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Executive summary
May 2005 will go down as a watershed moment in
the storied history of Manchester United, when US
businessman Malcolm Glazer bought financial control
of the fabled English football club. A major reason for
the takeover was the clubs position as arguably the
most prominent global brand in a sport that has
proven worldwide appeal.
The purpose of this case study is to examine how
Manchester United evolved out of its position as one
of two provincial soccer teams in the city of
Manchester to its current status among the best
known brands in sport.
To capture the richness and depth of the Manchester
United appeal, Aakers (1996) brand identity model
was used to cull the major resource factors
contributing to the clubs strong global marketplace
presence. In addition, and because global sports
brands, like their product counterparts, function within
their global and industry contexts (Gerrard, 2003),
these structural influences were evaluated to provide
balanced perspectives on the clubs strategy.
The primary methodological tool was document
analysis. This involved an extensive review of the
literature and in-depth analyses of Manchester
Globalisation and sports branding:
the case of Manchester United
John S. Hill
Miller Professor International Business
Department of Management & Marketing, University of Alabama
Box 870225, Tuscaloosa AL 35487-0225, US
Tel: +205 348 6103 Fax: +205 348 6695
Email: jhill@cba.ua.edu
John Vincent
University of Alabama
Email: jvincent@bamaed.ua.edu
Peer reviewed
Keywords
soccer
Manchester United
globalisation
global brand Abstract
In 2005 Manchester United was taken over by US
businessman Malcolm Glazer, in part because of the
clubs brand name prominence in the global sport of
soccer. This paper examines how Manchester United
rose to a pre-eminent position in world football
through its on-field performances and its off-the-field
management strategies. It shows how the club took its
storied history into world markets to take full
advantage of globalisation, the opportunities extended
through the English Premier Leagues reputation and
developments in global media technologies. Astute
management of club resources is identified as the
major factor in global brand management.
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Uniteds annual reports (2000-2004). Documentary
data reliability and validity were checked and
supplemented with information supplied by the
clubs marketing director, Peter Draper, and its
communications director, Phillip Townsend.
Results highlight the interaction between global,
industry and resource factors in Manchester Uniteds
evolution from provincial to national to global brand
status. Its key success factors are unsurprising for a
sports brand on-field successes. But its commercial
success and sports icon image emanate from a club
that has combined an attractive on-field playing style
with astute off-the-field management. This includes
extensive leveraging of the clubs name through
branded products and services that raise its market
profile nationally and internationally, and proactive
marketing that takes prime advantage of industry
developments that have moved English football into
the global arena through worldwide media.
Brand heritage emerges as a critical brand identity
factor, with a club history based on local talent
development, supplemented with management-
inspired signings of star players. This has produced,
perhaps uniquely in football annals, a series of player
icons that has elevated the Manchester United profile
but which was skilfully managed to maintain the
clubs core team-oriented concept.
The lessons derived from analysis of Manchester
United have direct relevance to sport management:
how to raise and maintain club profiles in national
and global contexts; how to leverage brand names
commercially to complement on-field success with off-
field activities; and how to harness technology to
broaden appeal. The most critical factors however are
resource-based. On the field, management has
maintained its focus on producing an attractive
product attacking football. This has endured through
continuous renewal of player resources and their
moulding within the team concept. Off the field, an
alert, marketing-oriented management has taken full
advantage of that success. The common denominator
has been total commitment to and single-minded
pursuit of excellence.
Introduction
May 2005 will go down as a watershed moment in
the storied history of Manchester United, when US
businessman Malcolm Glazer bought financial control
of the fabled English football club. While it is not the
intention of this article to argue the pros and cons of
this move (summarised in Box 1), it is noteworthy that
Glazers move was premised on Manchester Uniteds
position as one of the most prominent global brands in
a sport that has proven worldwide appeal.
In this article we examine how Manchester United
evolved out of its position as one of two provincial
football teams in the city of Manchester to its current
status among the best known brands in sport. Our
conceptual centrepiece is Aakers (1996) brand
identity model that culls the major resource factors
that contribute to strong marketplace brands.
Complementing this model, to add depth and a more
complete analysis, we evaluate two structural factors
relevant to corporate strategy-making global and
industry environments. This follows Gerrards (2003)
assertion that strategic analyses in the sports arena
should include both structural and resource-based
factors for a balanced view.
Methodology
The primary methodology employed was document
analysis. This involved an extensive review of the
literature to gain objective assessments of Manchester
Uniteds activities and operations. Insider perspectives
were obtained from analysis of Manchester Uniteds
annual reports and accounts (2000-2004). Data
gathered from both sources were checked for
accuracy and supplemented with information supplied
by the clubs marketing director, Peter Draper, and
communications director, Phillip Townsend.

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Structural factors: globalisation, global
sports and global branding
Effective strategies take account of marketplace
developments, and as the 21st century got underway,
the trend of globalisation was very much apparent in
the world economy. Defined by Aninat (2002, p.4) as
the process through which an increasingly free flow of
ideas, peoples, goods and services and capital leads to
the integration of economies and societies, globalisa-
tion has resulted in nation states forging links through
trade, investments and the activities of
international companies participating in the world
economy (see Figure 1). The end of the Cold War in
the late 1980s and early 1990s decreased world
political tensions, and the meteoric rise of the internet
and of global communications caused an unprecedent-
ed acceleration in commercial activities outside
domestic markets, increasing the variety of goods and
services available in the world marketplace (Hill &
Holloway, 2001). The integration of world economies
has led to increasing competition in many industries
(Porter, 1986). In the field of sport, globalisation has
added impetus to international rivalries that date in the
modern era from the 1896 Olympic Games. Since that
time, many sports have benefited as their international
media exposure has increased from quadrennial
appearances in the Olympics. Sports such as tennis
and golf have been global for decades; as have the
British and colonies-based sports of cricket, rugby,
squash and badminton. Equestrian, motorsport, table
tennis (ping-pong), boxing, hockey, ice hockey and
lacrosse have all benefited from international exposure.
