FIFA's Marketing Techniques - Case Study Example

Introduction 3 1 World cup history 3 2.0 FIFA 4 3.0 Hooliganism 5 3 England's destructive celebration 5 3.2 Media and hooliganism 5 4.0 Critiqueof incidents 6 4.1 France vs. Italy match 6 4.2 Portugal vs. England 6 5.0 Policing of fans 7 6.0 FA and UEFA 8 6.1 Sanctioning 8 6.2 Organising 9 6.3 Promotion 9 6.4 Disciplinary and administration 9 6.5 Regulation of the football game 9 7.0 FIFA's roles 10 7.1 Regulation 10 7.2 Discipline 10 7.3 Building 10 7.4 Organising 11 7.5 Marketing 11 7.6 Payment 11 8.0 Payments 11 9.0 Marketing techniques 12 9.1 Price 12 9.2 People 12 9.3 Promotion 13 9.4 Product 13 9.5 Place 14 9.6 Process 14 9.7 Physical evidence 15 10.0 Conclusion 15 11.0 References 16 Introduction The FIFA 2006 World Cup finals took place in Germany. It between 9th June and 9th July. Italy won the tournament by defeating France 5-3. This was in the penalty after their extra time ended in a 1-1 draw. This tournament was highly advertised and was highly watched by fans all over the world. Low profile policing was carried out during this tournament. It was very effective in curbing hooliganism. FIFA played a very important role in the planning and the organising the 2006 world cup finals. This includes looking for sponsors like Coca Cola. In accomplishing such a task, FIFA deserves credit. 1.1 World cup history Football is normally governed by a worldwide body. This is called the FIFA. In the year 1930, the first world cup finals were held. This was done in Uruguay. After this the next world cup finals were held in the year 1994.This was held in the United States of America. In the past, FIFA never used to allocate the world cup finals evenly. Recently FIFA decided to give equal considerations to every FIFA confederations. FIFA has got 204 members who are quite ambitious who have highly contributed to this. This organisation has really expanded in the resent past. In the year 2006, the word cup finals were held in Germany after the members voting. 1 FIFA usually has presidential elections and the aspirants are the ones that that offer this improvements. The one that was in Germany was supposed to have been held in South Africa but it brought in many accusations concerning intimidation. There is a high probability that the finals will not be held in Europe any soon, maybe until the year 2020.It was noted that there were huge costs incurred in hosting the 32 national teams when the world cup final were held in Korea and Japan. FIFA increased the amount of money it is offering to world cup winners .This was by 70% increased. This was effective in the year 1998 when this amount was paid to France after winning the world cup finals. Initially, each team that participated in the world cup finals used to be paid 400,000. Each game that is played in the tournament was attracting 550,000.FIFA is now paying 2m to each team that participates in the world cup games even if it doesn't succeed in the initial group games. There are chances that FIFA could pay the winners an amount of 5m.This will depend on several factors. It includes the number of sponsorships that the world cups will attract and the amount rose by these finals in general. World cup finals were in the past hosted by Japan and Korea. This was tricky because the two nations have their own differences and have tense relations. These differences are in the social development, cultural and economic sectors. Regional discord could very much be promoted by the world cup finals in the two nations. 2.0 FIFA This organisation was founded in May 1904.It is the Federation International de Football Association in full. The nations that signed the act of foundation include; Sweden, Spain, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland and France. At the start of the twenty first century, the first official matches under this organisation took place in Europe. The intention of starting up this organisation was to understand the role played by English in the matches. Netherlands Football Association's secretary got so much support from English FA. 3.0 Hooliganism This is disorder that is usually created by football fans. It can occur before or after the tournament. In the 2006 world cup finals in Germany, there were incidences of hooliganisms. Many people have referred to hooliganism as the 'English disease'. This simply means that fans from England are quite notorious of displaying hooliganism during and after tournaments. 3.1 England's destructive celebration This occurred after the match between England and Paraguay. In this match the England team won against Paraguay. There was some hooliganism displayed by some England fans. After the match, the fans dressed in England jerseys climbed to an overhang above a bar to grab the footballs. The fans then threw the balls in the air and also threw the window that was on the fourth floor of the building. In the end the bar was being torn down and the displays made of glass destroyed. The fans sang very dirty songs. The scene was quite destructive. This was nothing but hooliganism displayed by the England fans. 3.2 Media and hooliganism The media plays a big role in agenda setting for finals. Stories are normally featured on how police are planning to deal with hooliganism during tournaments. British hooligans are normally welcomed by 'hot' welcomes according to the press. This normally creates some expectations o both the fans and the hosts. Research shows that when trouble is expected and even aired by the press then there are high chances that problems usually occur. The media in general have been accused of catalysing problems during tournaments. For example journalists rush to places where there are English fans therefore making them to create scenes. 