[Before we get into this, I do understand the Premier League is run on behalf of the clubs. I know they have to vote and stuff. I know pretty much everything I’m going to write here is pie-in-the-sky nonsense. Mmm pie.]
Entertainment. It’s been a central theme of sports industry conferences that I’ve been to over the last few years. No longer is the sole occupation of a football club to ensure that a team of people are fully equipped to fulfil the task of playing football matches, and to enable a larger group of people to watch said football matches.
Nope. It’s all about fan engagement now. About connecting with fans, wherever they are in the world, in as many places as possible, regardless of whether football matches are happening, have happened, or are about to happen. Regardless of whether they want you to or not.
It’s about blurring the lines between sport and entertainment. Sportainment, as someone once put it, before he was taken out the back and shot in the head.
But, other than social media, where you can see it pretty clearly, are football clubs really anywhere close to becoming a true entertainment properties? Not just yet, I reckon.
I was in Toys R Us the other day. This is what passes for an afternoon out, in my family.
And in between the lads having an argument about which Fungus Amungus they wanted to waste their pocket money on, I started imaging a world where Disney (or similar) owned the Premier League. Now that’s a world where football and entertainment would really meet.
In this world, you would see, pretty quickly:
Player and Manager FunkoPops.
Every single entertainment brand that you can think of has done a deal with Funko. TV shows, movies, video games, even Broadway shows. Not football though. Football is still stuck with sticker albums, collector cards and those plastic big head figures from the 90s. Why not a world where you can buy a static, over-priced, massive headed Wayne Rooney? Stop it.
Stadia Lego
Walk into the Lego shop and, after you’ve done the traditional expression of astonishment at how much that Death Star costs (usually with some sort of ‘you can buy a car for that’ hyperbole), look at the licensing deals.
They’re amazing.
Star Wars dominates, but there is everything from The Simpsons to The Beatles and The Big Bang Theory. All done sympathetically to both the licensee involved and the Lego brand.
Why aren’t I able to express my shock at how much a Lego version of Old Trafford costs? Or buy mini-figures of the whole Liverpool team, complete with a little Lego Jurgen Klopp?
Video Games
Yeah, I know, FIFA. Yeah, I know, Pro Evo. Yeah, I know, that manager game app that Jose Mourinho endorses. But look at how far the true entertainment brands go. Transformers did a partnership with Angry Birds. The Disney film Brave did a deal with Temple Run. There was one with Cut The Rope that I can’t remember.
I have no idea how this would work in football, but it just feels like there should be more. Premier League themed Minecraft patches, or Overwatch skins, or something.
I think the (absolutely wonderful) Online Head Ball has a fair few licensing arrangements, so maybe this one will move pretty quickly.
There are probably tons of examples of this kind of thing. If you look at Star Wars, they even somehow manage to do licensing agreements with Hot Wheels. A film that has precisely zero cars in it, doing a deal with a toy car company. Making sense seemingly doesn’t have to be a barrier here.
I imagine this will driven initially by the biggest clubs. They’re the ones ahead in the other areas, and with the brands that are stretchier than the smaller ones. There probably isn’t too much of a market for West Brom toys. Not since Tony Pulis left anyway – those little Playmobile figures in the baseball caps would work a treat. Pulismobile. You can have that one for free, lads.
My guess is Liverpool will lead the way. A new-ish CEO direct from the world of video games will be no doubt looking to exploit these type of areas, and given his track record you wouldn’t bet against him doing it really well too. He’ll no doubt be thinking of that club as an entertainment brand first and foremost.
Or it may come in future directly from the players, who might start to try to separate their own brand value from that of the clubs they play for, if they realise they can maximise its value more that way.
Neymar Nerf Guns anyone?
Simon Banoub's Marketing Blog. 