues/clubs started to attract
the best players.

48. TV money & The Bosman Arrest – Best friends
• Due to the growing money coming in from TV, leagues as
the EPL could pay higher wages to players than others.
• Due to the freedom to change clubs, the best players
went to the best paying clubs.

49. The ultimate league with the ultimate money:
THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
• UEFA launched the UCL in 1992 (UEFA Cup 1 before)
• Two big disruptive changes:
• Group Stages (1992) – more top TV matches
• Opening for non-Champions – more famous clubs

50. The ultimate league with the ultimate money:
THE UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
• 2013 UCL Final: 360 million viewers
• 2012-2015 prize money: € 910 million (2000: € 397m)
• € 500,7m fix + € 409,6m “market pool”
• 2015-2018: +30% but with higher ‘compensation’
towards UEFA Europa League

51. UEFA Financial Fair Play to avoid a “banking crisis for clubs”
• Voted in 2009 and implemented from 2011/12 season
• Sanctions to be taken against clubs who exceed spending,
over several seasons, within a set budgetary framework.
• To reduce the huge debts of 3 of the 5 biggest leagues
• To reduce the impact of “investors without limits” (?)

52. FIFA ending the Third Party Ownership
• Voted in 2014 and implemented from May 1, 2015
• “Third parties” owned “partial rights on players” leading
to the question “who decides on the career of the player”
and leading to criticism of “trading of human beings”.
• Impact will be huge (mainly South America, Portugal,...)

53. AND THEN… THE WORLD OPENED

54. Sports are part of a globalised world
• new investors
• new markets
• astronomic budgets
• more and more brands shifted from advertisers to owners
• sports have become an industry

56. New investors … with new scenarios

57. International Sports Marketing … by clubs
• The Manchester City case
Vs
• The Manchester United case

58. Manchester City
• Owned by Sheikh Mansour Al Nahyan (since 2008)
• Abu Dhabi United Group
• Subsidiary: City Football Group (13% sold to Chinese funds)
• Manchester City FC (100%)
• New York City FC (w. Yankee Global Ent.)
• Melbourne City FC (100%)
• Yokohama F. Marinos (w. Nissan)

59. Manchester United
• Owned by [Malcolm] Glazer (USA) (since 2003)
• Also owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (NFL)
• Latest expansion:
Manchester United TV broadcasting in China (2016)

60. Manchester City
• One brand, many clubs
• Expanding by
local investments
• Building network
of stars
Manchester United
• One brand, one club
• Expanding by
international distribution
• Building network
around stars
Same strategy as…
Tomorrowland

63. THE IMPACT OF REGULATIONS

64. Many “disruptive moment” are an outcome of (changed)
regulations… So, know your legal framework
• it’s looking over your shoulder at whatever you do
• you can try to ignore it but it will knock you down
faster than anything else
• so study it, analyse it, and never forget about it
• and anticipate on changes: be ready first to adapt!

65. Legislation is everywhere
• Local
• National
• European
• Sports specific (disciplinary / arbitration)
• Business
• Commercial
• IP
• Safety & Security
• and so many more…

66. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE
EXTERNAL FACTORS

67. You don’t operate alone
• financial & economical crisis
• investors have smaller budgets, but they want bigger returns
• you know your contacts, but seldom do you know the
decision makers
• the personal connection is gone forever

68. In a globalised world…
• know what your investors want
• adapt yourself to the market
• analyse all possible risks
• create multiple strategies
• because anything can happen and you can only control yourself,
never the others

69. In today’s sports
• there is no existing risk management instrument
• there is no existing rating system
• there is no overall licensing system
• UEFA Financial Fair Play might become a first step

70. Can consumers predict the market?
Track your fans’ actions shift your investments
spending matrix develop towards the spendings

71. four
INNOVATION

72. USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO
INNOVATE
(AND TO DEVELOP
INNOVATIVE IDEAS FROM OTHERS)

73. Check where your fans are

74. And follow them

75. THE TIMES HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE
EXCITING
(SO GO OUT THERE AND EXPLORE)

77. But… involve your fans
if you want them to become customers…

78. USE YOUR INNOVATION TO
BUILD KNOWLEDGE
USE YOUR KNOWLEDGE TO
INNOVATE

79. Q&A
Bert Van der Auwera
bert.van.der.auwera@rscanderlecht.be
@Bert_VdA