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Liga 1 Romania brands and typologies of football clubs

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Gheorghe Cristian Dragos
Gheorghe Cristian Dragos

The document discusses branding and typologies of football clubs in Liga 1 Romania. It examines the key components of a sports brand, including history, values, symbols, and fan base. It then profiles each of the 14 clubs in Liga 1, analyzing their brand elements, history, strengths, weaknesses, and community. While the brands of some clubs are well defined, others struggle from a lack of updated online presence and marketing, and most Romanian clubs have yet to fully realize the business and marketing potential of their brands.

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LIGA 1 ROMANIA BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF FOOTBALL CLUBS
Brand Components (Esteve Calzada, 2013) APPLICATION STRATEGY A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. (Seth Godin) It is the sum of the all tangible and intangible characteristics that individualize and differentiate a product/ company and makes them unique in the market place. What about a sports brand? It is the complete set of images and associations held in the mind of the supporter. 2017 finds the Romanian football in a critical and alarming situation. Poor infrastructure, lack of transparency, minimum of investments or nothing invested at all in the grassroots, financial impossibility, high number of litigations regarding the brands and the records of the clubs, are just a few of the major factors that lead to this unacceptable situation. The risen that has been noticed in the press, as far as that goes in the statistics of the litigations mentioned above, has a damaging impact on the football clubs involved in the process, leading to a lack of their identity and in the same time affecting their brands, fact that allows multiple bad consequences and a debasement of the Romanian football . The distincitve elements of a brand can be classified like this: 1. Iconography (badge, graphic elements) 2. Text (name & slogans) 3. Sound elements (songs & athems) 4. Informal elements (nicknames, mascots, celebrations, rituals) (Esteve Calzada, 2013) Understanding the importance of the brand represents the key of the success and for the clubs, no matter what is their size, it is necessary to recognize the value. The identity of a team’s brand or its personality is important for applying the management & marketing strategies successfully by taking into consideration the position of the club and depending on the values they promote and how the fans perceive it. On most of the cases, a team is recognised for its history, tradition, victories, tactics and fans behaviour. History and positioning, results, commercial operations and management strategies create the intangible image of a sports property. Day-to-day activities will also have a big impact on this image. Moreover, on-the-pitch circumstances, the bad/ good results of the matches, the activities of the managers in their business and private lives, are eloquent examples of situations that depending on their exposure in the media, may influence more or less this intangible image (the brand). All these elements along with other characteristics like: records, number of winnings, personality of a player/ coach/ sport director give personality to the team and make the brand to stand out. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
BRAND IS NOT A LOGO CORPORATE IDENTITY ADVERTISING MARKETING BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
BRAND MANAGEMENT 1. Designing the iconography of the brand 2. Identifying new ideas and finding different elements in order to be adopted 3. Legal registration to avoid potential offenders 4. Delivering legitimacy of the brand- encouraging its use, especially by the whole team members of the club 5. Using publicity to maximise the connotation of the brand 6. Protecting it by keeping an eye on its application (checking who has the right to use it and how – sponsors, licenses, etc.) and suing those that use it illegally. IDENTITY POSITIONING MARKETING ACTIVITIES BRAND EQUITY The majority of the international football clubs overlook the brand as an opportunity to maximise their revenues. Harnessing your brand in the correct way can be hugely beneficial in terms of generating added revenue that can be invested into playing staff or infrastructure. When it comes to sell something intangible, branding is even harder. Because of this, most of the foreign teams use sponsorships as a support, in this way, establishing through them a bigger fan base. By carefully selecting them, you can easily target the right customer segment. Also, the big stars of sports have a big impact on the brand image. For example, when Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, the club jumped up to no. 2 from no. 5 on the media brand list of advertisers. EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL BRANDS Manchester United – the most valuable football club brand for 3 years in a row (almost $1 billion dollars) Real Madrid – the strongest football club brand in the world BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
BRAND IS CONFIDENCE PASSION BELONGING ACTION SECURITY A SET OF UNIQUE VALUES BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
BRAND POSITIONING Marketing Foundation - Mary de Gendre (2013) 1. DOMAIN 2. HERITAGE 3. VALUES 4. ASSETS 5. PERSONALITY 6. REFLECTION 1. The target market of the brand – its position in the marketplace 2. Its history and culture – the way it has achieved success/ failure over its life. 3. The essential values and characteristics of the brand 4. What makes the brand to stand out in the marketplace? (symbols, relations, characteristics) 5. The character of the brand described in terms of other entities such as people, animals or objects. 6. How the customer perceives him/herself as a result of buying/using the brand. How does a sport brand differ to a conventional brand? THE SIZEABLE PRESENCE OF A BRAND FANATIC - - - - - - - - ------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------- PRODUCT LOW GENERIC STRONG HIGH INVOLVEMENT OF THE USER VALUES OF THE BRAND BRAND ‘RELIGION’ Sport Brands encapsulate the phenomenon of the brand ‘religion’ where the value of the brand becomes so high in the mind of the consumer that he/she will ALWAYS stay loyal to it. What makes the true supporters remain loyal even when results are not good? It is the club’s PHILOSOPHY and VALUES. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
