INDIVIDUAL REPORT

Marketing Strategy of Manchester United

Module code: MKT306

Student name: Đặng Anh Nguyên

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................3

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................3

PART 1.......................................................................................................................................4

1. Situational analysis.............................................................................................................4

1.1. PESTLE analysis.........................................................................................................4

1.2. SWOT analysis............................................................................................................6

2. Unique selling point............................................................................................................6

3. Current marketing strategy of Manchester United..............................................................8

3.1. Product.........................................................................................................................8

3.2. Price.............................................................................................................................8

3.3. Promotion.....................................................................................................................9

PART 2.....................................................................................................................................10

1. Segmentation Targeting and Positioning (STP)...............................................................10

2. Objectives and goals (SMART TARGETS).....................................................................11

3. Marketing strategies..........................................................................................................12

CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................................13

BIBLIOGRAPHY.....................................................................................................................14

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Marketing strategy plays an essential roles on the successful of an organization. Manchester

United which is one of the most famous football teams around the world also applies
marketing strategies to evaluate its long-term plans and increase the club’s brand awareness
and revenue. Same as other successful teams, the club get a well-managed group, productive
implementation and an extremely big financial support. However, the team faces a number of
weaknesses and threats which include financial problems and the competition from other
clubs.

The methods used in this report are the PESTLE and SWOT model. These methods are
considered to be the most suitable for identifying the external and internal advantages of the
club. This report also assesses the club’s unique selling point and current marketing strategy.
From these results, there are several recommendations to enable Manchester United to be
strategically positioned in a global football market, including managerial stability, developing
the team and expanding its business.

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INTRODUCTION

Manchester United Football Club is one of the first-class soccer clubs all over the world. The
team, nicknamed “the Red Devils”, based in Old Trafford, England. Founded in 1878, the
club’s name was Newton Heath LYR Football Club and was changed to Manchester United in
1902 (Manchester United Investor Relations, 2016a). The team has reached a record of 20
league titles and has also won much other European, UEFA and FIFA champions. That makes
the club be the most successful football club in the world (Manchester United Investor
Relations, 2016b). The significant revenue of Manchester United is from multiple sources
which are based on the club’s brand. They are merchandising, mobile and content,
sponsorship, broadcasting, product licensing, and match day (Manchester United Investor
Relations, 2016b). The revenue of the team increased from GBP 165 million in 2006 to GBP
515 million in 2016 (Manchester United Investor Relations, 2016c). On this basis, this report
will analyze the marketing strategy of Manchester United Football Club by examine the
marketing and strategic activities, the competitiveness of the club and also propose some
recommendations to increase the team’s brand awareness.

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PART 1

1. Situational analysis

1.1. PESTLE analysis

Manchester United Football Club’s long-term plans have been affected by many factors,
including internal and external one. One of the most effective tools to examine those external
factors is the PESTLE analysis. This tool supports the organization to analyze the Political,
Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors in order to make its
decisions. The PESTLE analysis for Manchester United is as follows:

Political

The European, the English Football Association and global equivalents are the most political
features which influence “the Red Devils”. The responsibilities of these organizations are to
identify how sport clubs can running, signing and transferring members’ conditions and rules
for the clubs to implement their activities on the pitch. In particular, the issues related to the
amount of debt which those teams got, the balancing their books and the ability to break even
on their operation is very important for all football clubs, including Manchester United.
Manchester United could face sanctions from UEFA because its high level of debt could
cause Manchester United to face financial difficulties in the short term.

Economic

The prevailing economic conditions could cause the significant impact on Manchester
United's revenues. However, by having a large, passionate community, the club maintains the
stable growth despite the global economic crisis in 2008.

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 Figure 1: Total revenue of Manchester United (Source: Nandla, 2015)

Furthermore, Manchester United has contributed to promoting the global economy by some
reasons. Firstly, the club has created employment opportunities for the players and the
officials. Secondly, the team supporters are all over the world, so they will generate the
positive financial flows which play an important role in regional development. Finally, the
supporters of the club from foreign countries with their foreign currencies will contribute to
boosting the Balance of Payments in the country.

Social

As with any football teams all over the world, Manchester United get united groups,
especially the sport fans. People from different countries, different cultures, different classes,
and different age groups usually watch football because of hobby or leisure reasons. Football
has become an essential part of the current society; everybody talks about all topics related to
football everywhere, either the world cup championships or the national championships. This
makes a positive effect on the society because it can create employment.

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Technological

The development of the internet and broadcasting channels is the main technological factor
affecting Manchester United. This allows the club to develop their brand through certain
streams like their own website which attracted an amount of around 36 million views each
month (Manchester United Investor Relations, 2016a).

