Melbourne City Football Club - Marketing Strategies - Case Study Example

Sponsorship Proposal Names Institution Affiliation Table of contents Contents Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Cover Letter 4 Sports property details 6 Target market details 8 Promotional plan 10 Benefits 12 Creative leverage 13 Budget, investment, and evaluation 14 Marketing plan 16 SWOT analysis 17 Pestle analysis 18 References. 22 MELBOURNE CITY FOOTBALL (SOCCER) CLUB (MCFC) Executive Summary Melbourne City Football Club is based in Melbourne, Australia. The club's history dates back to 2009 and has been in the national premier league under the Football Federation of Australia (FFA). The club was founded in Melbourne's Heart in 2009; the ownership was newly acquired by City Football Group together with MS Australia. The official administration complex is located at Latrobe University and our home stadium AAMI Park that boasts 30, 052 seat capacity (McDaniel, 1999). MCFC have a well-orchestrated and strategic partnership put in place to ensure the success of partnership deals. We have different levels of sponsorship deals that accommodate all interested sponsors. The two different levels of sponsorship are affordable and form the basis of a long-term relationship. To ensure the success of the partnership, MCFC carries out evaluation and assessment just to ensure all the parties honor their obligations as stipulated in the partnership document. MCFC adopts various channels to sell the sponsors brands to our millions of fan around the world. Stadium signage’s, clubs apparel, Social media marketing, organization of club events and print media are some of the avenues that MCFC promotes our sponsors to our global fans. MCFC has lots of corporate social responsibility events that help the club to give back to the community. MCFC have partnered with Sports Development Program, which is a joint initiative with SEDA that offers children of between 11 and 13 years old a sports-based curriculum as a way to nurture their footballing talents. The students are privileged to make their career paths for their future or continue their academics. The club values the community and supports initiatives and social pillars of the society such as the schools, local grass root football clubs, and peaceful coexistence among community members (Tietjens, 1957). Cover Letter 16th February 2015. Smith Allen Director of Commercial and Operations Audi, United Kingdom. Dear Sir It's my pleasure to write to you expressing our interest in mutual engagement between MCFC and your company. We are delighted that your company has been in the forefront in supporting the community projects that are driven by the philosophy of bettering the lives of all communities, irrespective of their status in the society. MCFC have the same vision and objective of raising the standards of the community through sporting. We aim to tap and retain the best talents in football, not only in Melbourne or Victoria, but we aim to go global, not even the sky will be the limit. Our club has a membership of 11750 registered members, and only an average of 43% subscribes for their membership. The average fan base per match day is about 15600 fans. . The club has in the recent past struggled financially due to low membership and fan base that leads to low gate collection (Amis & Cornwell, 2005, p. 73).Our budget includes the player’s wages and allowances, training kits and playing kits, staff salaries and other administrative costs. The membership fees, gate collection and sponsorship from the Australian Football Commission are the only sources of the capital which only constitutes 65% of the total budget. These leave a deficit of 35% of the total budget leaving us in dire need of sponsorship. MUFC have taken the time to understand your vision, missions and objectives in the running Audi Inc. and we believe we have similar goals and aspirations in running the organizations. MUFC believes in a two way beneficial and mutual partnership which is fair to all the parties involved. We strategi es our marketing plans to fit all the stakeholders involved in the deal. MUFC understands that sustaining the sponsorship that success is paramount and the ability to meet the agreed marketing performance. MCFC have put measures to ensure the investment from our sponsors gets the best returns from the club through promotions run in our avenues such as the stadium signage’s, clubs website, and club events. The club has put strict measures to prevent ambush marketing from our sponsor’s business competitors. The club will display the company’s official logo on the front part of the apparel that will be visible to millions of MCFC supporters across the world. MCFC will customize and brand parking lots that will be accessible to thousands of match day spectators. A link to the official Audi website is available MCFC web site to make it for r online followers to access the website easily. Promotions will also involve the digital wall that can catch the attention of all the viewers. As we place the advertisements on the electronic and print media, the sponsors are always included as our official partners. Sports property details Melbourne club football based in Melbourne Club is a professional football club based in Australia, which competes in the elite league competition under the Football Federation of Australia. MCFC was founded in 2009 as Melbourne Heart until by 2014 when the clubs ownership was transferred to city football holdings in partnership with Holdings M.S. After the government dissolved the national soccer league in 2003, the professional footballers strategized on o revamping the league two years later under the management of a new branded Australian Premier League. The members proposed the formation of two Melbourne based clubs that formed the foundation of the competition and to represent the huge population of Melbourne