4.0 Critique of incidents World cup could be a celebrated tournament on earth, but that doesn't mean that it has no negative side. Some of the actions done by referees in the much publicised football tournament leave room for improvement. Some of the decisions made by the world cup officials are very poor hence creating so many controversies. 2 4.1 France vs. Italy match During the 2006 match between France and Italy, there was an incident that occurred that really left France group disadvantaged. Zinedine Zidane's head knock on an Italian player led to this. He was given a red card. This meant that the France team remained with 10 players only. This was during the final game. It affected France adversely such that they lost to Italy. 4.2 Portugal vs. England There was an incident between Christiano Ronaldo who was plying for England and Rooney from England. There was a foul play between the two leading to the dismissal of Rooney. The two players are from the same club, Manchester United. Ronaldo decided that he wasn't going to play for the club any longer due to this incidence. 5.0 Policing of fans Hooliganism can be overcome by policing fans in football tournaments. Research shows that when the policing are of 'low impact' it helps to curb the problem of hooliganism. This is where the fans are dealt with in relation to how they are behaving and not on what the police know or their reputation. 3 This can be done by allowing the police to be present in the tournaments; they can be firm but still very friendly. This helps to minimise the incidents in the tournaments. It is always very important to prevent the known trouble makers from attending these tournaments. Many of the police officers in the 2006 world cup wore their standard uniforms. This was unlike the riot gear they always wore. They were just there to monitor how the fans behave. The riot police however were not positioned very far just in case there was any trouble they had to deal with. The plain clothed policemen were largely used especially in places where the fans were in big groups. Reports say that there were no incidences whatsoever in the places that these PSP police officers were used. Incidents which were likely to blow up were immediately dealt with by the plain clothed police men. This was despite them not being very visible due to their dressing. There were high limits to how the fans behaved. There were the rare cases where something occurred, but it was dealt with immediately that the other fans never noticed. This is not to mean that hooligans were not present in the tournament. The low profile used in the 2006 world cup in Germany was successful. The England fans saw that they were one with the police. They were very friendly to the police. They were against any rioting by any fans whatsoever. In the 2006 world cup finals in Germany, the England fans carried out self policing hence hooliganism was really minimised. The fans that sought disorder were highly marginalised. 6.0 FA and UEFA This Football Association was started in the year 1863.It governs the football games in England. FA is normally controlled by FIFA and the (UEFA) which are European governing bodies. UEFA means Union OF European Football Associations. UEFA helps in football promotions on behalf of member association. It was stated in 1954 with its base in Nyon. The UEFA is responsible for organising competitions that are high profile in nature. The FA and UEFA are normally governed by FIFA. The FIFA governing body is based in Zurich. It carries out disciplinary measures on the football teams in England. The FA also does the regulation of the football teams in Europe. Among the other roles include; 6.1 Sanctioning This is usually done indirectly or directly. It is implemented on leagues, competitions and all the football matches played in England. 6.2 Organising It organises the national competitions played in England. This includes the FA Challenge Cup. This is done for all the women, men and the youth competitions. It decides which national teams will participate in the international football matches. This includes the men, women and the youth groups. 6.3 Promotion The FA's role is to promote football games in all ages of the people in Europe. This is done especially to help or promote children participation. It assists in making the sports game available to many people. 6.4 Disciplinary and administration The FA oversees the disciplinary measures carried out to all the participants in the football game. These rules apply to the players, clubs and even the match officials. The referees are also not left out in this. It is done just in England. 4 6.5 Regulation of the football game It is responsible for regulating the football games in England. IT applies the rules of association and the laws of the game in its regulations. The games are regulated when being played and when they are outside the field. 7.0 FIFA's roles In the recent past, roles played by FIFA have really expanded. This governing body has to do some governing and promotion duties. The confederations in the world depend on it to develop football. It consists of 204 member associations. This includes UEFA, Oceania, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF in North America, CAF in Africa, and AFC in Asia. It was formed in 1904.It helps in safeguarding image of the football game. FIFA's roles are illustrated below; 7.1 Regulation FIFA is responsible for regulating the laws governing football organizations. These football organizations include FA and UEFA. It also regulates the running of the football organizations under it. 7.2 Discipline It is responsible for disciplining the errant members in football games. All the federations under FIFA can be disciplined by it if they go against the set rules and regulations. It handles any complains that arise from previous matches played. This includes problems dealing with refereeing. 