1.2. SWOT analysis

After analyzing the external market by the PESTEL method which is collecting data from six
different fields, according to Martin Blake and Shehan Wijetilaka (2015), SWOT analysis
should be use to recognizing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of
Manchester United. From the result, the club could maximize the strengths, minimize the
weakness, exploiting the opportunities and overcoming the threats.

The SWOT analysis of Manchester United

Strengths Opportunities
 Prestigious success (20 league titles  Develop fan base
and many cups of FIFA, European  Grow alignment of brands to foreign
and others) nations
 Globally recognized brand as one of  Many opportunities to get more
the top valuable sport teams advertising, sponsors and to develop
 Its own marketing channels, and high new products and services
quality products
 Many sponsors such as Adidas, AON,
and General Motors
 Great fan support
Weakness Threats
 The high level of debt  Original and rival competition
 Competitive English football market  Lead to loss of sponsorship
 Age of the squad  United problems
 Financial debts

2. Unique selling point

It is not arguable that the unique selling point of Manchester United is the brand of the top
successful soccer team in the world with famous members in squad. Because of its brand, the
club has owned the large and loyal audience base and fans which are a key drive of the club’s
commercial success. In addition, Manchester United delivers positive brand association in
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order to link their brand name to global, successful, stable aspects, to youth and to an
organization that companies want to associate with.

3. Current marketing strategy of Manchester United

3.1. Product

Because of being one of the top leading football teams globally, of course, the major product
of Manchester United is offering a good soccer team which plays and wins by an interesting
method. However, there are other products including merchandising, retail, and product
licensing such as the sale of sportswear, training and leisure shirts, short, shocks and other
clothing which feature the club brand on a large basis. Besides, other licensed products having
the clubbrand and trademarks also are distributed by the club’s branded retail shops, internet
channels and wholesale distribution chains of the club’s partners. By the end of June 2016, the
club’s revenue from these products was GBP 97.3 million (Manchester United Investor
Relations, 2016c).

3.2. Price

According to the annual BBC Sports Price of Football study related to season and match-day
ticket prices from clubs across the UK, Manchester United’s ticket price is at the medium
level compared to other clubs in Premier League 2015-16 but still remains at the most
expensive prices.

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 Picture 1: Results of the BBC Price of Football survey 2015 (BBC, 2015a)

Furthermore, Manchester United’s adult shirt costs GBP 60, is the most expensive in the
survey, while their junior shirt also cost the highest price of GBP 45. A full set of the adult
strip which costs GBP 118 includes shirts, shorts, socks and a name and number at the club
(BBC, 2015b). However, these prices are appropriate because of the high level of the club.

3.3. Promotion

The club targets itself as a global brand. Manchester United also formed many partnerships in
numerous countries such as Vodafone. Besides, Manchester United distributes their football
contents such as books, shirts, programs and many other items through its own channels like
its website, Facebook page, Twitter account and through increased global exposure for its
commercial partners. Moreover, the club has established a huge amount of overseas club
shops to sell branded products and have developed soccer schools to train and recruit South-
Asian players that aimed not only to improve the squad but also for marketing goals.
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PART 2

1. Segmentation Targeting and Positioning (STP)

STP model contains three stages including Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. By
connecting the way which company chooses to earn revenue in the market and that market, it
could be used to improve and implement an effective marketing mix strategy (Toften &
Hammervoll 2010). It can be denied that Manchester United is holding a premium position in
the football market.

In term of segmentation, the club’s products should be aimed at all genders, races, marital
statuses and occupations people of all ages in the world who love football. However, the team
should focus on the target customer of men in the age group around 15 who is interested in
football regarding Manchester United and those who actually attend the games at Old
Trafford. In addition to demographic factors, the income of customers and the product’s price
are the considerate components. The club’s products are provided for all social class people,
so they should be affordable. A suggestion could be proposed is to provide the different
packages with the different prices for the different objects. For example, Manchester United
should offer 03 types of payment possible for option 1, option 2 and complete package. Thank
the different options, the chance of many products to be bought is enhanced. About the target
market, of course, the first option of Manchester United will still be primarily directed at
England/Manchester. In addition, the second option is available to the entire target market in
all countries, especially in the Asia market.

Manchester United is posited as the world’s most famous club who are aggressive, dominant
and united to win soccer matches at “Theatre of Dreams” – Old Trafford. The club also
positions it as a good for younger customers or order ones. In sports industry, the popularity
and success of a football club are measured by the number of fans. In the case of Manchester
United, a number of fans could be accessed through some indicators such as the number of
people attending the games, interacting through its website or the social networks. For more
detailed, since the 1997/98 season, all Premier League games at Old Trafford have been sold
out. The games which were held abroad also attracted a lot of fans. Furthermore, Manchester
United’s website had an average of about 36 million page view per month, while the
followers of the club are more than 8 million people on Twitter, 14 million people on Chinese
social media, and over 69.8 million on Facebook (Manchester United Investor Relations,
2016a).