The world’s most valuable football clubs brands (Brand Finance Study) $1.7 Billion $1.4 Billion $1.34 Billion $1.29 Billion $1.26 Billion $1 Billion BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
TEAM SALIENCE TEAM PERFORMANCE TEAM IMAGERY FANS JUDGEMENTS FANS FEELINGS FANS – TEAM RESONANCE 2. Meaning – What is the Team? 1. Identity – Who is the Team? 3. Responses – What about the Team? 4. Relationship – What about the Team and Fans? Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001) Brand Equity Pyramid created by Keller (2001) represents the most realistic and modern framework that shows the building process of the brand equity by following a set of steps that should be applied and coordinated by the management team of the clubs. Thus, this department must have a clear vision and understanding of the team salience and take into consideration in their analysis the performance and image of the team, the opinions of the fans and their feelings regarding the club. Not eventually, it must be evaluated the most important characteristic - how the fans resonates with the team – together with the CSR part (Corporate Social Responsibility) and make it easier for their club to leverage long-term loyalty with the supporters. The very first step is to explore the reasons of the team’s existence, followed by other decisive steps like defining the identity of the team and its relation with the fans. It must be mentioned that every single step is complex and depends on the success of the previous steps. The management sector should not jump to the next step without defining the previous one. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001) HIERARCHY OF INTENT AND NEEDS SATISFACTION TEAM RELIABILITY TEAM EFFECTIVENESS TEAM STYLE TICKET PRICE FAN DEMOGRAPHIS FACTORS FAN PSGYCHOGRAPHIC FACTORS MODE OF SPORT CONSUMPTION PERSONALITY/ VALUES OF FANS HISTORY/ PERFORMANCE OF TEAM QUALITY CREDIBILITY SUPERIORITY CONSIDERATION WARMTH FUN EXCITEMENT SECURITY SOCIAL APPROVAL SELF RESPECT LOYALTY ATTACHAMENT COMMITMENT ENGAGEMENT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CONSEQUENCES FAN LOYALTY MERCHANDISE SALE JERSEY RIGHTS MEDIA EXPOSURE TICKET SALES This figure explains the a little bit more the framework created in the previous one, offering a more detailed picture and showing some of the consequences. By understanding the reason why your club does exist, it may be defined the hierarchy of intent. Thus, it is bringing in the minds of the fans the category of the product, its logo, symbol, name and possible nicknames. It will be considered the easiness with which the fans recognise and identify the team, it will be analysed its performance which depends not only on the matches results but also on their reliability, consistency, effectiveness and playing style. All of these contribute to strengthening the brand loyalty and a growth in sales. Then it will be analysed the market in order to target the consumers correctly from a demographic (gender, race, ethnicity, income, marital status) and psychographic (attitude towards sports/ life, social issues, possessions, careers or political interest) point of view and by not forgetting about the mode of consumption of sports, fans personalities and their values and finally the past history or performance of the team. Moreover, it will be evaluated whether the team lives in the mind or in the heart of the fans. The first ones tend to take rational decisions and to appreciate the quality of the team, the value of the players, the reliability of the team and its superiority towards other teams. The other type of fans acts impulsive but offer more emotions, warmth, joy, being attracted by the fun found in the team, its social approval, self- respect and patriotism. Lastly, the top of the pyramid shows the existence or the lack of strong psychological bond between the fans and the team. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
Branding benefits (for organizations): • Provides value to the company (clubs) - brand equity - is used to measure brand power on the market; an increased equity of the brand generates intangible value to the firm, in terms of sales and profit • Ensures consumer (fan) loyalty - strong brands have positive effects on consumer perceptions and preferences • Apply a barrier to competition - it is difficult for new brands to compete with the strong and positive perceptions owned by buyers on top brands • Higher profits (eg improving the performance of merchandising and ticketing departments) • Media exposure Branding benefits (for consumers): • Effective communication of features and benefits - at first instance - brands are a source of product information. They communicate about the product and its benefits. Brand features make it easier for consumers to identify their products • Trust - Branding builds trust and reduces the risk of socially embarrassing situations BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
LIGA 1 The Professional League of Football (LPF) is a sporting structure of all the professional football clubs in Romania which are competing in the first football echelon – evolving under the name of ‘LIGA 1’ since 1993. The idea of establishing this federation is old and determined by the necessity of organizing the supreme competition of football in any country, which is the national championship. Romania has made no exception to this basic rule of international football and acted accordingly. At present, the competition is made up of only 14 teams. • 1934/35 – the first championship with one group – 12 teams • 1946/68 - period with year-to-year fluctuations – between 12 and 14 teams • 1968/69 – 16 teams • 19733/74 – 18 teams (constant number till 1999) • 1999/2000 – 16 teams • 2006/20015 – 18 teams Since 2015, League 1 is made up of 14 teams, playing in the play - off and play - out system. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 1. FCSB 2. DINAMO 3. F.C. VOLUNTARI 4. CONCORDIA CHIAJNA 5. JUVENTUS BUCUREȘTI 6. F.C. BOTOȘANI 7. CSM IAȘI 8. VIITORUL CONSTANȚA 9. ASTRA GIURGIU 10. CS UNIVERSITATEA CRAIOVA 11. ACS POLI TIMIȘOARA 12. CFR CLUJ 13. GAZ METAN MEDIAȘ 14. SEPSI OSK BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
