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Marketing in football:

A business versus a

culture

Written by Charlotte Tyson, BA Marketing, University of Hull

April 2015

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thanks my Independent Study supervisor, Mr Phil Robinson for his

tremendous help and encouragement throughout this particular project and my overall

time at the University of Hull.

I would also like to thank the participants of my questionnaires for their time, honesty

and kind words regarding my study. Further to this, Id like to take the time to thank

David Burns for providing his opinions, Mark Gretton of Hull City Supporters Trust and

last but not least Everton Football Club for the time they took to contact me and provide

me with insight to their own rebrand.

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Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 3

2.0 Aims and Objectives .......................................................................................... 4

3.0 Literature Review ............................................................................................... 5

3.1 Marketing Definitions...................................................................................... 5

3.2 Supporters as customers ............................................................................... 6

3.3 Branding .......................................................................................................... 6

3.4 Case Study: Hull City ...................................................................................... 6

3.5 Extending a brand globally: A view from the Chinese market .................... 9

3.6 Public Relations, social media and campaigns .......................................... 10

4.0 Research Methods ........................................................................................... 13

5.0 Limitations of Research ................................................................................... 13

6.0 Data Analysis .................................................................................................... 14

6.1 Case Study: Everton ..................................................................................... 14

6.2 Case Study: Cardiff City F.C ........................................................................ 16

7.0 Results .............................................................................................................. 18

7.1 Survey one: Generic supporters ................................................................. 18

7.2 Survey two: Hull City supporters ................................................................ 21

7.3 Survey Three: Internationals ........................................................................ 25

8.0 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 26

8.1 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 26

9.0 Appendices ....................................................................................................... 28

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1.0 Introduction

Throughout the 2013/2014 Barclays Premier League campaign, Hull City AFC owners

and chairmen, Dr Assem and Mr Ehab Allam, controversially released plans to change

the name of the club from Hull City AFC to Hull Tigers which caused uproar between

fans of the club as well as capturing the nations headlines.

Dr Assem Allam claims to have conducted sufficient research to prove that by

changing the name of the club, there will be a larger marketing potential in the Asian

market. