Marketing Analysis of FIFA - Case Study Example

Running Head: Market Analysis Market Analysis Customer’s name: Institution: Customer’s Course Tutor’s Name 2nd October, 2013 Executive Summary This report offers a comprehensive market analysis of FIFA. FIFA is the international governing body of Futsal, football as well as beach soccer. The federation’s headquarters is based in Switzerland. FIFA is usually responsible of football and mostly in the major international tournaments. The main analyses that will be carried out include the PESTLE analysis, micro analysis as well as competitor analysis. Lastly there will be a conclusion and recommendation. Contents Executive Summary 2 Contents 3 Macro analysis 4 Political and legal factors 4 Economic 5 Social 5 Technological 6 Environmental 6 Micro Environment 6 Customers 7 Employees 7 Suppliers 8 Media 8 Competitor Analysis 8 Conclusion and Recommendations 9 References 10 Bahadur, N. & Patrick, W. (2007). Not Just Effective but Efficient: A New Blueprint for Marketing in an Era of Fragmented Media. New York: Booz Allen Hamilton 10 FIFA official website. (2013). Retrieved October 2, 2013, from http://www.fifa.com/ 10 Smith, D. (2009, November 27). Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact. The Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/27/football-world-cup-carbon-footprint 11 Macro analysis The macro analysis of a company mainly covers all those factors that have an impact on the various operations of an organization. Macro analysis mainly covers the political, social, cultural, environmental, legal and economic factors. PESTLE analysis is usually viewed as being a useful tool that most organizations make use of for them to be able to understand the environment in it is operating in or intends to operate in (Bahadur & Patrick, 2007). Through pestle analysis the organization seems to have a better understanding of their environment and thus a way they may put measures in place to minimize the threats. Political and legal factors Political factors are mainly concerned with the degree of government involvement in the operations of trade. Political factors tend to define the informal and formal rules under which organizations ought to operate in. Thus based on these FIFA will be affected by a number of political factors. One major political factor that is likely to affect FIFA is the elections. In instances where there is not stability in a country due to elections FIFA operations would not be successful (Laughey, 2007). One factor is the environmental regulations that are usually placed by the government in regard to the environment. Based on this FIFA is supposed to comply with the set regulations. The other political factor is related to taxation. Economic The aspects that are usually discussed under this factor include growth rate, inflation as well as the exchange rates. Economic factors are usually influenced by the various government and political policies. Irrespective of the fact that government policies and economic conditions are closely linked, both of them tend to have an influence on other environmental factors that are likely to affect FIFA (Jenkins, 2006). It has been found that in a way FIFA has acted as a driver of economic growth. Also FIFA is also affected by the exchange rates and taxation that is usually imposed to them. The officials of the federation are mainly from different parts of the world and thus many countries will benefit. Also in cases where the supporters of the matches are from various countries, the host country will receive a lot of foreign currencies and this will in a way boost the balance of payment (The Economic Impact of the Olympic Games, 2004). Social The social factor mainly encapsulates tastes and demands which tend to vary from either disposable income, fashion as well as other general changes and these can offer both threats and opportunities for organizations. A major social issue that is facing FIFA is the aging of players (Jain, 2009). Some players are old and they are forced to stop playing and thus this seems to be a major aspect that is facing the federation. FIFA has also connected to a great number of people and most especially football fans (Sandvoss, 2005). Individuals have interacted with each other all over the globe due to football and they are usually of different age groups. Also in the social context FIFA tend to offer a lot of employment opportunities for players from different parts of the globe. Technological Technology is usually viewed as being an important aspect in gaining competitive advantage and is also a major driver of globalization. FIFA has made use of technology in that they usually update all the information related to the federation in their official website (Boyle & Haynes, 2004). Viewers who are also conversant with the internet are also being able get all the necessary information about the performance through the internet. Also through technology matches that are organized by FIFA are also aired in countries which are far away from the country that the match is taking place. Also through technology the viewers usually receive timely mobile updates on the events that have been organized by FIFA (FIFA official website, 2013). Environmental Environmental factors are the other category of the macro analysis that tends to affect a business. This category is mainly comprised if all factors that tend to be directly linked determined or affected by the environment surrounding the business (Smith, 2009). FIFA operations mainly have adverse effects on the environment. For example the world cup that was held in South Africa was said to generate 2.75m tonnes in relation to carbon emissions and this seemed to be higher than the earlier events (FIFA official website, 2013). Based on this it is clearly evident that the sporting event has a great environmental impact. Micro Environment The society mainly refers to football as being the most popular type of sport. Another important aspect that is mostly left out is the view of football as a business. In the micro