This study’s focus is on finding the relevant characteristics of every single football club in Liga 1 and to see what kind of brand they have. Even with a significant number of international academic literature about sport branding, it was hard to apply it because Romania has a lack of information, documents and reports regarding this topic and its situation and there is so much research to be done here as a fact that this subject wasn’t approach at a professional high level. Above all, this paper is based on secondary data documented by academic international literature which highlights the importance of branding in sport and sport articles, official websites of the football clubs and pages created by supporters which are critical in order to find the right characteristics of the teams. All of these can help to create a big picture about the current situation and to figure out some of the solutions. The teams were analysed and compared with each other by checking and investigating all of their online official pages (13 websites, 14 Facebook pages, 11 Instagram accounts, 6 Twitter pages and 5 YouTube channels), 21 pages created by supporters, 896 press articles (sport.ro, prosport.ro, gsp.ro) and mostly based on the study cases of Couvelaere & Ricehelieu (2005). It was taken into consideration the quantity and quality of the available information about history, best/ worst results, continuity, community, strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it was tried to find out relevant symbols for each club, badges and popularity. For example, at very first sight, it is observed the presence of the football ball on 64% of the badges, for the rest of 36% (Viitorul Constanța, Dinamo, Universitatea Craiova, Juventus București, FCSB) being missed. Other noted elements: stars (FCSB, Dinamo, Concordia Chiajna, Astra Giurgiu), the year of establishment –for more than half of the clubs and the shield. If the football ball determines what kind of sport is played by these clubs, distinguishing them from the others, the stars, a symbol of masculinity, suggest brilliance, excellence, victory, the year of its foundation allows anchoring in history, and the shield conveys the idea of a fighter spirit. For most of the clubs, the analysis has been hampered by lack of information: outdated websites with little content. One of the most relevant example is Sepsi OSK which does not even have a website and their Facebook page is predominantly written in Hungarian. Taking as an example the study by Couvelaere and Richelieu (2005), it was noted that when talking about Lille Olympique SC, the world thinks of a spirit of fighter, solidarity and modernity, and in the case of Olympique Marseille, there is the emotional warmth and sympathy. Thus, this model has been taken into account to help examine the characteristics of Liga1 clubs. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES FCSB STEAUA red-blue Gheorghe Becali ‘Trup si suflet pentru culori!’ (everything for the team) Excellence, dynamism, tradition The most titled football club in Romania Winner of the UEFA Champions League (1986) international reputation/ national brand a division of the supporters support a fierce drive to win popularity glorious past identity issues pressure on coaches financial interest is ahead of football DINAMO ‘cainii rosii’ –red dogs Haldan white-red family, unity, tradition CSR the second most prestigious football club in Romania present in international competitions accepted and supported by the community show in the stands diehard and devoted fans glorious past the stadium conflicts between supporters and patronage lack of international performance CONCORDIA CHIAJNA the ‘eagles’ yellow-green vitality It is not perceived as a historic club local brand supported by the community desire to fight friendship uncertainty at the technical bank level difficulty staying in Liga 1 JUVENTUS BUCURESTI symbolic features similar to those of the Juventus Torino team investment in the grassroots respect historic promotion in Liga1 local brand integrate only at the 'neighborhood‘ level devotion motivation it s considered a neighborhood club FC VOLUNTARI anchor borrows from the spirit of Rapid (acquiring the former glories from Giulesti) -young club (founded in 2010) local brand hardworking, desire to build a strong club ‘Mircea Rădulescu’ Academy it does not have a clear identity ASTRA GIURGIU Sumudica tenacity It is not perceived as a historic club international level performance it is not a club accepted by the community yet it is perceived from the sporting point of view as a valuable team it does not yet have a clear position lack of strategy on the part of children and juniors VIITORUL CONSTANTA ‘V’ Gheorghe Hagi ‘Hagi’ Academy trust for the future young people value It is not perceived as a historic club local brand it is not accepted as a community team from the level of children, translated at national level by winning the title in Liga 1 perseverance; fighter spirit tenacity not identifying with the community lack of tradition or historical past *It was considered the UEFA’s statement regarding the position of FCSB. Although FCSB has international prestige with notable results and is a national brand, it can not move on to the next level of international brand because it has not expanded its marketing activities and did not enter the other countries market from the football point of view. Example: Real Madrid / Juventus / Manchester United - have broadcasted matches across Europe, Asia and much of America, spread academies around the globe, and an international marketing campaign. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES CS U CRAIOVA ‘leii din Banie’ ‘Eterna Terra Nova’ Balaci nationalist spirit Energy, vitality ‘abonati la istorie’ (‘subscribers to history’) internationally known team dividing fans because of multiple identities through the new arena, the union of the supporters in one group will be achieved disputes with the ex - former team from Liga 1 division of supporters ACS POLI TIMISOARA ‘Recas’ adaptability growth the violet phenomenon regional brand it was not accepted as a continuation of the history of Poli Timişoara a catalyst for local energies financial problems CFR CLUJ white – burgundy the champions from Transilvania more than a club, more than a team, a phenomenon ‘ fighting to be accepted as a traditional brand regional brand ambition seriousness history the lack of fidelity of supporters over the years GAZ METAN MEDIAS ‘Gazul’ resistance It is not perceived as a historic club local brand the community does not hold it as a relevant brand the mathematician coach: Cristian Puştai (he has released great players such as Eric de Oliveira and Tha’er Bawab) financial uncertainty lack of strategy at a junior level SEPSI OSK secuimea unity It is not perceived as a historic club local brand the community is represented by the team trying to unite the nations through football Hungarian-Romanian conflict the predominant use of Hungarian on all communication platforms CSM POLI IASI it does not identify with a symbol 'part of the city, part of your heart‘ 'United we will win' the longest-running professional club in Moldova still fails to become a national brand but aims to achieve the goal community support fans' dissatisfaction with the leaders FC BOTOSANI it does not identify with a symbol ‘a love of life over the years’ -stability, balance 2013 – 1st promotion in Liga 1 local brand the community is represented by the team professionalism, fairness European values; fair play club with local resonance BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
TEAM WEBSITE APP FCSB yes 1.900.000 26.100 725 / / Dinamo yes 432.835 17.000 929 17.000 da Universitatea Craiova yes 161. 425 1.500 789 1.700 / CFR Cluj yes 102. 071 1.200 / / / FC Viitorul yes 92.000 143 / 4.600 da ACS Poli Timișoara yes 28.494 983 441 / / CSM Poli Iași yes 27.994 110 / 615 / FC Botoșani yes 18.381 / 352 344 / Astra Giurgiu yes 13.919 191 535 / / ACS Sepsi OSK no 9.213 / / / / Gaz Metan Mediaș yes 9.118 / / / / FC Voluntari yes 8.365 571 / / / Concordia Chiajna yes 5.000 196 / / / Juventus București yes 123 106 / / / BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
Fans are marketing on steroids. They talk, they promote, they lead by example. Additionally to this, branding in football is an important business nowadays that although it is about money, it is driven by emotional experience, passion and constant victories. Following the analysis of the Liga1 clubs, it was found that if most fans do not agree with the leaders of the clubs, considering that their actions reflect interest in business and disintegrate football itself, so clubs lose their identity and , while decreasing the number of supporters. Decisions leadership should be in line with fans' wishes because they are the ones who "hold" the brand. The majority of the international football clubs identify themselves with a representative stadium (home ground of the team/ 2nd home for the supporters) and it used to be like this in Romania too but it’s changed now because of the litigations and it is no longer possible to apply this on a lot of the clubs in Liga 1. The poor infrastructure can be noticed from the bottom to the top and it causes damages to the level of the Romanian football: lack of training grounds for children, amateurs and even professionals, pitches in bad conditions, all of these leading to a low desire in practicing this sport in term of kids, thus having a lack of national youth talents and in conclusion awful results not only for the teams clubs but for the national team too. Moreover, it was also observed the lack of transparency of the club's actions, the lack of a strategy that involves both what happens on the field and outside it, as well as the lack of knowledge of club fan clubs, which prevents them from identifying with the club and at the same time increasing and attracting them in a bigger number. Last but not least, the financial shortfalls faced by most clubs over the past few years have favored weak results, limiting their evolution and exposure, both internally and externally. CONCLUSION BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
CONTRIBUTORS GAITAN CRISTIANA MARIA 7 years in the sports world had lead to developing a strong passion for it and a deeper understanding of its power. Being involved in various worldwide collaboration roles and internships I gained practical experience within the sport and events industry and working as part of an international large team. Glad to represent and be part of the BA (Hons) Sport Management team at Coventry University. E. cristianamariagaitan@gmail.com sportsbusinessacademy.ro Sports Business Academy is the first academy of sports business from Romania and East Europe dedicated to professionals and lovers within the sport sector. Since 2015, Sports Business Academy has been organising workshops where sports representatives from Romania such as: Ana Maria Branza (Olympic Champion - Fencing), Ciprian Marica (Captain of the National Football Team), Irina Begu (WTA TOP Tennis Player), Stefan Birtalan (World Champion - Handball), Monica Rosu (Double Olympic Champion – Gymnastics) Camelia Potec (Olympic Champion - Swimming), Mihai Leu (World Champion WBO) and other experts from sports industry were invited. GHEORGHE CRISTIAN DRAGOS For almost 6 years (2006-2012) - Executive Manager at Sportul Studentesc, and since June 2012 - Country Sales Manager at Sports Evolution Group (SEG), the leader in the sports marketing industry in Romania. Initiator of the first sports marketing school as part of the Academy of Studies Economics (the first academy dedicated to sports professionals and lovers) - Sports Business Academy and co-author of the Sports Marketing Manual. Proud for being included in "Introduction to Marketing" by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong. E. cristian.gheorghe@sportexplore.com