US sports such as basketball, American football and
FIGURE 1 Impact of globalisation on commerce, sport, soccer and Manchester United
GLOBALISATION
GLOBALISATION CATALYSTS:
INCREASES IN

G
WORLD TRADE, COMMERCE

G
FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

G
TRADE BLOCS (EU, NAFTA)

G
GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS
(SATELLITE TV, MEDIA, INTERNET)

G
DECREASE IN WORLD TENSIONS
WITH END OF COLD WAR
GLOBALISATION OF
SPORT
GLOBALISATION OF
SOCCER
GLOBALISATION OF BUSINESS
G
INCREASING COMPETITION
GLOBALISATION OF
MANCHESTER UNITED
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baseball have established footholds in foreign markets
as global media has broadened their appeal beyond
domestic markets. But no single sport has benefited
from its global exposures as much as soccer
(Giulianotti, 2002). Since its first appearance in the
1908 Olympics, the sport has attracted increasing
international attention. The first World Cup was
organised in 1930 by Jules Rimet in Uruguay. Since
then, soccer has consistently drawn more support
worldwide than any other pastime. As
globalisation trends accelerated after the 1980s,
increasing numbers of professional soccer clubs sought
to capitalise on the sports global appeal, but only two
clubs, Manchester United and Real Madrid, emerged
as global brands. Although Real Madrid has a very
high global awareness and recently overtook
Manchester United as the club with the highest
turnover, many observers consider that Manchester
Uniteds innovative branding and marketing strategies
were at the leading edge of the contemporary trend in
sport globalisation. Figure 1 illustrates the link between
globalisation, sport, soccer and Manchester United.
The clubs pre-eminent position was noted in its
2003 annual report (p. iii): Manchester United is one
of the leading clubs in world football, with a global
brand and following that embodies the passion and
excitement of the worlds most popular sport.
The report reaffirmed the need to convert more of its
75 million global fans into paying customers. In
implementing its international strategy, Manchester
United has been the pathfinder for many other sports
and clubs seeking to establish global identities in the
international marketplace.
Structural factors: industry environment
The forming of the English Premier League (EPL also
known as The Premiership) in 1992-93 signalled an
era of heightened competitiveness. We analysed
additional pressures on soccer using frameworks
developed by Porter (1980) and Lonsdale (2004).
Upstream pressures player scarcity effects
The forming of the EPL in 1992 added pressures to
clubs as they competed among a limited supply of
talented players. This competition for players
intensified further following the Bosman Ruling,
instituted in 1995 by the European Court of Justice,
that decreed that professional soccer players could
become free agents following expiry of their contracts.
The ruling also removed the maximum of three
foreigners rule observed in British soccer clubs.
Together, these changes gave European-born players
the right to move freely to any club within the
European Union (Boyle & Haynes, 2000). As
competition for talent escalated, club costs rocketed
under the impetus of player salary increases, while
attendance receipts and existing television deals were
levelling out (Crispin, 2004a). Both the Football
Association and individual clubs looked for additional
revenue streams to bolster finances and attract star
players in inflation-affected transfer markets. These
were realised in the widening of soccers downstream
appeal to spectators, sponsors, sports merchandisers
and television viewers, both domestic and global.
Downstream pressures broadening spectator appeal
Recognising the need for increased gate receipts, in
2004 the English Football League set a goal to
increase game attendances from 16 to 21 million by
2010 (Sweney, 2004). This was deemed feasible
given a League directive that stadia were to be all-
seater, following the 1989 Hillsborough disaster,
where 95 people were killed in an FA Cup semi-final
between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, played at
Hillsborough, Sheffield (Lonsdale, 2004). Although the
mandated trend towards creating all-seater stadia
initially reduced stadium capacity for some clubs,
many made significant investments to expand their
stadia capacity. All seater stadia also became more
family-friendly, which broadened the games appeal
among the middle classes (Miller, 2004).
Manchester United followed this trend. The current
Old Trafford stadium is the largest club facility in
England, and is being expanded by a further 7,900
seats to give it a capacity of nearly 76,000 by the
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2006-07 season. Included in the plans are executive
suites to accommodate a further 2,400 corporate
customers. The clubs emphasis on heightening the
matchday experience includes the Old Trafford Chefs
Table dining facility, in-stadium and online betting
(courtesy of platinum sponsor Ladbrokes), the club
museum (and tour), the Red Caf, a megastore and
LED perimeter advertising displays. The stadium also
houses the MU Finance Advisory Centre and MUTV
studios (Manchester United Annual Report, 2004).
Downstream pressures attracting sponsors
At European level, the UEFA Champions League has a
number of sponsors, including Canon, Amstel (now
using its Heineken brand), PlayStation, Mastercard,
Ford, Adidas and Sharp (Canon since 2004). In
Britain, the FA Premier League was sponsored by
Barclays in a 57 million, three-year deal (Kleinman,
2003). At international level, Danish brewer Carlsberg
sponsored Englands Euro 2004 team for 10 million
(Mistry, 2004). Manchester United had an 18-year
primary sponsorship deal with Sharp that started in
1982, which was replaced by a then record-breaking
9 million per year deal with Vodafone that ran from
2000 to 2006. Vodafone pulled out of the sponsorship
early, citing its decision to become a Champions
League sponsor. There was speculation that the
decision was in part due to the clubs failure to
progress to the latter stages of the Champions League
in recent seasons and some concern about adverse
publicity surrounding the Glazer takeover. The club has
since signed American International Group (AIG) for a
four-year deal worth 56 million, which is the second
biggest in club football after Juventus and Tamoil (15
million per year). The clubs technical sponsorship was
originally with Umbro, but in 2002 a 13-year deal
worth 303 million was signed with Nike.
Downstream pressures adding merchandising deals
Between 10 and 15 years ago, sponsorships and
merchandising deals were viewed as minor
appendages to club activities (Sports Premiers,
2003). Today they are big business. Premiership clubs
in 2002 earned 335 million from merchandising
operations this is more than admittance tickets, at
322 million, but less than TV contracts, at 347
million (Deloitte & Touche, 2003).