population. In 2004, Melbourne Victory won the license as the only Melbourne based club after the football federation of Australia adopted a “one city, one team” policy to compete in the A league (McCullough & Scott, 2013). In 2007, Victoria minister put forward the proposal of having a second Melbourne-based club to be based at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. These speculations progressed until February 2007 when South Melbourne FC went on courting for investors to become the second Melbourne-based elite club to compete in the A league. In 2008, Businessman Collins DeLutis expressed the interest in the new club. He was granted to be the sole holder of the s3cond license that held the bid name Melbourne city. The FFA CEO raised the possibility of expanding the league to 12 teams in readiness for the 2008-12009 season and a third Melbourne bid that was tentatively known as Melbourne's Heart. The bid was successful and granted the league’s 11th license. The club joined the elite league in 2010-2011vseason (Abratt, Clayton, & Pitt, 1987). The first game of the season was against central coast mariners at the home ground AAMI losing the game. The hearts finished the first ever season in level with Newcastle Jets but failed to make it to the top six. In 2011, the club took place in Hawaiian Islands Invitational tournament. The club has always given a chance to the young lads a chance to prove them in the pitch. The season ended well for the Hearts as position 3 with 21 out of thirty. Unfortunately, the coach by then John Vant ship left the club at the end of the season. In 2012-13, the hearts finished in 9th position while, in 2013-14, Melbourne's Heart finished 10th position (Mack, 1999). In the 2014-15 season, the City football group acquired Melbourne hearts for $12 M which was 80% while the 20% was held by a businessman allied to rugby league. On 5th June 2014, world cup winning Spanish icon David Villa signed to the MCFC from New York City FC. Villa made an immediate impact of bringing attention to the new club, and his appearance trebled the club's attendance(Mack, 1999). The club was rebranded from Melbourne's Heart to MCFC in 2014 after the successful transfer of ownership. The new MCFC had a new identity with new colors, emblems and kit manufacturer Nike. The clubs sponsorship has not been so elusive, in 2010, Westpac teamed up with Melbourne Heart for a three-year agreement that was worth $2M. The club's logo is fixed on the front of the home and away kits. The club also hosts 3 Westpac community camps to promote the brand. Other sponsors who have come to bond are the Kappa, Nike and Etihad airline (SPONSORSHIP, 2006). MCFC goals are to be global brand acceptable in all the corners of the world. MCFC has put a lot of emphasis on developing the young talent in the country and outsource from abroad. We want to have the best sports training academy in the world. The clubs hope to roll out under 7, 9, 17, and 19 Years of the talent development program. The club has initiated expansion plans of the main stadium to include a swimming pool and renovate the whole facility into a community sports Center with gym facilities, meetings, and office. We work to improve the lives of our community through sports and events. We organize events with other organizers to bring the members, the community, and the sponsors together for mutual consent. The events include fundraising events, social nights, and competition tournaments. The events are one-offs, and others are annual events. We make use of these events to promote our sponsors to the members and attendants. Target market details Audi has a very long history in Europe and the whole world at large. The latest models such as the Q and A series have hit the ground running, and this brand has received a lot of appreciating from them global market. In China alone, Audi boasts more than 61% market share in the luxury car segment. The latest models are niche models that attract a specific demographic segment through an array of a well-choreographed digital media campaign that have strengthened the brand. The target group is the young, working or entrepreneurial and luxury-minded customers between the ages of 35 to 45. The company’s tagline of “creating your own adventure” is the interphase of Audi and MCFC. This tagline is a clear inspiration to our players. The vision of the Audi is to continue being the leader in producing the cars associated with speed, precision luxury, efficiency and luxury. These are true leader qualities and it is a perfect match with what MCFC dreams off. Our partnership will offer very broad scope in future for the opportunities because the two brands many similarities. MCFC focuses on performance and sports education, and Audi is very clear on sports science for its drivers. The philosophy seems to be the same for the two brands (Lexchin, Bero, Djulbegovic, & Clark, 2003). Audi mission to delight customers globally means the customer's position in the Audi Empire. MCFC being a community club understands the role played by our fans. Official partners are represented in all official functions of the club. The players, technical staff, and managers are expected to report the training in their official cars to the training camps. This platform presents the dynamism and sporting performances to the international audience. The event is one of the most successful events that showcase the best ad latest cars to the global audience (Madrigal, 2001). Audi is synonymous with speed, cutting edge technology, innovation, and luxurious elegance. These are qualities associated with global leaders who work every day to achieve their goals and enjoy their life to the fullest. MCFC fans and audience are the working, energetic class between 15-45 years. This working group of audience values the core attributes of speed, luxury, and elegance. The Audi car presents these values, and this forms