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Liga 1 Romania brands and typologies of football clubs

  • 1. LIGA 1 ROMANIA BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF FOOTBALL CLUBS
  • 2. Brand Components (Esteve Calzada, 2013) APPLICATION STRATEGY A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. (Seth Godin) It is the sum of the all tangible and intangible characteristics that individualize and differentiate a product/ company and makes them unique in the market place. What about a sports brand? It is the complete set of images and associations held in the mind of the supporter. 2017 finds the Romanian football in a critical and alarming situation. Poor infrastructure, lack of transparency, minimum of investments or nothing invested at all in the grassroots, financial impossibility, high number of litigations regarding the brands and the records of the clubs, are just a few of the major factors that lead to this unacceptable situation. The risen that has been noticed in the press, as far as that goes in the statistics of the litigations mentioned above, has a damaging impact on the football clubs involved in the process, leading to a lack of their identity and in the same time affecting their brands, fact that allows multiple bad consequences and a debasement of the Romanian football . The distincitve elements of a brand can be classified like this: 1. Iconography (badge, graphic elements) 2. Text (name & slogans) 3. Sound elements (songs & athems) 4. Informal elements (nicknames, mascots, celebrations, rituals) (Esteve Calzada, 2013) Understanding the importance of the brand represents the key of the success and for the clubs, no matter what is their size, it is necessary to recognize the value. The identity of a team’s brand or its personality is important for applying the management & marketing strategies successfully by taking into consideration the position of the club and depending on the values they promote and how the fans perceive it. On most of the cases, a team is recognised for its history, tradition, victories, tactics and fans behaviour. History and positioning, results, commercial operations and management strategies create the intangible image of a sports property. Day-to-day activities will also have a big impact on this image. Moreover, on-the-pitch circumstances, the bad/ good results of the matches, the activities of the managers in their business and private lives, are eloquent examples of situations that depending on their exposure in the media, may influence more or less this intangible image (the brand). All these elements along with other characteristics like: records, number of winnings, personality of a player/ coach/ sport director give personality to the team and make the brand to stand out. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 3. BRAND IS NOT A LOGO CORPORATE IDENTITY ADVERTISING MARKETING BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 4. BRAND MANAGEMENT 1. Designing the iconography of the brand 2. Identifying new ideas and finding different elements in order to be adopted 3. Legal registration to avoid potential offenders 4. Delivering legitimacy of the brand- encouraging its use, especially by the whole team members of the club 5. Using publicity to maximise the connotation of the brand 6. Protecting it by keeping an eye on its application (checking who has the right to use it and how – sponsors, licenses, etc.) and suing those that use it illegally. IDENTITY POSITIONING MARKETING ACTIVITIES BRAND EQUITY The majority of the international football clubs overlook the brand as an opportunity to maximise their revenues. Harnessing your brand in the correct way can be hugely beneficial in terms of generating added revenue that can be invested into playing staff or infrastructure. When it comes to sell something intangible, branding is even harder. Because of this, most of the foreign teams use sponsorships as a support, in this way, establishing through them a bigger fan base. By carefully selecting them, you can easily target the right customer segment. Also, the big stars of sports have a big impact on the brand image. For example, when Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United, the club jumped up to no. 2 from no. 5 on the media brand list of advertisers. EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL BRANDS Manchester United – the most valuable football club brand for 3 years in a row (almost $1 billion dollars) Real Madrid – the strongest football club brand in the world BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 5. BRAND IS CONFIDENCE PASSION BELONGING ACTION SECURITY A SET OF UNIQUE VALUES BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 6. BRAND POSITIONING Marketing Foundation - Mary de Gendre (2013) 1. DOMAIN 2. HERITAGE 3. VALUES 4. ASSETS 5. PERSONALITY 6. REFLECTION 1. The target market of the brand – its position in the marketplace 2. Its history and culture – the way it has achieved success/ failure over its life. 3. The essential values and characteristics of the brand 4. What makes the brand to stand out in the marketplace? (symbols, relations, characteristics) 5. The character of the brand described in terms of other entities such as people, animals or objects. 6. How the customer perceives him/herself as a result of buying/using the brand. How does a sport brand differ to a conventional brand? THE SIZEABLE PRESENCE OF A BRAND FANATIC - - - - - - - - ------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --------------------- PRODUCT LOW GENERIC STRONG HIGH INVOLVEMENT OF THE USER VALUES OF THE BRAND BRAND ‘RELIGION’ Sport Brands encapsulate the phenomenon of the brand ‘religion’ where the value of the brand becomes so high in the mind of the consumer that he/she will ALWAYS stay loyal to it. What makes the true supporters remain loyal even when results are not good? It is the club’s PHILOSOPHY and VALUES. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 7. The world’s most valuable football clubs brands (Brand Finance Study) $1.7 Billion $1.4 Billion $1.34 Billion $1.29 Billion $1.26 Billion $1 Billion BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 8. TEAM SALIENCE TEAM PERFORMANCE TEAM IMAGERY FANS JUDGEMENTS FANS FEELINGS FANS – TEAM RESONANCE 2. Meaning – What is the Team? 1. Identity – Who is the Team? 3. Responses – What about the Team? 4. Relationship – What about the Team and Fans? Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001) Brand Equity Pyramid created by Keller (2001) represents the most realistic and modern framework that shows the building process of the brand equity by following a set of steps that should be applied and coordinated by the management team of the clubs. Thus, this department must have a clear vision and understanding of the team salience and take into consideration in their analysis the performance and image of the team, the opinions of the fans and their feelings regarding the club. Not eventually, it must be evaluated the most important characteristic - how the fans resonates with the team – together with the CSR part (Corporate Social Responsibility) and make it easier for their club to leverage long-term loyalty with the supporters. The very first step is to explore the reasons of the team’s existence, followed by other decisive steps like defining the identity of the team and its relation with the fans. It must be mentioned that every single step is complex and depends on the success of the previous steps. The management sector should not jump to the next step without defining the previous one. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 9. Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001) HIERARCHY OF INTENT AND NEEDS SATISFACTION TEAM RELIABILITY TEAM EFFECTIVENESS TEAM STYLE TICKET PRICE FAN DEMOGRAPHIS FACTORS FAN PSGYCHOGRAPHIC FACTORS MODE OF SPORT CONSUMPTION PERSONALITY/ VALUES OF FANS HISTORY/ PERFORMANCE OF TEAM QUALITY CREDIBILITY SUPERIORITY CONSIDERATION WARMTH FUN EXCITEMENT SECURITY SOCIAL APPROVAL SELF RESPECT LOYALTY ATTACHAMENT COMMITMENT ENGAGEMENT SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CONSEQUENCES FAN LOYALTY MERCHANDISE SALE JERSEY RIGHTS MEDIA EXPOSURE TICKET SALES This figure explains the a little bit more the framework created in the previous one, offering a more detailed picture and showing some of the consequences. By understanding the reason why your club does exist, it may be defined the hierarchy of intent. Thus, it is bringing in the minds of the fans the category of the product, its logo, symbol, name and possible nicknames. It will be considered the easiness with which the fans recognise and identify the team, it will be analysed its performance which depends not only on the matches results but also on their reliability, consistency, effectiveness and playing style. All of these contribute to strengthening the brand loyalty and a growth in sales. Then it will be analysed the market in order to target the consumers correctly from a demographic (gender, race, ethnicity, income, marital status) and psychographic (attitude towards sports/ life, social issues, possessions, careers or political interest) point of view and by not forgetting about the mode of consumption of sports, fans personalities and their values and finally the past history or performance of the team. Moreover, it will be evaluated whether the team lives in the mind or in the heart of the fans. The first ones tend to take rational decisions and to appreciate the quality of the team, the value of the players, the reliability of the team and its superiority towards other teams. The other type of fans acts impulsive but offer more emotions, warmth, joy, being attracted by the fun found in the team, its social approval, self- respect and patriotism. Lastly, the top of the pyramid shows the existence or the lack of strong psychological bond between the fans and the team. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 10. Branding benefits (for organizations): • Provides value to the company (clubs) - brand equity - is used to measure brand power on the market; an increased equity of the brand generates intangible value to the firm, in terms of sales and profit • Ensures consumer (fan) loyalty - strong brands have positive effects on consumer perceptions and preferences • Apply a barrier to competition - it is difficult for new brands to compete with the strong and positive perceptions owned by buyers on top brands • Higher profits (eg improving the performance of merchandising and ticketing departments) • Media exposure Branding benefits (for consumers): • Effective communication of features and benefits - at first instance - brands are a source of product information. They communicate about the product and its benefits. Brand features make it easier for consumers to identify their products • Trust - Branding builds trust and reduces the risk of socially embarrassing situations BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 11. LIGA 1 The Professional League of Football (LPF) is a sporting structure of all the professional football clubs in Romania which are competing in the first football echelon – evolving under the name of ‘LIGA 1’ since 1993. The idea of establishing this federation is old and determined by the necessity of organizing the supreme competition of football in any country, which is the national championship. Romania has made no exception to this basic rule of international football and acted accordingly. At present, the competition is made up of only 14 teams. • 1934/35 – the first championship with one group – 12 teams • 1946/68 - period with year-to-year fluctuations – between 12 and 14 teams • 1968/69 – 16 teams • 19733/74 – 18 teams (constant number till 1999) • 1999/2000 – 16 teams • 2006/20015 – 18 teams Since 2015, League 1 is made up of 14 teams, playing in the play - off and play - out system. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 12. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 1. FCSB 2. DINAMO 3. F.C. VOLUNTARI 4. CONCORDIA CHIAJNA 5. JUVENTUS BUCUREȘTI 6. F.C. BOTOȘANI 7. CSM IAȘI 8. VIITORUL CONSTANÈšA 9. ASTRA GIURGIU 10. CS UNIVERSITATEA CRAIOVA 11. ACS POLI TIMIȘOARA 12. CFR CLUJ 13. GAZ METAN MEDIAȘ 14. SEPSI OSK BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 13. This study’s focus is on finding the relevant characteristics of every single football club in Liga 1 and to see what kind of brand they have. Even with a significant number of international academic literature about sport branding, it was hard to apply it because Romania has a lack of information, documents and reports regarding this topic and its situation and there is so much research to be done here as a fact that this subject wasn’t approach at a professional high level. Above all, this paper is based on secondary data documented by academic international literature which highlights the importance of branding in sport and sport articles, official websites of the football clubs and pages created by supporters which are critical in order to find the right characteristics of the teams. All of these can help to create a big picture about the current situation and to figure out some of the solutions. The teams were analysed and compared with each other by checking and investigating all of their online official pages (13 websites, 14 Facebook pages, 11 Instagram accounts, 6 Twitter pages and 5 YouTube channels), 21 pages created by supporters, 896 press articles (sport.ro, prosport.ro, gsp.ro) and mostly based on the study cases of Couvelaere & Ricehelieu (2005). It was taken into consideration the quantity and quality of the available information about history, best/ worst results, continuity, community, strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it was tried to find out relevant symbols for each club, badges and popularity. For example, at very first sight, it is observed the presence of the football ball on 64% of the badges, for the rest of 36% (Viitorul ConstanÈ›a, Dinamo, Universitatea Craiova, Juventus BucureÈ™ti, FCSB) being missed. Other noted elements: stars (FCSB, Dinamo, Concordia Chiajna, Astra Giurgiu), the year of establishment –for more than half of the clubs and the shield. If the football ball determines what kind of sport is played by these clubs, distinguishing them from the others, the stars, a symbol of masculinity, suggest brilliance, excellence, victory, the year of its foundation allows anchoring in history, and the shield conveys the idea of a fighter spirit. For most of the clubs, the analysis has been hampered by lack of information: outdated websites with little content. One of the most relevant example is Sepsi OSK which does not even have a website and their Facebook page is predominantly written in Hungarian. Taking as an example the study by Couvelaere and Richelieu (2005), it was noted that when talking about Lille Olympique SC, the world thinks of a spirit of fighter, solidarity and modernity, and in the case of Olympique Marseille, there is the emotional warmth and sympathy. Thus, this model has been taken into account to help examine the characteristics of Liga1 clubs. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 14. TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES FCSB STEAUA red-blue Gheorghe Becali ‘Trup si suflet pentru culori!’ (everything for the team) Excellence, dynamism, tradition The most titled football club in Romania Winner of the UEFA Champions League (1986) international reputation/ national brand a division of the supporters support a fierce drive to win popularity glorious past identity issues pressure on coaches financial interest is ahead of football DINAMO ‘cainii rosii’ –red dogs Haldan white-red family, unity, tradition CSR the second most prestigious football club in Romania present in international competitions accepted and supported by the community show in the stands diehard and devoted fans glorious past the stadium conflicts between supporters and patronage lack of international performance CONCORDIA CHIAJNA the ‘eagles’ yellow-green vitality It is not perceived as a historic club local brand supported by the community desire to fight friendship uncertainty at the technical bank level difficulty staying in Liga 1 JUVENTUS BUCURESTI symbolic features similar to those of the Juventus Torino team investment in the grassroots respect historic promotion in Liga1 local brand integrate only at the 'neighborhood‘ level devotion motivation it s considered a neighborhood club FC VOLUNTARI anchor borrows from the spirit of Rapid (acquiring the former glories from Giulesti) -young club (founded in 2010) local brand hardworking, desire to build a strong club ‘Mircea Rădulescu’ Academy it does not have a clear identity ASTRA GIURGIU Sumudica tenacity It is not perceived as a historic club international level performance it is not a club accepted by the community yet it is perceived from the sporting point of view as a valuable team it does not yet have a clear position lack of strategy on the part of children and juniors VIITORUL CONSTANTA ‘V’ Gheorghe Hagi ‘Hagi’ Academy trust for the future young people value It is not perceived as a historic club local brand it is not accepted as a community team from the level of children, translated at national level by winning the title in Liga 1 perseverance; fighter spirit tenacity not identifying with the community lack of tradition or historical past *It was considered the UEFA’s statement regarding the position of FCSB. Although FCSB has international prestige with notable results and is a national brand, it can not move on to the next level of international brand because it has not expanded its marketing activities and did not enter the other countries market from the football point of view. Example: Real Madrid / Juventus / Manchester United - have broadcasted matches across Europe, Asia and much of America, spread academies around the globe, and an international marketing campaign. BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