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2. Objectives and goals (SMART TARGETS)

The marketing targets of Manchester United should meet the SMART module. They need
starting Specific (S) targets which are detailed and clear, together with setting objectives
which are Measurable (M). Those goals have to be Achievable (A), which means people who
have the responsibility of implement them accept those goals. In addition, they should be
Relevant (R), and help Manchester United enhance its aspects. The last factor is Timeline (T)
which is clearly stated for every goal (Tofade, Khandoobhai & Leadon 2012).

Manchester United has a strategy in place. It is to grow profitability by increasing their high
grown commerce which utilize their global marketing infrastructure. Key elements are: (1)
Increase its portfolio of sponsors; (2) Develop its merchandising, retail and apparel, good
licensing business; (3) Exploit new internet and media chances; (4) Improve the limitation of
its media abilities; and (5) Increase revenue and develop margins (Manchester United Investor
Relations, 2016d). However, the team’s objective should be clearer to be Specific,
Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Basically, the main objectives of
Manchester United consist of revenue, performance, and fan base.

Time Objective

 Increase the sales of the target market per purchase option by at least 5%

compared to the year 2016.

December 2017
 Win at least 1 cup in the 2016-17 season

 Have at least 1 more third party broadcasting platforms

 Gain at least 10 new sponsorship partnership from 2018 - 2020

2020  Win at least 01 league title to maintain its position.

 Reach at least 100 million fans on Facebook

 Annual sale increases at least 10% every year

 Remain at the top 4 football clubs in English in long-term

2021 and so on
 Attract an average of more than 50 million page views per month on its

website

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3. Marketing strategies

From the information analyzed above, Manchester United should have the strategies to
develop the club in long term. In order to achieve all the goals and objectives in the previous
part, some recommendations about strategies are suggested as follow:

Firstly, maintaining managerial stability enables the sustainable evolution of the club. The
new contract with Jose Mourinho has been completed. Such change is inevitably the main risk
and now too early to evaluate the profitability of that action. The club should provide enough
time and supportive sources to combine this difference.

Secondly, the club’s squad needs to be refreshed. Because the Manchester United squad is
one of the oldest amongst its original rivals. The club has diversified its revenue streams away
from ticket sales and broadcasting contracts and this money allows Manchester United to
invest in better players and challenge for a top position in the Premier League every season.
However, the performance of the team, especially in the Premier League, still is the single
most important factor in the success of Manchester United in long term. In addition, reducing
or paying off the debt to enable more profit is used for squad development. Furthermore, it
seems that brand name is basically driven by the members’ image. The club’s image could be
affected by an image transfer from its members. In some case, the clubs could not get revenue
from a good brand name because of the leave of a star player. Therefore, developing the new
generation of good players or recruiting the best players is very necessary for the club’s brand
awareness.

Finally, expanding the club’s business is essential for the Manchester United’s development
in the future. Because Manchester United is being sponsored by so many different businesses,
it is very easy for the club to get more sponsors which even allows them to increase the size of
their enormous fan base. Moreover, Manchester United should invest in their new services
and products because the club already has a strong enough brand and ability to promote them
as the first provider compared to any other football sports clubs. In addition to using its own
official websites and social media pages, Manchester United should advantage of the Google
play store and other app stores in order to give a lot more people the options.

CONCLUSION

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In conclusion, the report has analyzed the case of Manchester United, listed on top successful
sport teams all over the world. The research of Manchester United’s marketing strategy drew
upon a range of methods to evaluate the external and internal environments. Even though
Manchester United get some issues with its debt, the advantages of that club team could
support to resolve and to make it become a good opportunity because of the features including
the strong history, ability for winning titles, the large number of loyal fans or its popular
members which all could earn profit. But the club should solve its issue seriously and reduce
the risks of their weakness and threats in a right method, or they would lose its success which
lasts for a long time. With appropriate objectives, goals, and strategies, Manchester United is
expected to maintain its top position.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BBC, 2015a. Price of Football: Full Results 2015, viewed 3 October 2016,
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Blake, M & Wijetilaka, S. 2015. "5 tips to grow your start-up using SWOT analysis", viewed
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Manchester United Investor Relations, 2016b. Company Information: History, viewed 3

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Nandla, 2015. Manchester United Gross revenue 2015-16. CFHut Website, viewed 3 October
2016, <http://www.cfhut.com/manchester-united-gross-revenue-2015/>

Tofade, T, Khandoobhai, A & Leadon, K 2012, ‘Use of SMART Learning Objectives to

Introduce Continuing Professional Development Into the Pharmacy Curriculum’,
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