Downstream pressures competing for TV viewers
A key event for English soccer occurred as Rupert
Murdochs media empire sought to enter the UK
television market in the late 1980s. Murdochs BSkyB
satellite channel offered 304 million five times
ITVs 1988 deal to broadcast top-tier games. The
four-year follow-on contract to 1997 was worth 670
million, and the two follow-on arrangements were both
in excess of 1,000 million (Timeline, 2003).
Manchester United supplemented this package
when in 1999 it launched its own dedicated television
network, MUTV, in conjunction with Granada Media
and BSkyB. MUTV had the rights to club games after
their airing on the Sky network (Granada, 1999).
MUTV also negotiated rights to show archive footage
of Manchester Uniteds UEFA Champions League
matches; through its broadband service (MU.tv
available through subscription), classic games can be
viewed. Under current consideration, and taking
advantage of the latest technologies, is the proposal to
promote club products and services through MU
Interactive, MU Mobile and MU Picture facilities
(Manchester United Annual Report, 2004).
Downstream pressures competing for global audiences
The BSkyB contract added both benefits and pressures
through its international connections as EPL clubs
were given global exposure. Murdochs ownership of
Fox Sports gave the EPL global coverage through its
Fox Sports World channel. In the US, Murdochs 2004
takeover of Direct TV consolidated this hold in the
important North American market, while his
agreement with ESPN Star Sports in Asia upped
regional audiences of Premiership matches by 150
million households (Crispin, 2004b). Today the EPL
reaches an audience of about 1 billion viewers in over
170 countries (Brand Strategy, 2003), giving the
league the worldwide marketing platform to reach new
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fans and to sell its wares to broader consumer bases.
These measures increased ticket, advertising and
merchandising revenues increased turnover for the
top 20 English clubs from 160 million in 1992 to
1,130 million in 2003 (Deloitte & Touche, 2003).
They also provided new opportunities for clubs to
build their brand profiles and promote themselves to
broader audiences; but it was Manchester United that
seized the moment to capitalise on its reputation and
establish itself as a global brand and sports icon.
Building brand identity
The resource-based view (RBV) of competitive
advantage posits that corporate resources including
intangible assets such as brand identities are key
factors in sport (Amis, 2003). A brand identity
provides direction, purpose and meaning for the brand
its core values are how it is perceived, what traits it
projects and the relationships it engenders (Aaker
1996, p.68). Brand identities comprise the core
identity that Aaker defined (p. 85) as the timeless
essence of the brand that which makes it unique
and valuable. The brands extended identity includes
those elements that provide texture and complete-
ness. In essence, one or more of the extended brand
identity characteristics are so dominant that singly, or
in concert, they become its core identity. We used
Aakers brand identity structure concepts to delineate
the distinctive features of the Manchester United
brand. Figure 2 shows Aakers brand identity model
and its 12 components. Not all components are
relevant for individual brands. Our discussion focuses
on 10 of the 12 components under four headings: the
brand as product, the brand as organisation, the brand
as person and the brand as symbol.
The brand as product
All brands are parts of broader product classes whose
characteristics define the parameters within which the
brand operates.
FIGURE 2 The Aaker brand identity nodel
BRAND AS PRODUCT
PRODUCT SCOPE
PRODUCT
ATTRIBUTES
QUALITY/VALUE
USES
USERS
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
BRAND AS
ORGANISATION
ORGANISATIONAL
ATTRIBUTES
GLOBAL VS LOCAL
BRAND AS PERSON
PERSONALITY
BRAND-CUSTOMER
RELATIONSHIPS
CORE AND EXTENDED BRAND IDENTITIES
BRAND AS SYMBOL
BRAND HERITAGE
VISUAL IMAGERY
AND METAPHORS
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Product scope
Product scope defines the broad industry environment
in which the brand operates in this case, the game
of soccer. The global appeal of soccer is based on its
history the fact that many nations and cultures have
been playing the sport (or some version of it) for
thousands of years. FIFA the international football
governing body dates the games origins to China
under the Han dynasty, between the 2nd and 3rd
centuries BC. It started out as a military exercise and
consisted of kicking a leather ball filled with feathers
and hair through an opening of 30-40 centimetres
(12-16 inches) backed by a small net. A Japanese
version (kemari) a few hundred years later
emphasised passing the ball without it touching the
ground. Further versions evolved through the Greeks
(episkyros) and the Romans (harpastrum) initiated
rectangular fields with boundary lines.
The games present-day popularity was established
in Britain between the 8th and 19th centuries, where
rivalries between villages and communities (the
forerunner of the club system in todays game) were
played with few rules. At this time, handling the ball
was legal, though players handling the ball could only
move backwards.
The year 1863 was crucial for soccer development.
Game rules were formalised and a standard-sized ball
was introduced. In 1866, a London-Sheffield fixture
was arranged, where the games duration was fixed at
90 minutes. The English Football Association was
formed in 1871 with a 50-club membership. The
Scottish FA came into being in 1873, followed by
Ireland in 1880 and Wales in 1895 (www.fifa.com).
The early organisation of British football established
a blueprint that laid the foundation for the sport. The
club-based template quickly took root in Europe and
through colonisation the organised game spread to
Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Product attributes
In contrast to some sports, soccer has many attractive
features that contribute to its current
300-million player following and a fan base that is
measured in the billions worldwide (Blatter, 1999). It
is action-oriented. It builds stamina and aerobic
conditioning. There are few physical size or age
limitations. Its rules are relatively simple to
understand. It requires minimal equipment
(appropriate footwear, shin-guards and uniforms for
organised play) and facilities. Soccer is very team-
oriented, with many players usually participating in
moving the ball up the field. It can be played in many
climates; and in contrast to many US sports, on-field
strategies are largely player-created.
Quality/value For a brand to be successful, it must be
part of a product group that is perceived to be quality-
laden and that provides value for money. In the
automobile industry, for example, Mercedes has this
image. In football, Manchester United is part of the
EPL, widely touted as the most competitive in the
world. The reasons for this reputation are rooted in
Porters (1990) Competitive Advantage of Nations
theory of international competitiveness, which posits
that within specific industries, clusters of expertise result
from highly competitive national environments. This
expertise enables them to become extremely competitive
in the global marketplace. The strong rivalries within the
British club system, from local leagues all the way up to
the Premier League, have resulted in a consistent
ratcheting up of performance levels in the modern era.
Over the past decade, on-field performance has
been bolstered through a global commitment to
excellence obtaining the best players and managers
regardless of national origin (see Box 1). As a result,
to maintain leadership positions, top clubs such as
Manchester United must consistently perform to high
standards over long periods. This makes them
attractive propositions in the international marketplace.
Country of origin While the sport of soccer is global,
British (and English) football has specific advantages
over that of other countries and these have contributed
to the global appeal of its clubs. One of these is its
history as the home of the modern organised game.
International marketers (e.g. Roth & Romeo, 1992)

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have noted that country-of-origin advantages accrue
when countries become associated with specific
industries, products or services. French champagne,
German engineering and cars (Mercedes, Porsche,
BMW), Japanese electronics (Sony, Panasonic) and
US computers and software (IBM, Microsoft) have all
benefited from being centres of excellence for their
specific industry sectors. While the sport of soccer did
not originate in Britain, British clubs have benefited
from being the birthplace of the modern organised
game. Many clubs in the UK have been established
for more than 100 years and their solid geographic
franchises have resulted in strong local fan bases.
Manchester United celebrated its centenary in 2002.
The brand as organisation
Brand identities are often associated with the activities
of the parent organisation: its people, culture and
values; its organisational attributes, such as innovation
and quality; and its outlook (local or global).
Organisational attributes
The Manchester United organisation has garnered a
reputation as one of the best organisations in sport
and football management, known for:
Traditional club values The arrival of manager
Alex Ferguson in 1986 revived the traditional club
values established by Matt Busby in the 1950s to
1970. The traditional value of developing the best
local talent was continued as the bulk of the side,
including Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, the Neville
brothers and David Beckham, moved up through the
clubs youth system. Over the championship-laden
1992-2003 period, Manchester United topped the
EPL in starting appearances for home-grown talent
(Gerrard, 2004).
The quest for soccer excellence Increasing
competition in the EPL and Fergusons perpetual
search for the very best talent has resulted in many
players being brought in from outside. The current
team roster has a number of players bought for
substantial sums, including Christian Ronaldo,
Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Louis Saha and
Ruud Van Nistelroy, whose combined price tag was
95 million. Over the 1998-2002 period, Manchester
United topped the EPL in transfer fees, averaging
close to 20 million per year (Gerrard, 2004).
Chelsea has since overtaken that spending, but
Manchester United has continued to invest at a rate of
around 20 million per year.
Attacking soccer The clubs potent combination of
home-grown and imported talent resulted in an
attacking style of football that attracts fans worldwide.
Again, over the 1992-2003 period, Manchester
United averaged over two goals per game, with most
of the remaining EPL clubs languishing at one to one-
and-a-half goals per game (Gerrard, 2004).
Organisational outlook local versus global
Manchester United has always been one of the more
cosmopolitan teams. In the 1950s it was the first
British club to participate in European competition
(against the best advice of the English Football League
at the time). In 1968, it was the first English club to
win the European UEFA club championship (the
competition which preceded the Champions League).
Scotlands Celtic had won the trophy the previous
season to become the first British winner. As soccer
became global during the 1990s, the club toured
frequently in Asia and North America, as well as being
a frequent competitor in Europe. In recent years, the
club has signed players from Latin America, Africa, the
US and Asia, as well as Europe.
The brand as person
Brands, like people, take on personal attributes that
distinguish them from key competitors. These include
personality attributes such as:
Youthfulness Matt Busby started Manchester Uniteds
youth orientation in 1953, when he fielded a side with
seven teenagers against Huddersfield (Wagg, 2004).
This policy was continued over the years, especially
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during the 1990s, when many of the clubs star players
(Ryan Giggs, Gary and Phillip Neville, Paul Scholes,
Nicky Butt and David Beckham) emerged from the
youth side to play key roles in the clubs phenomenal
success. Seven of the 2004-05 first team squad were
products of the clubs highly successful youth academy,
and the youth orientation was maintained with the
signings of Christian Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. The
club has augmented its youth talent pipeline through
alliances with other European clubs Bromma,
Shelbourne, Nantes, Royal Antwerp and Sporting
Lisbon (Manchester United Annual Report, 2004).
Excitement While the Manchester United tradition of
playing stylish, attacking football has brought in many
new fans worldwide, its players have also generated
excitement off the field. Just as individual brands add
sparks to corporate brand lines [e.g. the silver bullet
effect of the Mazda RX7 on Mazdas corporate image
(Aaker 1996, Barwise & Robertson, 1992)], so player
personalities add excitement to club images. In the
1950s it was teenager Duncan Edwards; in the
1960s, George Best, ably supported by Bobby
Charlton and Denis Law, generated on- and off-the-
field media coverage to maintain Manchester Uniteds
high news profile. In the 1990s, the charismatic Eric
Cantona provided headline sports news, until the crop
of more recent stars, including media celebrity icon
David Beckham, came on stream. Such talents
exemplified and magnified the aura of the club.
Competence Delivering on-field success over long
periods is a challenge for any team. In this area,
Manchester United has few equals.
In the modern era, from 1945 to the forming of the
Premiership in 1992, the club had top two finishes
15 times, winning top honours five times (Manchester
United official website, 2005a). But the forming of the
Premiership heralded the clubs most successful era.
Over 1993-2003, Manchester United won the
premiership eight of out of 11 times and lifted the
FA Challenge Cup four times during that same period.
In 1999, the club achieved a unique treble: the FA
Premiership, the FA Challenge Cup and the European
Cup Winners Cup. This consistency in excellence has
earned Manchester United a coveted place in English
and European football annals, matched perhaps only
by Spanish club Real Madrid. It also paid off: the club
topped EPL attendance figures in 1992-2003, at over
53,000 per game, significantly above the average
37,000 (Gerrard 2004); it also increased national fan
membership to over 193,000 (Manchester United
Annual Report, 2004).
Building customer relationships
Manchester United has been an active relationship-
builder throughout much of the post-1945 era. Today,
the club maintains a fan base of nearly 200,000 with
its One United Membership Scheme in the UK and up
to 75 million fans worldwide.
Ironically, it was a tragedy that first triggered
emotional ties among football fans toward the club. In
1958, eight players were killed in Munich, Germany,
as the team aeroplane crashed. A surviving player,
Bobby Charlton, noted (Dunphy, 1991, p. 249):
Before Munich, it was Manchesters club, afterwards,
everyone felt they owned a little bit of it. Since that
time, the club has devoted considerable time and
expense to nurturing and developing its fan base, both
in the UK and outside.
Commercial relationships with fans Manchester
United was among the first football clubs to track fan
needs through research and cement ties through
opportunities to purchase club-branded products and
services. As the Premiership got underway in the early
1990s, Manchester United capitalised on its success
to launch a stream of non-football-related products
and services. Its Champs Cola was launched in 1993
(Manchester Union aims to score, 1993). In the mid-
1990s, Manchester United added branded wines,
lagers and a champagne to the list (Manchester Union
tries branded champagne, 1997). Financial services
(insurance, loans, credit cards) were added under the
MU Finance brand. The club joined with Vodafone to
launch MU Mobile, and with Travelcare to provide
travel services under the MU Travel brand. In 2003,
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FIGURE 3 The rise of the Manchester United global brand
MANCHESTER UNITEDS RISE TO
NATIONAL BRAND STATUS
G
TRADITIONAL CLUB CULTURE
(SIR MATT BUSBY)
- YOUTH ORIENTATION
- EXCELLENCE IN TALENT
- CLUB>INDIVIDUAL MENTALITY
G
ATTACKING STYLE
G
CHARISMATIC PLAYERS
(GEORGE BEST, ERIC CANTONA,
DAVID BECKHAM)
G
HISTORY
- 1958 MUNICH DISASTER
- 1960s ANGLOPHILE ERA
(BEATLES, JAMES BOND, 1966
WORLD CUP, 1968 UEFA
CHAMPIONS)
- 1990s SUCCESS
8/11 EPL CHAMPIONSHIPS
BECKHAM ICON ERA
RISE OF SOCCER
TO INTERNATIONAL
PROMINENCE
G
WORLDWIDE
APPEAL
G
ADVANTAGES OF
BRITISH SOCCER
G
INTERNATIONAL
MEDIA
MANCHESTER
UNITEDS PUSH TO
GLOBAL BRAND
STATUS
G
ASIA
G
NORTH AMERICA
MANCHESTER UNITEDS
BRAND-BUILDING STRATEGIES
G
SPONSORSHIPS WITH OTHER
GLOBAL BRANDS
- NIKE
- BUDWEISER
- PEPSI
- FUJI
- VODAFONE (AIG FROM 2006-07)
G
BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH FANS
- ONE UNITED
- MANDARIN WEBSITE
- PRE-SEASON TOURS
G
MANAGING MEDIA RIGHTS
- BSKYB
- MUTV
ON-FIELD SUCCESS
CREATION OF A
NATIONAL BRAND
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the Red Cinema Complex was opened in the Salford
suburb of Manchester.
Building relationships with other global brands
Being associated with other international brand names
lends global auras to brands as they go worldwide.
Rossaaen & Amis (2004) noted that both Manchester
United and Nike gained in global stature after the
announcement of their global tie-in. In recent years
Manchester United has formed commercial alliances
with a number of global players in other industries:
Vodafone, Pepsi, Budweiser and Fuji were all added to
the clubs sponsorship list. Under these arrangements
the club gains from sponsors international reputations
and sponsors gain from their association with a
marquee sports brand.
Building relationships with foreign fans In the home
market, British clubs can build relationships with fans
from being a part of the national local sports scenes
over decades and through week-to-week media
exposure during the soccer season (August to May).
Taking the Manchester United image and brand into
foreign markets poses the challenge of building
emotional ties with fans less familiar with the clubs
history or who have not witnessed at first hand the
excitement of the Theatre of Dreams atmosphere at
the Old Trafford stadium. Televised broadcasts and
print exposures are the entres, but the all-important
follow-ups are where club-fan relationships are built
and fans are converted into consumers.
Building brand relationships with global consumers
works best when not done through conventional mass
media. Joachimsthaler & Aaker (1997) noted that the
most successful brands are built through experiences
in unconventional settings sponsorships (such as
Hugo Boss with Formula One racing, art exhibitions,
golf); publicity (Benettons controversial non-product-
related AIDS campaigns); or the Cadburys Chocolate
theme park, Cadbury World, in Bournville, UK. All
have one thing in common: customer involvement in
the brand-building experience. The involvement factor
has been critical to Manchester Uniteds brand-
building efforts in Asia and North America.
The Asian strategy
Manchester United estimates that it has about 40
million fans in Asia. Much of this support has resulted
from the increased popularity of the sport within the
region. While soccer has been around in Asia for a long
time, demand for the sport has been revitalised
through: (a) English teams that have periodically visited
the region since the 1980s; (b) China qualifying for the
2002 World Cup that was hosted in South Korea and
Japan; (c) Asian players signed by Manchester United
(Dong Fangzhou and Park Ji-sung), Everton (Li Tie),
Crystal Palace (Fan Zhiyi), Manchester City (Sun Jihai)
and Tottenham Hotspur (Kazuyuki Toda); (d) live
broadcasts through ESS (ESPN Star Sports); and (e)
the prospect of Beijing hosting the 2008 Olympic
Games (Bowman, 2003; Crispin, 2004b). Manchester
United has capitalised on this interest through:
G
South-east Asia tour 2001 in which the club played
exhibition games in Malaysia, Singapore and
Thailand to connect with their Asian fan base and
promote their branded products and services.
This was followed by a pre-season tour in 2005
comprising four matches in China, Hong Kong and
Japan. During this tour, the club signed a
sponsorship deal with Malaysia-based budget airline
AirAsia, which included plane liveries using
Manchester United branding.
