The Industry Column – 25 January

Premiership football has reached iconic status in some far-flung
corners fo the world where the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea are
followed with the same fervour by fans abroad as they are at home. Ashley
Goodall, managing director, Saatchi & Saatchi Design explains why UK
premiership passion is not lost in translation…

British football clubs have loyal and passionate fans who turn up week in
week out to watch some of the greatest and worst football on the planet in the
best and worst weather.

But why would Nigerians and Singaporeans living on the other side of the
world be passionate about teams they’ve never seen live?

And why does Manchester United have more supporters in China than in England?

In the last decade emerging economies have evolved way beyond
Coca-Colanisation to the point that people now look for more sophisticated
cultural icons to express their western-ness.  Football is a readily available
way for people to tap into the western culture they aspire.

In Lagos, for all its craziness and chaos, young people are as caught up in
Facebook and YouTube as their western counterparts.  The attraction of the
English Premiership is huge and provokes more interest than the World Cup. 

On Premiership days when the big four are playing, Nigeria enjoys 50% less
traffic on its major roads.  It’s a social event and enjoyed at home via
satellite TV, in bars and at friends houses, accompanied by shouting, drinking
and a near obsessive passion.

Twenty years ago when the first Nigerian player joined the English
premiership, Nigerians realised their dreams could come true and that this
apparently glamorous lifestyle is available to them.

The global nature of today’s media further fuels the desire and need to feel
part of the global community.

Premiership clubs have become global media properties in their own right and
brands that translate well across borders.

For long-term survival in today’s consumer empowered world, brands need to be
loved by consumers.  Lovemarks are the brands, events and experiences that
inspire loyalty beyond reason. 

For most fans, their football club always has been and always will be a
Lovemark.  People are about 80% emotional and 20% rational.  The emotional
response is what drives football fans to remain loyalty to their team when their
club is relegated, when there’s a new manager who’s not performing and when they
disagree with their club’s latest transfer deal.

Loyalty this intense enables brands to stretch into new categories and
services more easily.  Football clubs have benefited from this loyalty and enjoy
a much higher share of wallet than commoditised brands in other sectors.

By understanding what football represents to people in other markets and what
drives this loyalty beyond reason to the sport and their club, English
Premiership clubs can unlock significant commercial gain in developing nations.