7.3 Building It is responsible for building of stadiums in promoting the football games in the places where there are football organisations governed by it. 7.4 Organising It is responsible for organizing the FIFA world cup games. It has to decide the venues or where the games take place. Equal opportunities are normally given to all the football organisations that it governs. It is responsible for the ranking of the countries according to their performances. For example, Brazil was ranked position 1 by FIFA after performing. 7.5 Marketing It is responsible for marketing the world cup football matches. The media is usually highly used by FIFA in to market or publicise this tournaments. Such marketing usually attracts sponsors like Coca Cola, Gillette and Seiko. 7.6 Payment It is responsible for the payment of the players who participate in the world cup games whether they win or not. An attractive lump some of money is given to the winners. The referees who usually in charge of these games are also paid by FIFA 8.0 Payments FIFA as a body is responsible for paying the football players who participate in the world cup. Even the teams that don't win are paid. The winners in the world cup finals are well paid. FIFA sources these funds from sponsors like Coca Cola and Seiko. The FA organisation usually has got different clubs under it .The clubs are responsible for payment of the players in relation to the employment contract. There are incidences when players fail to be paid by the football clubs hence creating problems. 9.0 Marketing techniques In marketing the following should be considered 9.1 Price This includes the ticket prices that fans have to pay to watch the matches. Depending on the capacity of the stadium and the stage of competition, the prices of these tickets vary. Some football organizations have a fixed price for the tickets while other organizations use FIFA standards. The advertisement charges that are paid to the clubs by selected media broadcasters also vary and that most football organizations use this as a main source of revenue. Whenever the prices are higher, very few media houses can afford to broadcast the matches live but when the prices are down, more broadcasters take part ant this translates to more revenue for the clubs participating in the competition. 9.2 People The people that are targeted include the fans, the team managers. The club owners, players, and the referees are the target group for football marketing. This is Pele, a Brazilian player. He took part in the 2006 world cup finals in Germany. World Cup report (2006): World cup Blog 2006: retrieved from www.fifa.org accessed on 2-06-2007 9.3 Promotion Promotions are normally carried out in the football organizations. These promotions are done through the press like TVs and radios. They are used to promote the matches and the organizations. Players usually wear sports gear to promote companies. For example the FC Barcelona uniform promotes UNICEF. The stadiums normally have banners promoting different products like Emirates. 9.4 Product Products like t-shirts and flags that are branded can be used. Marketing in football usually promotes peace and social integration. The different players meet from different cultural settings. World Cup report (2006): World cup Blog 2006: retrieved from www.fifa.org accessed on 2-06-2007 9.5 Place Marketing can be done in restaurants, bars and also in retail outlets where the target group are easily found. The marketing is done in the stadiums where there the target people. These people are the players, referees, club owners and team managers. They can be marketed in football academies. 9.6 Process This is an extension of the marketing mix. Research shows that the process affects the outcome. This is the integration of different processes to achieve the desired end result. For example internet marketing is usually integrated with the TV marketing. The whole process is used to do the controlling of the other marketing mix to ensure the objectives are met. In the process the customers can be used to promote. Like the fans and football players in this case. Feedback has to be given whether the marketing mix is achieving the desired results at each stage. 9.7 Physical evidence This is about a representation that is tangible in the marketing. In football, labels printed on the players t-shirts provide the physical evidence. Brochures are also used to achieve the physical evidence in the marketing mix. 5 10.0 Conclusion FIFA has a big role in planning and organising football organisations. It has done a commendable role in the planning and organising for the previous world cup finals. There is room for improvement however, considering some silly mistakes have been done by referees in the much publicised matches. Low policing of fans minimised hooliganism in the 2006 world cup finals held in Germany. It made the English fans to carry out self policing. There were very few hooliganism incidences. The FA is playing a good role in its endeavours. 11.0 References Austin, Ian. (5 Dec. 2002): What's Next: Radio Transmitters to Follow the Bouncing Soccer Ball: NY: Times. (Sect. G, Col. 1, Circuits, 5). Davis, (27 July 2005): The electronic eyes have it: Professional Engineering; Bury St. Edmunds: Vol. 18; Iss. 14, 32-33. Fifa.com, (February 26, 2005): Media Information: Zurch, www.fifa.com/en/media Read More