ABSTRACT

Football is big business. The top teams and leagues in world football generate billions of dollars in revenue and serve an audience of billions of fans. This book focuses on the marketing of football as the apex of the contemporary football industry. Drawing upon key theories and concepts in sport marketing, it highlights the critical strategic and operational elements that underpin effective marketing in football clubs around the world.

From the English Premier League to Major League Soccer, this handbook addresses the most important developments in sponsorship, marketing communications, digital marketing strategies, customer relationship management and social media. Written by a team of leading football marketing experts, it presents the latest cutting-edge research in case studies from countries including the UK, USA, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, China and Japan.

The only up-to-date book on football marketing written from a truly international perspective, the Routledge Handbook of Football Marketing is an invaluable resource for any researcher or advanced student with an interest in football marketing, as well as all marketers working in the professional football business.

part I|99 pages

Towards a professionalization of the marketing of professional football clubs

chapter 1|51 pages

The Marketing of Football

History, definitions, singularities, strategies and forms of operationalization

chapter 3|15 pages

Marketing of Professional Soccer in the United States

A case study of Major League Soccer

chapter 4|11 pages

Fifteen Years of Sport Marketing Revisited

Interview with the “great witness” Christophe Bouchet, former president of Olympic Marseille, former CEO of Sportfive and director of Infront in France

part II|108 pages

Topics related to the marketing of professional clubs

chapter 7|21 pages

The Other Field of Play

Football on social media

chapter 8|12 pages

Regions and Professional Football Clubs

What do sports brands and regional brands have in common?

chapter 9|19 pages

CSR

A new strategic component for European professional football clubs 1

part III|219 pages

Case studies from Europe’s “Big 5” and emergent professional football leagues

chapter 11|22 pages

The Parc Multifonctionnel Olympique Lyonnais and the “Grand Stade”

At the heart of the OL Groupe’s marketing strategy

chapter 12|24 pages

The “Green Fandom”

At the heart of the marketing plan of the Association Sportive de Saint-Étienne

chapter 13|18 pages

I can’t Help Falling in Love with my Team

Active engagement in social initiatives as a driver of fan commitment in sports

chapter 14|22 pages

The Management of Football Brands

Brand identity management illustrated by Borussia Dortmund

chapter 15|14 pages

Brand Image Impacts on Spectators’ Purchase Behaviour

The German football club VfB Stuttgart

chapter 16|21 pages

The ACF Fiorentina Marketing

The strength of local identity

chapter 17|23 pages

Supporter Engagement through Social Media

A case study of Liverpool Football Club

chapter 18|17 pages

Manchester United

The capitalized history, from the 1960s to today

chapter 19|8 pages

Professional Football in China

Retrospect and prospect

chapter 20|9 pages

Marketing Football

Perspectives from the Japan Football League (J. League)