Football has become a global business of sorts in recent times. Such is the allure of the beautiful game, that many of the world’s richest are progressively taking an interest in the game, for business reasons alone. Some of the mightiest companies of the world are heavily involved with football as a means of approaching billions of viewers across the world via advertisements and sponsorships.
The English game has seen a recent spurt in financial revenue since the onset of the new millennium. As viewership of the English Premier League increased around the world, thanks to the greater reach of broadcasts, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, money started flowing in like never before. Big names of the corporate world started lining up outside the top club’s to woo them with sponsorship deals which entitled big money.
The master of garnering revenue through marketing their ‘brand’ is Manchester United. The red half of Manchester, definitely possess brilliant financial acumen, as despite falling on hard times results wise, there has been no dearth in the flow of cash into United’s coffers. Here we look at some instances where United’s marketing brilliance has been on display.
1) The promotion of X-Men Apocalypse
United fans were taken by surprise, as a video surfaced online, quite out of the blue, featuring Wayne Rooney in an X-Men Apocalypse promotion. The United captain was seen teaming up with the mutants in their fight to stop global annihilation.
The trailer started off with Professor X, the key figure in the X-Men franchise, discussing mutants, and specifically those that play at Old Trafford. Rooney then features in an unconvincing cameo appearance, obviously lacking a flair for the dramatic. The trailer went online sometime in mid-May, and received millions of views on YouTube.
The video was in a way the public announcement of Manchester United’s sponsorship deal with 20th Century Fox, the production house. The agreement was announced on the 5 February this year, on United’s official website. The understanding provided 20th Century Fox with an opportunity to promote their upcoming movies such as Deadpool, Independence Day Resurgence and X-Men Apocalypse.
2) When Deadpool dropped in on the United squad
One of the most popular and well-acclaimed superhero movies of recent times, Deadpool took the world by storm at the start of 2016. Wit, Sarcasm, and a panache for the dramatic made Deadpool soar to the top of the box office collections right after its release. Also a 20th Century Fox production, Deadpool too teamed up with United prior to the release of the movie, starring in a trailer alongside David de Gea, Juan Mata, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Ander Herrera, Wayne Rooney and Chris Smalling.
The video shows a tense finish to a penalty shootout where Deadpool successfully converts the deciding spot kick to give his team Victory. Joy and elation post the decider is short lived however, as Deadpool is jolted back to reality from his dream.
Another marketing master-class by United, the video received a huge number of views on YouTube. The Ryan Reynold’s starrer became one of the highest movies of 2016, and a minor but not insignificant part of the popularity of this film is owed to Manchester United, thanks to their endorsement.
3) United featuring in Independence Day Resurgence
June saw the United squad feature in a trailer for Independence Day Resurgence. Independence Day had created waves back when the original film was released in the late 90s, thanks to the films special effects which were well ahead of the times. Despite the new age resurrection not faring well at the box office, the United squad did play their part in the promotion of the film.
The promo shows a lot of members of the United squad including Daley Bind, Chris Smalling, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and co. forming an elite flying squadron, created to combat alien forces invading the Earth.
The United players fly into the throes of danger, launching a heroic assault on the alien spaceship, and saving planet Earth in the process. With loads of comic elements spattered throughout the trailer, it was a fun watch and received over 200,000 views on Youtube. The highlight was Daley Blind pointing out how Jeff Goldblum was mispronouncing his name.
4) The mega sponsorship deal with Adidas
United have not been the all-conquering force of the yesteryears in recent times but that did not stop Adidas splashing the cash on them in a massive sponsorship deal. In 2014, when Louis van Gaal took over after a disastrous spell under David Moyes, many were questioning whether United had lost way too much ground in those seven months. It was prophesied that the club would take years to rebuild themselves after much of what Sir Alex Ferguson had done was undone under Moyes.
However, Adidas’ emergence as United’s kit sponsor came completely out of the blue and shocked the footballing world with the sheer amount of money that the agreement would entitle United to. A ten-year deal worth £750 million is one of the highest in the world, and it once again proved that despite failing on the pitch, United were a proven money-spinning machine, and a reasonable investment almost guaranteed to deliver profits.
5) The international pre-season tours
Much before the emergence of the International Champions’ Cup, the Manchester United hierarchy realised the financial potential of playing pre-season matches abroad. While pre-season fixtures are organised by every club to get their players match fit so that they hit the ground running with the onset of the league season, it is also a mode of making healthy profits for clubs.
Manchester United hit two birds with one stone, in the mid-2000s as they started touring faraway lands in Asia, Africa and South America during pre-season training. While the players got some much-needed game time, the club increased its fan base across the world which meant increased revenue through avenues such as shirt sales.
While global tours have become the norm for most of Europe’s top clubs nowadays, Manchester United are widely regarded as being the pioneers of this marketing strategy. Tours in China and South Africa reaped particular dividends, as they coincided with the English Premier League witnessing a spurt in viewership in those regions.
