How I made a business out of Man Utd fans

'How I made a business out of Man Utd fans'

By Jeeva Arulampalam and Sharen Kaur
bt@nstp.com.my
2009/05/15

Peter Draper spent seven years changing the business culture of Manchester United plc to provide better service to the fans.

Fans, he stresses, ought to be treated as customers.

By the time he left Man U as its marketing director in May 2006, Draper had strengthened the club's brand name by creating interest in its on-field successes and boosting Man U's off-field commercial performances.

Draper, who now works with different customer brands and international sports rights holders in Britain, the United States and Asia, helps brand owners cultivate a relationship with their customers and create more meaningful communications.

While he was in town yesterday to speak to corporate leaders about "marketing in turbulent times", the New Straits Times took the opportunity to get his take on creating a strong brand.

Q: What were the key changes you made within Man Utd when you came on board in 1999?

A: They were a very successful football team but what we wanted to do was turn it into a successful commercial business. It was about converting that fandom into some kind of commercial proposition that brings reward to the organisation.

We put in place programmes to build value on an ongoing basis and created a lasting relationship with our fans via our fans forum.

Man U also had a variety of businesses such as retail and licensing, media, stadium, etc. My job was to harmonise all these businesses and get the best value from a marketing perspective that brings in revenue.

We changed our approach to become a customer-oriented business and not merely a football club.

Over time, fans accepted that it was right to run a good and profitable organisation. They also took a bit of glory in that and earned bragging rights because they could see that other teams were badly managed and losing money.

While the fans contribute to the wealth of the organisation, they saw the evolution of the core product -- the team -- in terms of having great style and skills.

Q: How do you build a brand name and sustain the brand power over time?

A: The Manchester United name has been there for more than 100 years. But some will say that Man U's marketing was done by the media.

In the last 15 years, the penetration of football as a media darling sport has been fantastic and Man U benefited as it was on top of the game. Through the power of television, the team reached across 205 markets. But Man U has invested tremendously in its players, which helped to build a strong brand.

Sustaining the brand power is about being in the moment or being current.

Q: How do you decide what is current?

A: I think some people know if you are or you're not. For Man U, it was changing the look and the feel of its services. We wanted to build a relationship with our fans. So, instead of sending fans generic season tickets renewal letters, we personalised it and signed off with Alex Ferguson's name.

Q: How can a brand attract new customers?

A: For a brand, it's being true to a higher purpose. Like AirAsia, Datuk Tony Fernandes thought about the democratisation of air travel, which manifested into a brand position of "now everyone can fly".

By being true to your purpose and creating awareness, people will find you. Also, technology has worked for most brands as it allows for social interaction and the ability to share experiences.

Q: What was Man U's strategy in picking commercial partners?

A: We chose partners that made us more visible and could allow brand penetration in new markets. We also picked partners that added new dimension to our activities. We picked them because they were able to liberate our brand through their product in a manner that we couldn't do on our own.

Another aspect concerning sponsorship was looking for exclusivity.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20090515015642/Article/