a perfect pool for customers for the car. MCFC events boost a massive attendance from our loyal fans and members from the same age bracket. Recent data suggests that this age bracket prefers speed, luxury, uniqueness and elegance when purchasing the cars. These are a young, energetic group of global citizens that attend our sporting, community and other MCFC events organized to sell our brands and give our fans a real experience. Competitions such as the speed tests and driving tests of the event attendants can go a long way at cementing the Audi's friendship with our fans (Marett & Press, 2005). These will be a long-term engagement and Audi values be felt by our fans. Promotional plan MCFC taps the opportunity during our matches to sell our brand through various methods. We run contents in the mainstream media to sell our home games tickets, apparels, memberships and events exhibitions. Our Ads are run at peak ours such as during news bulletins to capture millions of viewers. We run weekly newsletters both in hard copy and electronically to our fans around the world. Social media is a powerful tool, and we have millions of followers on our social media, and this has channeled an interactive platform with our fans and stakeholders. The promotion of our sponsors is achieved through various channels of advertisements and marketing depending on the nature of the sponsorship deal. Benefits package are flexible and to meet the budget. The sponsorship cost is individually discussed, and the appropriate engagement terms are subject to discussion. There are various forms that MCFC puts in place to promote the sponsors to the audience. We give the sponsors a chance to put up a retail stall or a marketing stall in our official events. These bring the prospective clients and the sponsors together and give them a chance to have a firsthand experience. The sponsor’s name is included in all the media releases be it in the print media, electronic media or social media. These cement the relationship between the two brands. The management gives the sponsors a right to include the marketing materials in the parcels sent by the club. The sponsor’s name may appear on the kit that exposes the brand to all the viewers and the global audience. These have been the most successful avenue of brand promotion since the names are clearly drawn in the chest portion playing kit. The stadium has a perimeter advertising boards that have a high-definition display, and this allows administrators to showcase their sponsor’s names to the global audience both in and off the field. MCFC organizes events that are dubbed as the sponsors events such as tournaments or community services in which the sponsors are invited to give out merchandise to promote further their brand. The sponsors are included in the club posters, brochures, newsletters and all the clubs publications (McDonald, 1991). We organize tournaments that are named after our sponsors that are a great way to create publicity for our brands. These enhance the corporate image for our sponsors as we engage in these tournaments. These events are good occasions for direct marketing of the brands through sales outlet. These will get the attention of the attendants who will learn more about the brand. The sponsors get the opportunity for endorsements by giving free goods and merchandise to the attendants and fans as a way of marketing. Benefits We give excellent services to our sponsor’s distinguished support during our matches. We provide 25 free VIP whole seasons free entry tickets that give them a chance to enjoy the matches. Catering services and a two-day accommodation is provided to the officials with all the necessary amenities. The sponsors have reserved and branded parking lots outside the main Dias that can accommodate all our partners. We give our sponsors unlimited benefits to ensure both parties achieve their goals. We have various brand exposure opportunities that we put in place as a way of selling our sponsors. Television programs on Monday night and televised live games are some of the opportunities that we use. We have a global audience and viewers of not less the 7.8 million. Our fans are global, in America, Europe, Asia and Africa. There cannot be a greater tool than this when selling a brand to the global audience. We have radio programs that are streamed online to reach our global fans as well. We use the local and international print media to enhance the contact with our fans. We make weekly appearances in the national newspapers presenting our match reports, fixtures and news and adverts carries the logo and brand names of our sponsors. The items are available in the electronic papers that make the newspaper available to the global audience. The clubs newsletter is available on the internet to all the members and the interested fans. MCFC official website is customized to provide services to our entire fan from all over the world such as purchasing the match day tickets, merchandise, and news. These have increased the traffic to this website and an important advertising tool for our sponsors. The social media has a huge following, and continuous updates help us to keep in touch with our fans. Our presence in all social networking sites has helped to develop a global MCFC family, and this has eased the exchange of ideas. We include the links of our sponsors in this sites that make it easy for our web visitors to navigate and access our sponsors websites (Shilbury, Quick, & Westerbeek, 2003). Creative leverage MCFC will leverage Audi official special privileges and treatments during match days and official events. Our sponsors are at free will to use our players upon the request for their promotion and advertising initiatives for their products that must be in line with the club's philosophy. Audi will have a stadium car display unit that will be visible to all the football fans accessing the stadium. MCFC will also