Last week Karl Lusbec wrote about the 20 Best Known European Football Brands. The article referenced a Sport+Markt 2009-2010 study of brand recognition among football fans in the top five markets (UK, Germany, Spain, France & Italy). You can read the report yourself here.
I thought it might be interesting to look at this data and try to extrapolate from it which club brands were the most powerful. Unscientific of course, but I wanted to see to what degree being aligned with a specific club (or clubs) is a factor, in addition to sponsoring tournaments like the FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League or UEFA European Championships. So, let’s take a look. Here’s the 2009 Delloitte & Touche Money League of clubs* along with the brands listed in the Sport+Markt survey (and the brands ranking in that survey) associated with them:
1. Real Madrid – adidas (1), Coca-Cola (5), Audi (8), bwin (9)
2. Manchester United – Nike (2), AIG (6), Audi (8),
3. FC Barcelona – Nike (2), Audi (8), Unicef (15)
4. Bayern Munich – adidas (1), Coca-Cola (5), Audi (8)
5. Chelsea – adidas (1), Samsung (10), Heineken (20)
6. Arsenal – Nike (2), Emirates (5)
7. Liverpool – adidas (1), Carlsberg (7)
8. AC Milan – adidas (1), bwin (9)
9. AS Roma -
10. Inter Milan – Nike (2)
11. Juventus – Nike (2)
12. Olympique Lyonnais – Umbro (16), Orange (18)
13. Schalke 04 – adidas (1)
14. Tottenham Hotspur – Puma (3), Carlsberg (7)
15. Hamburger SV – adidas (1), Emirates (5)
16. Olympique Marseille – adidas (1), Orange (18)
17. Newcastle United – adidas (1)
18. VfB Stuttgart – Puma (3), Coca-Cola (4)
19. Fenerbahce – adidas (1), Audi (8)
20. Manchester City – Umbro (16)
*I looked for the list of official club sponsors on official team websites as of February 2010.
Who from the Sport+Markt list weren’t represented by a club from the Delloitte & Touche Money League clubs?
11. Reebok
12. Opel (Read this Sport Business story from 2001 calling them the ‘most successful shirt sponsor’)
13. Vodafone
14. Ford – Champions League
17. MasterCard – Champions League
19. Sony – Champions League
So, the two odd men out appear to be Reebok and Vodafone. Now, Vodafone is a massive sponsor of sport and had a run with Man Utd a while back from which they may still be seeing a halo effect. Reebok sponsors Ryan Giggs (Man Utd), Thierry Henry (Barca) and formally kitted out Liverpool and Man City. AS Roma are the only club in the top 20 not aligned with a big sponsor.
I think a big winner here may be Audi. Not a name I immediately associated with big time European football, I was surprised to see them so high. But they have a variety of partnerships with leading clubs, allowing them to also create the Audi Cup in July 2009, which featured ManU, Bayern Munich and AC Milan along with Boca Juniors of Argentina. I don’t think they’ve spent the same type of money as some of the other top 10 brands, bet I suspect they are reaping rewards from their associations. Look too for Umbro to move up the charts if the English National Team can make a run in the 2010 FIFA World Cup this summer.
well spotted Miguel, has been changed!
OMG!!! Casillas plays for Real Madrid, not Barca!!
Regarding the Reebok brand, could it be that with Reebok being part of the adidas parent company after a takeover several years back , the Reebok sponsorship strategy lies in other geographical markets beyond Europe?
Traditionally, the adidas brand has had a strong presence in the European sports sponsorship market, particularly with football, and I recall that when the takeover went through, several football clubs switched their sponsorship deals with Reebok to the parent company adidas.
Reebok has strong presence in the US sports market, with the brand holding exclusive rights to uniforms and apparel in the NFL, MLB and NHL (after buying CCM) and also sponsoring star players in these leagues. The brand also holds strong sponsorship presence in India via cricket and football in Australia.
Good article though and highlights the lure of football clubs as massive brand opportunities.
Great article Rick,
The top 10 clubs have understood their power as a brand and are fully exploiting it. To me, it goes beyond traditional sponsorship, as you rightly pointed out the platform Audi have to create football tournament (the Audi Cup) with global teams. I will not be surprise if the next Audi Cup takes place in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and in the next 3-4 years in India. Global clubs are multinationals and they do understand very well how to 1) reach out to their fans, and 2) maximise revenue and global exposure.