  • 15. TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES CS U CRAIOVA ‘leii din Banie’ ‘Eterna Terra Nova’ Balaci nationalist spirit Energy, vitality ‘abonati la istorie’ (‘subscribers to history’) internationally known team dividing fans because of multiple identities through the new arena, the union of the supporters in one group will be achieved disputes with the ex - former team from Liga 1 division of supporters ACS POLI TIMISOARA ‘Recas’ adaptability growth the violet phenomenon regional brand it was not accepted as a continuation of the history of Poli TimiÅŸoara a catalyst for local energies financial problems CFR CLUJ white – burgundy the champions from Transilvania more than a club, more than a team, a phenomenon ‘ fighting to be accepted as a traditional brand regional brand ambition seriousness history the lack of fidelity of supporters over the years GAZ METAN MEDIAS ‘Gazul’ resistance It is not perceived as a historic club local brand the community does not hold it as a relevant brand the mathematician coach: Cristian PuÅŸtai (he has released great players such as Eric de Oliveira and Tha’er Bawab) financial uncertainty lack of strategy at a junior level SEPSI OSK secuimea unity It is not perceived as a historic club local brand the community is represented by the team trying to unite the nations through football Hungarian-Romanian conflict the predominant use of Hungarian on all communication platforms CSM POLI IASI it does not identify with a symbol 'part of the city, part of your heart‘ 'United we will win' the longest-running professional club in Moldova still fails to become a national brand but aims to achieve the goal community support fans' dissatisfaction with the leaders FC BOTOSANI it does not identify with a symbol ‘a love of life over the years’ -stability, balance 2013 – 1st promotion in Liga 1 local brand the community is represented by the team professionalism, fairness European values; fair play club with local resonance BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
  • 16. TEAM WEBSITE APP FCSB yes 1.900.000 26.100 725 / / Dinamo yes 432.835 17.000 929 17.000 da Universitatea Craiova yes 161. 425 1.500 789 1.700 / CFR Cluj yes 102. 071 1.200 / / / FC Viitorul yes 92.000 143 / 4.600 da ACS Poli TimiÈ™oara yes 28.494 983 441 / / CSM Poli IaÈ™i yes 27.994 110 / 615 / FC BotoÈ™ani yes 18.381 / 352 344 / Astra Giurgiu yes 13.919 191 535 / / ACS Sepsi OSK no 9.213 / / / / Gaz Metan MediaÈ™ yes 9.118 / / / / FC Voluntari yes 8.365 571 / / / Concordia Chiajna yes 5.000 196 / / / Juventus BucureÈ™ti yes 123 106 / / / BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1 October – November 2017
  • 17. Fans are marketing on steroids. They talk, they promote, they lead by example. Additionally to this, branding in football is an important business nowadays that although it is about money, it is driven by emotional experience, passion and constant victories. Following the analysis of the Liga1 clubs, it was found that if most fans do not agree with the leaders of the clubs, considering that their actions reflect interest in business and disintegrate football itself, so clubs lose their identity and , while decreasing the number of supporters. Decisions leadership should be in line with fans' wishes because they are the ones who "hold" the brand. The majority of the international football clubs identify themselves with a representative stadium (home ground of the team/ 2nd home for the supporters) and it used to be like this in Romania too but it’s changed now because of the litigations and it is no longer possible to apply this on a lot of the clubs in Liga 1. The poor infrastructure can be noticed from the bottom to the top and it causes damages to the level of the Romanian football: lack of training grounds for children, amateurs and even professionals, pitches in bad conditions, all of these leading to a low desire in practicing this sport in term of kids, thus having a lack of national youth talents and in conclusion awful results not only for the teams clubs but for the national team too. Moreover, it was also observed the lack of transparency of the club's actions, the lack of a strategy that involves both what happens on the field and outside it, as well as the lack of knowledge of club fan clubs, which prevents them from identifying with the club and at the same time increasing and attracting them in a bigger number. Last but not least, the financial shortfalls faced by most clubs over the past few years have favored weak results, limiting their evolution and exposure, both internally and externally. CONCLUSION BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
  • 18. CONTRIBUTORS GAITAN CRISTIANA MARIA 7 years in the sports world had lead to developing a strong passion for it and a deeper understanding of its power. Being involved in various worldwide collaboration roles and internships I gained practical experience within the sport and events industry and working as part of an international large team. Glad to represent and be part of the BA (Hons) Sport Management team at Coventry University. E. cristianamariagaitan@gmail.com sportsbusinessacademy.ro Sports Business Academy is the first academy of sports business from Romania and East Europe dedicated to professionals and lovers within the sport sector. Since 2015, Sports Business Academy has been organising workshops where sports representatives from Romania such as: Ana Maria Branza (Olympic Champion - Fencing), Ciprian Marica (Captain of the National Football Team), Irina Begu (WTA TOP Tennis Player), Stefan Birtalan (World Champion - Handball), Monica Rosu (Double Olympic Champion – Gymnastics) Camelia Potec (Olympic Champion - Swimming), Mihai Leu (World Champion WBO) and other experts from sports industry were invited. GHEORGHE CRISTIAN DRAGOS For almost 6 years (2006-2012) - Executive Manager at Sportul Studentesc, and since June 2012 - Country Sales Manager at Sports Evolution Group (SEG), the leader in the sports marketing industry in Romania. Initiator of the first sports marketing school as part of the Academy of Studies Economics (the first academy dedicated to sports professionals and lovers) - Sports Business Academy and co-author of the Sports Marketing Manual. Proud for being included in "Introduction to Marketing" by Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong. E. cristian.gheorghe@sportexplore.com