environment the aspects to be discussed will include customers, suppliers, media and the employees. Customers Business needs to keep a close look to the customers for them to be able to monitor their needs and anticipate the various ways of developing products to be able to meet the customer needs. Customers in the micro environment of football mainly refer to the spectators or the fans and thus they are the users of the product in football business (Crawford, 2004). Based on this FIFA seems to have a wide range of customers and mostly from all over the world. This greatly relies on the fact that almost every country usually participates and even though they are factored out they are usually eager to watch the teams that went to the finals. This in relation to customers FIFA seems to have a wide range of them irrespective of their age, cultures, countries of origin and gender. The football players can also be termed as being the customers since they are usually viewed as the source of sponsorship. Employees Employees seem to be an important aspect of any business venture. In instances when the employees are not there or they are not working as expected the organization is likely to fail. The employees in this case are the players (Horne, 2006). A major aspect that is closely linked to the modern day players is that beside the high wages that they earn is the agents which may make a player to change from one club to another. Suppliers Suppliers seem to be important elements in almost all industries. Suppliers in relation to FIFA are the football players and they seem to be the main factors behind the existence of the federation (Coleman, Gratton & Shibli, 2006). The interest that is usually depicted by the football players to participate in the leagues as well as their various professional skills mainly has a great influence of the league and club. The football schools can also be viewed as the suppliers; this is based on the fact that they usually supply professional players in the various leagues. Media The media tend to play a major role in enhancing the support of a team or a federation. This is based on the fact that the media have experienced dramatic change and the media that exist today offers a new and interactive form of media (Blain & Bernstein, 2003). The fans are able to get timely information on the matches and they are also able to watch the matches as they are being played. Competitor Analysis Competitor analysis is mainly applied so as to assess the weaknesses as well as the strengths that are usually posed by the current as well as potential competitors in the industry. This analysis usually offers unpleasant circumstances in identifying the threats and opportunities. Competitor analysis usually plays a major and leading role in that it helps the management for example the officials of FIFA to be able to understand their competitive advantage relative to their competitors, it also gives them a clear and concise understanding so the competitors, present, past and future strategies and it also helps in forecasting any returns that may need to be made to assist them in the future. Irrespective of the fact that FIFA has been in operation for a considerable number of years it is likely to face competition from other federations (Clark, Kuhn & Grunig, 2010). A good example of these is the Non-FIFA confederations. Thus, FIFA ought to set the clear rules clear for their international games for them to achieve a greater level of support from the fans and also to maintain the players in the international leagues. Conclusion and Recommendations In conclusion, prior to engaging in the sport it is essential to look at both the micro and macro factors that are likely to affect your business. In regard to this the players ought to know about the environmental impact of their sport. A recommendation for this is to try to reduce the level of carbon emission for as to have a sustainable environment. New entrants in the business need to assess the possible strengths and weakness and their competitors in the market. Through thus they will be able to develop products that can compete favorably with the already existing ones. Through this they will be able to gain a competitive advantage. References Bahadur, N. & Patrick, W. (2007). Not Just Effective but Efficient: A New Blueprint for Marketing in an Era of Fragmented Media. New York: Booz Allen Hamilton Blain, N., & Bernstein, A. (2003). Sport, Media, Culture: Global and Local Dimension. London: Frank Cass. Boyle, R., & Haynes, R. (2004). Football in the New Media Age. London: Routledge. Clark, A., Kuhn, R., & Grunig, R, (2010). Process-based Strategic Planning. New York: Springer. Coleman, R., Gratton, C., & Shibli, S. (2006). The Economic Impact of Major Sports Events: A Review of Ten Events in the UK. The Editorial Board of the Sociological Review. Retrieved on October 2, 2013 from http://files.campus.edublogs.org/caledonianblogs.net/dist/d/120/files/2011/02/ratton.pdf Crawford, G. (2004). Consuming Sport: Fans, Sport and Culture. London: Routledge FIFA official website. (2013). Retrieved October 2, 2013, from http://www.fifa.com/ Horne, J. (2006). Sport in Consumer Culture. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Jain, A. (2009). Marketing. New Delhi: V.K (India) Enterprises. Jain, T., Trehan, M., & Trehan, R. (2009). Business Environment . New Delhi: V.K (India) Enterprises. Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press. Laughey, D. (2007). Key Themes in Media Theory. Maidenhead: Open University Press Sandvoss, C. (2005). Fans: The Mirror of Consumption. Cambridge: Polity. Smith, D. (2009, November 27). Football to footprints: World Cup's carbon impact. The Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2009/nov/27/football-world-cup-carbon-footprint The Economic Impact of the Olympic Games. (2004). Price water house Coopers European Economic Outlook. Retrieved on October 2, 2013 from http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~rosenl/sports%20Folder/Economic%20Impact%20of%20Olympics%20PWC.pdf . Read More