organize for the test drive programs that will feature our players compete driving the cars as the crowds watch. These are perfect opportunities that show the competitiveness of the Audi cars just like our sporting ability. Branded parking lots, both for the club officials and players will be available for our sponsors. Prominent signage’s are benefits our sponsors are guaranteed to enjoy. Our sponsors are expected to leverage the partnership by giving our first team players branded cars. These can be coupled with recreational competitions events attended by guests. These will be the official car partner, and all our players and officials will use the cars for all official events. MCFC put a lot of measures to prevent any ambush marketing our sporting events. We value the investments that our sponsors put in place to have successful events hindering other illegal groups to take the advantage are our responsibility. MCFC does not take two direct competitors as our sponsors or participation of the competitors in single events. MCFC have trained all our ushers to identify all ambush marketers during events, and the stern legal action is taken against them. All uninvited marketers are not welcome to our events as a precaution. MCFC develops intellectual properties rights such as the trademarks as a way of keeping off ambush marketers. Budget, investment, and evaluation Budget MCFC works with an annual budget that is approved by the annual general meeting of the previous year routinely held on the last Friday of the year. The budget is flexible in case of unpredictable occurrences along the financial year but seeks the approval of the board. Incomes The subscription members and registration of new members will amount to $257,000. We expect the sponsors to support us fully and generate a$ 2.3 Million. Our Fundraising events have grown tremendously, and we expect it to surge to not less than $150,000. Our facilities such as the canteen will generate $60,000. Match day income including the gate entrance fees and program sales and will generate $900, 000. The total income is projected to be $ 3.667M. Expenditures The upkeep and maintenance of the home ground will cost $ 97000 including the renovation and personnel. The referees travel expenses and other match affiliated costs will amount to $ 154000. The kits will be provided by our kit sponsors both for training and match day. The development plan including our player’s wages, salaries for technical and management team costs $ 1.65 M. The affiliations costs paid to AFL, county, and logistical processes amount to $ 23000. The total profit is expected to be in excess of $ 1M. The catering, and accommodation of the players and staff, costs $ 13000. The player’s kit, both for match day and training kits will cost $32000 p.a. Promotions, events hosting and social responsibility events will further cost $ 270000. Evaluation MCFC makes sponsorship evaluation on a quarterly basis to ensure the success of the deal to both parties. This evaluation process is a cooperative project of both parties and address emerging issues. Regular assessment is necessary if the deal is a long term or when necessary. Both parties should answer important questions revolving the beneficial outcome of the engagement. Assessment should focus on the achievements of the obligations, partnership, meeting the objectives of both parties and recommendations on how to improve the arrangements. The management will present the sponsors with information that will help to assess the arrangement. Media releases, coverage of the local media and photography are some of the tools that are relevant to the assessment. Details on the events attendance and copies of promotional materials that highlights the sponsorship deal should help the sponsor to assess whether MCFC honored part of the arrangement. The financial statements are available to the sponsors and budget to assess the usage of the funds. The club results and achievements should be used as analysis criteria because the sponsorship should better the club results and performance. Bette results and achievement will elevate the clubs level in the world of sports, and this will increase the publicity required by the sponsors (Meenaghan, 1991b). Marketing plan Mission statement, objectives, and Goals Total attendance at home matches will escalate as a result of increased awareness of the Victoria community and global audience. The financial muscle will be strong enough due to improved sponsorship deal that shall support the team’s administration and promotion to higher levels. We tend to increase on the merchandise which will be available to the global audience as we increase the publicity of the MCFC globally. We aim to increase the events that bring the incentives of our specific target market to join our sponsors club, more members and increase the web traffic. These are the goals that the marketing strategy aims to achieve. The current situation analysis The market trends in football are highly dependent on the success of the club in the field of play. The management of the MCFC aims to build strong ties and relationships with all the stakeholders both locally and globally. MCFC since 2010 has played in the elite A league that is a most prestigious league in the Australia. The attraction of global partners such as Etihad and partner with international brands will go a long way to elevating the MCFC brand. Market segments The local business is a major business for the MCFC and benefits from the club events and match day business boom. The Victoria and Melbourne community, organizations and groups and football lovers are major stakeholders in the market of MCFC. The national corporations and private entities such as the Audi and Etihad play a critical role in the management of this clubs. MCFC values the general public who are the cornerstone of the foundation of the club. The Victorian community