G
Establishment of foreign outlets a Theatre of
Dreams branded leisure complex in Hong Kong,
which houses a museum, interactive games and a
caf, as well as selling club merchandise (Bawden,
1999). In 2004, the club opened a theme
restaurant in the Chinese city of Chengdu. Another
100 outlets are planned for Asia (Crispin, 2004b).
G
Club merchandise in 2002, Manchester United
granted Thailands Central Marketing Group rights to
produce sporting casual wear, stationery, bags, car
accessories and souvenirs for distribution in
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department stores, stand-alone outlets and
megastores. This arrangement complements similar
deals signed in Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong
Kong. These producers were to service third-party
markets in Asia and Europe (Jitpleecheep, 2002).
G
Website promotions the club, in conjunction with
website specialist Lycos, launched a Chinese
language website. Sponsored by Vodafone and listed
at manunited.com.cn, the website attracts over 25
million page views per month and aids the clubs
sponsorship, e-commerce and betting businesses
(Manchester United Annual Report, 2003).
G
Soccer schools To further the clubs youth
development policy, the first of its Asian soccer
academies was opened in 2004 in Hong Kong. In
the same year the club opened a soccer school in
Disneyland, Paris, and this was followed in 2005 by
the opening of a facility in Dubai Sports City in the
United Arab Emirates.
The North American Strategy
Manchester United has about 5 million fans in
North America, a following enhanced through
Rupert Murdochs marketing of his Fox Sports World
TV channel (now Fox Soccer Channel) in the US.
G
In 2002, the club formed an alliance with
baseballs New York Yankees to extend television
coverage over the Yankee network and to establish
distribution for club merchandise through Yankee
outlets.
G
In 2004, the club teamed with Master Card
International to launch a Manchester United credit
card.
G
In 2004, the club joined eight other famous
European clubs for a series of games to promote
the sport throughout the US a move dubbed the
Manchester United Global Brand Enhancement
Tour (Saporito, 2004). This followed a 2003
tour, sponsored by Budweiser and Pepsi, that
attracted over 250,000 fans.
G
In 2003, the club piloted summer soccer schools in
Seattle, Washington, a move that has since evolved
into year-round youth development programmes
(Manchester United Annual Report, 2003).
The brand as symbol
Visual imagery and brand heritage become symbolic
when they are uniquely associated with a product or
service. McDonalds Golden Arches and the Levi
Strauss storied jean history are testaments to the
powers of brand symbolism and heritage. For
Manchester United, the Red Devil nickname is well
known throughout the soccer world, along with the
club crest. But it is the clubs history that has always
had popular appeal for soccer fans everywhere.
Brand heritage, history and development of a
distinctive Manchester United culture
The club now known as Manchester United was
originally formed in 1878 as the Newton Heath
Lancashire and Yorkshire Football Club. Financial
problems followed and the club was reformed under
its present name in 1902. The club moved to its Old
Trafford ground in 1910 (Manchester United official
website, 2005b). Its move towards national and
international prominence can be traced back to the
appointment of Matt Busby as manager in 1945. It
was Busby who established the traditional corporate
culture that characterises the club today (Rossaaen &
Amis, 2004). Wagg (2004) noted that Busbys soccer
philosophy established club precedents in many key
areas. He established the youth orientation (the Busby
Babes). Busbys quest for soccer excellence extended
nationally as he scoured the country in search of
soccer talent. He promoted individuality and flair on
the field but encouraged a club-oriented one for all
camaraderie off the field. He enhanced team unity by
arranging off-the-field perks for all players, including
golf memberships, local cinema passes and
concessions at resort hotels. In 1956, he took the
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club into Europe in defiance of the English Football
League. The Busby corporate culture legacy imbued
Manchester United with a reputation for youth,
talent development, attacking football and individual
excellence, all within the framework of a club
steeped in traditional values and atmosphere.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the club took
advantage of the eras Beatles, James Bond and
Anglophile tendencies (including Englands 1966
World Cup win) to enhance its reputation, garnering
The Takeover of Manchester United
In May 2005, US businessman Malcolm Glazer
bought a controlling interest in Manchester United for
$1.47 billion, of which about $470 million was
financed through borrowings against team assets (the
club is said to be worth $1.3 billion) and through
unsecured loans. Obtaining over 75% of the clubs
shares allowed Glazer to list these debts on the clubs
financial books. The clubs 2004 profit was $106
million. The servicing of the debts incurred is likely to
cost up to $100 million per year, although the club is
currently in talks about re-financing the loan to secure
more favourable interest rates.
In the broader national and international contexts, the
Manchester United takeover can be viewed as part of
the globalisation of British industry and football. Foreign
influences on UK commerce have become pronounced
as US, German, Swiss and Dutch banks have made
profound impressions on the British financial scene;
and as major auto brands have fallen into foreign
ownership (Jaguar, Aston Martin and Land Rover to
Ford, and Rolls-Royce and the Mini to BMW). In similar
measure, the English Premier League has imported
many foreign players whose skills have enhanced the
EPLs reputation as the most competitive in the world.
The current England manager is Swedish, and the top
three clubs (Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United)
have Portuguese, French and Scots managers respec-
tively. While the most famous foreign owner of an
English club is Chelseas Roman Abramovich, Egyptian
Mohamed Al Fayed owns Fulham and a Lithuanian
business magnate, Vladimir Romanov, recently bought
Scottish club Heart of Midlothian.
The fears: that the servicing of the takeover debt will
cripple club finances, hamstring future efforts to bring
in talented players to maintain high standards of play.
Additional revenues would become necessary for
financial solvency. These may include renegotiated
broadcast rights (not likely under current arrange-
ments), raised ticket prices, named rights to the Old
Trafford stadium (similar to the Emirates deal with
Arsenal for $100 million over 15 years). A sad case
history was Leeds United, whose excessive debts led to
a player sell-off, relegation, and sale of their stadium.
The hopes: the Glazer takeover of the US NFLs
Tampa Buccaneers yielded increased admission prices
but resulted in stable ownership, a capable adminis-
tration, talented coaches and a state-of-the-art stadium
and training facilities. Glazer initiated significant
community outreach programmes in Tampa; and the
Glazer Family Foundation has made major charitable
contributions. Glazers connections could give the club
leverage in the potential-laden US market that has 15-
20 million soccer players.
Protagonists note that Glazer understands the
importance of on-field success in leveraging further
value from the global brand. Antagonists claim that
Manchester United already has excellent players,
management, facilities and community orientation.
Sources: Hundley, T. (2005, May 29) "United front opposes soccer sale",
Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, 1; The Economist (2005, May 21)
"Business: Red Devil, Face Value", 80-81; Sesit, M.R. (2005, May 19):
"Going global: soccer deals show why investors like to play in the UK
market", Wall Street Journal, C1; Serwer, A. (2005, May 30) "On the
radar", Fortune, 27.

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the European Cup in 1968 with charismatic Irishman
George Best being voted European Player of the Year.
The club languished during the 1970s and 1980s as
first Leeds United and then Nottingham Forest and,
most notably, Liverpool superseded them as Englands
leading club, although Manchester United was still the
best supported (Rossaaen & Amis, 2004).
The hiring of Alex Ferguson in 1986 heralded a
return to traditional club values and a revival in the
clubs fortunes, with Manchester United dominating
English football through the 1990s, winning the
League title eight times over 1992-2003, and being
crowned European champions in 1999. As Farred
(2004, p. 222) noted: It was a good decade to
dominate English football... The Premier League was
formed in 1992... a move that saw television
revenues skyrocket and it made the clubs and
players... wealthier. With the proliferation of satellite,
cable and digital TV the beautiful game became... the
truly global game.
Discussion
Key success factors for global sports branding
Soccer is a global sport by virtue of its simplicity and
its benefits as a player- and team-oriented form of
physical exercise. It appeals to both collective and
individual instincts that are essential aspects of the
human existence (Hofstede, 1980). Its diffusion
worldwide can be traced back to European colonial
influences of the 19th and 20th centuries. This
worldwide appeal is the basis for branding strategies
put into motion by a number of European clubs.
English football clubs have capitalised on their
national birthrights as organisers of the modern game,
and on their first mover advantages in establishing
competitive leagues to raise national standards of play.
In making these moves, the EPL has attracted much
media attention that has broadened its appeal both
nationally and internationally as global media develop-
ments have taken clubs 100 years old and more into
worldwide markets. In particular, the Murdoch media
empire tie-ups have been instrumental in taking EPL
and European soccer into over 100 national markets.
The Leagues August to May season has ensured that
its activities are rarely out of the public eye.
But why has Manchester United, rather than
Liverpool, Real Madrid, or Bayern Munich, become
the best known soccer club in the world? All clubs,
both in the EPL and worldwide, have been subject to
the same industry pressures as Manchester United.
Indeed, Manchester United has won Europes most
prestigious trophy, the European Cup, just twice
compared to Liverpools five times and Real Madrids
nine (Barnard, 2002). But the timing of its successes
in both the 1960s and the 1990s has been critical.
They occurred in eras which saw huge developments
in the media industry. In 1968 television had only
recently become available on a mass basis. In the
1990s, global communications and media came on
stream as part of the globalisation push. Manchester
United capitalised on an English football heritage that
included tragedy (the Munich disaster), a football
culture that emphasised youth, talent development
and an attacking style of play, and a number of
charismatic, talented players who attracted fans as
much with their off-the-field activities as their
matchday performances.
A resource-based viewpoint (RBV) on Manchester
Uniteds success
If many other clubs were exposed to the same
industry pressures as Manchester United, why was
the Old Trafford club the first to translate sporting
success first into national brand-building activities and
then into a global reputation? The answer is a critical
resource: management. Manchester United executives
were the first in the industry to build and leverage
their brand marketing capabilities. As Real Madrid
president Florentino Perez noted in 2004: In past
years, Manchester United has become the best known
club in the world because its marketing policies were
ten years ahead of their time. (Liga Futbol, 2004)
Key management additions that gave the club its
global impetus were Martin Edwards, who became
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club chairman in 1980, the recruitment of Umbros
Peter Kenyon as director of international marketing in
1997, and the appointment of Peter Draper, also from
Umbro, as director of marketing.
The appropriate organisational structures were
created. Kenyon put into place a new affiliate, MU
International, in 1998 to replicate the Old Trafford
experience in international markets. In 2000,
advertising agency Cheetham Bell was charged with
the creation of a global brand awareness campaign;
and in 2003, One United was launched as the clubs
global brand initiative.
Professionalism in soccer club management is not
new Liverpool was renowned for it from the 1970s,
when it enjoyed its greatest success (Taylor & Ward,
1997) but Manchester United was the first to bring
a true marketing-oriented focus to football to capitalise
on its reputation as one of Englands premier clubs. In
this instance, it was an alert management that
initiated strategies to take advantage of the clubs first
mover advantages in the world game and establish
itself in the minds of soccer fans worldwide.
Lessons from the Manchester United model
Few sporting endeavours can become a Manchester
United, but there are lessons to be gleaned.
G
Creating and maintaining global brands requires
constant exposure to maintain a worldwide profile.
The EPLs long season and the north-south
hemispheric split are major advantages in sustaining
enthusiasm among soccer fans worldwide, and in
making club-fan connections worthwhile. This gives
merchandise year-long sales appeal. Such
advantages accrue less easily to sports such as
American football with its four-month season, or
baseball with its six-month season.
G
Nothing succeeds like success, and success over
significant periods has given rise to a Manchester
United brand heritage that few can match in
commerce or sports. Most of the worlds global
brands have been successful for decades Exxon,
Coca-Cola, Marlboro, McDonalds (Aaker, 1996).
Success in the sports arena by comparison can be
ephemeral (e.g. Olympic success), especially for
individual athletes, who can rarely sustain sporting
excellence over long periods. Athletes and their
managers must therefore be alert in taking
advantage of limited timeframes of opportunity.
G
In contrast, sports teams that demonstrate success
over long periods tend to be those that have
established corporate cultures, with club above all
mentalities, while encouraging individuality within the
team. Sports teams offer superior opportunities for
brand development because of their longevity and
their abilities to renew the excitement quotient
through player development and acquisitions.
G
Technology, especially the internet, gives fans and
followers access to club and team activities. It is
inexpensive. In almost any sport, youth, local and
regional clubs can maintain website connections for
information and merchandising purposes. Just as
Manchester United creates opportunities for far-
away fans to participate in the Theatre of Dreams,
so sports club enthusiasts can follow their teams no
matter where they are in the world. As webcast
technologies develop, opportunities exist for sports
fans anywhere to follow their favourite teams, be
they local, regional, national or international. Such
is the power of technology. With these renewals of
club-player-fan relationships come opportunities for
sales and commercial development.
G
A theme evident both on- and off-the-field at
Manchester United is the commitment to excellence.
While this may be expected for on-the-field perfor-
mances, the clubs expectations of excellence extend
to management in providing resources to support
club activities. As Gerrard (2004) noted, while other
soccer clubs flinch under the onslaught of player
wage inflation, Manchester United has maintained a
star-studded roster while having one of the lowest
wages to revenues ratios in the EPL. Professional
management of the club-fan interface is integral for
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two reasons. First, it cements relationships with fans
who can tangibly demonstrate their loyalties through
merchandise sales and TV audience participation.
Second, additional revenues allow clubs to make
key reinvestments in player resources and fan
facilities. Excellence in club reputation and image
management has become a cornerstone for future
survival and on-field performance.
G
Within the academic field, the soccer fan-club
interface in particular presents significant potential
for research in at least three areas. First, as laid out
by Morgan and Hunt (1994), relationship marketing
and the forming of major emotional bonds between
firms and customers is a fertile area for research. In
few industries are the relationships between
fans/customers and clubs as deep as in soccer and
sports, generally. Belk, Wallendorf & Sherry (1989)
have advocated the notion of consumer devotion as
extreme forms of brand loyalty. Hunt, Bristol &
Bashaw (1999) have noted sports fans as logical
extensions of the consumer devotion concept. Its
further investigation in the sports or soccer arena
would appear inevitable. Second, Manchester
United already tracks customer needs in ways
similar to many major corporations, but as the
stakes rise in professional sports, academics and
consumer behaviourists in particular have much to
probe as soccers appeal broadens from its
traditional audience to attract broader fan bases.
Third, the depth of fan allegiances should be ideal
subject matter for consumer psychologists as a
baseline for future market segmentation strategies.
G
As more athletes and clubs seek to leverage their
personal or club reputations in the marketplace, the
need is to develop a cadre of professional managers
with distinctive expertise in sport. Manchester
United is a testament to the difference competent
management makes in professional sports.
Additionally, with the advent of globalisation, future
managers of sports should be fully prepared to deal
with the international aspects of their activities.
As the Glazer takeover starts a new chapter in the
Manchester United history, uncertainty prevails. The
clubs success has been founded on solid stakeholder
principles, with commitments to players, fans,
management and the soccer community generally.
Taking the club public in 1991 brought shareholders
into the equation. As Glazer pulled the club back into
private ownership, there were opportunities to
maintain and revitalise the traditional values that
made the club famous. Whether this course is taken
or another that places the primary emphasis on profi-
teering remains to be seen.
The club also faces uncertainty from an unexpected
source. Roman Abramovichs huge investment in
Chelsea means that despite having the largest turnover
and profit in English football, Manchester United can
no longer guarantee to have the largest transfer and
wage funding. In 2004-05 Chelsea broke the
Manchester United /Arsenal stranglehold on the
English Premiership and Manchester United finished
the season without a trophy. In 2005-06 it would
appear that Manchester United will have to be content
with footballs equivalent of the wooden spoon the
Carling Cup, having failed in the Champions League
and FA Cup earlier than its main competitors and seen
Chelsea develop a commanding lead in the
Premiership.
Similarly, Arsenals resurgence on the pitch through
the recruitment of promising young players and its
move to a new stadium with higher ticket prices than
Manchester United could see it compete strongly with
Manchester United financially.
On the commercial front, Manchester United has
successfully replaced Vodafone as its primary shirt
sponsor with United States financial services company
AIG. Although this also offers potential in leveraging
cash from supporters buying AIG products, it is
arguable whether it provides the opportunities
Vodafone delivered to develop the club brand. Being a
global communications company, Vodafone helped to
promote the club to tens of millions of people and was
able to offer incremental revenue streams such as
selling subscription mobile services and merchandise.
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On top of its sponsorship fee, these extra benefits have
been worth millions to the club.
The success the club has had in recruiting fans on a
global basis, however, has so far failed to deliver
significant revenue benefits with estimates that only
2% of the clubs earnings are derived from overseas
markets. In the Far East, club merchandise has to
compete with the well established counterfeit industry,
which can undercut official product prices by
considerable margins.
The big challenge for the club, therefore, will be to
realise its potential through digital media, in particular
through subscription media revenues. There are two
issues that could stand in the way. First, will the
future on-field performance be strong enough to see
fans with arguably only loose ties to the club pay large
amounts for subscription access to live match footage?
Second, the club will have to see the English
Premiership break its collective selling of overseas
media rights to be able to cash in on this fully.
Professional football changed enormously in the
1990s as vast amounts of money flooded into the
game from subscription television, gate receipts,
merchandise and hospitality. It is set to undergo
further massive change as it enters the unpredictable
territory of the global digital revolution. The potential
for development for a club such as Manchester United
is enormous, but as in any period of major change,
those at the forefront at the start are not necessarily
those that will emerge as winners.
2006 International Marketing Reports
Biographies
John S. Hill is Miller Professor of International
Business at the University of Alabama. He has
published in more than 30 journals, including the
Harvard Business Review, the Journal of International
Business Studies, the Journal of Advertising Research
and the European Journal of Marketing.
John Vincent is Assistant Professor of Sport
Management in the Department of Kinesiology at the
University of Alabama. A former professional soccer
player at Crystal Palace, he has published in
numerous journals, including the Journal of Sport
Behaviour, Sociology of Sport Journal, the Journal of
Sports Sciences, and the International Review for the
Sociology of Sport.
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