have seen the club grow and supported the club to the current level (Shilbury et al., 2003). Competitive review There are many supporters who travel to Melbourne City to watch other teams play such as the Melbourne Victory. The clubs aim to tap these fans especially when their team is not playing to come to watch MCFC play. Giving subsidized ticket fees would be a great effort in creating a new pool of supporters to the club. SWOT analysis Strength Our loyal base of supporters that supports the team irrespective of results is a cornerstone to our success. MCFC is Victorian community-based club that enjoys the support of the community in different perspectives such as attending the matches, organizing fundraising and events. The AAMI Stadium has a rich history and famous for a unique facility in the world. The MCFC brand is growing and is already an established brand in Australia and growing to a global brand with the help of international partners. MCFC has signed world class players such as the world cup winning star David Villa, and this has increased the club's attention from the local and international community. The brands such as the Etihad and Nike are international brands associated with best clubs, and this indicates the MCFC endorsements in the world. The positioning of the club in one of the best cities in the world allows the visitors to have a glimpse of the football experience. MCFC rebranding has unveiled a new badge that takes the club towards a global empire that is inspired by the heritage of Melbourne. Weakness MCFC has huge competition from Melbourne based archrivals Victory that is much a stronger than MCFC. The Australian league is not among the most popular leagues in the world, and this makes it hard for the club to attract and retain the best talents in the world. Most of the players are average as compared to other European clubs. Opportunity The club has potential and opportunity to increase the fan base from abroad, especially in China, USA, and India. More advertising and promotions with increased performance in the field will increase the number of fans and strengthen the brand equity. The club should get more brand endorsements as a way of improving the brand image of the club. Threats Losing best players to financially stable football clubs especially in European clubs is a threat to MCFC. The club has difficulties in securing the Gold Package sponsorship deals due to the low standard Australian league as compared to the European league. These have led to financial challenges in the management of the club. Pestle analysis Political influence The political system in Australia has a clear and efficient policy making and implementation. The current administrative regime on the sport is focused on transforming sports as a major source of employment for the Australian youth. The country has good international relations with global partners and a favorable foreign policy. Economic factors The Australian economy has seen a constant rate of annual GDP growth rate of 3.3% in the last five years. The governments have invested billions of shillings in the sports industry. Social Education sports and education are the social pillars the government has fast-tracked as the drivers of the economy. Technology The government supports the use of technology in all areas including sports to increase productivity, efficiency and cost reduction. Legal The judicial system implements friendly policies aimed at expanding the economic activities and enhance an open economy. Environmental The government focuses on policies and laws to protect the environment and supports the initiatives supporting the same. Competitor analyses Melbourne Victory Football Club (MVFC) is a Melbourne based football club and a fierce competitor to MCFC. MVFC has the biggest fan base in the MVFC currently leads the A league and the manager of the year. The club is proud of various honors having won the A-league Premiership record of 3 times and runners up in 2009. The club won A league preseason challenge cup in 2008-09. The clubs kit makers are the Adidas and Reebok. Other sponsors are Samsung. La lonica and Oliana Foods (Skildum-Reid & Grey, 2014). The club plays at both Melbourne rectangular stadium and Docklands Stadium, which have a capacity of 56350. The membership currently stands at 24200 while the average home attendance is 25300 which provide a sustainable source of capital to manage the club. The main rivalries are Sydney FC, Adelaide United, and MCFC. The football fans of the club are perceived to be too aggressive often causing chaos along the streets and streets. Inventory of assets MCFC have designed two levels of packages that suit all the interested partners. These packages ensure all the parties achieve and meet the obligations set by the partnership deal. Level one sponsorship deal. Signage Features Function Number Cost Note Value Note Notes Primary Signage 3m X 2 M Colored Brand Awareness 17 $6, 700 A $9,800 B Standard Signage 2m X 1m Banner Brand Awareness 28 $8,700 A $10,200 C                                 Hospitality               VIP Text Marque Dinner For 20 Guests Entertainment C 2 $1,200 D $2,800 E Events Tickets General Tickets Rewards And Sales 700 $7,000 F $9,800 G Advertisements               Print Media 25 Cm In Metro Association 27 N/A H $12,000 I Ad Flyers A4 Page Advertisement 600 $742 J $1,200 K Log Posters A3 Advertisement 150 N/A I $1,300 M Total                       $17,642   $47,100   Level 2 sponsorship Assets Feature Benefit Vacancy Value Note 1 Value Note 2 Signage               Primary Signage 3m X 1m Colored Brand Association 5 $1,200 A $3,200  B Secondary Signage 2m X 1m P Banner Brand Association 3 $1,400 A $2,640  C Hospitality               Events Tickets General Admission Reward Clients 270 $2,700 D $2,500  E                 Total       $5,300   $8,340   References. 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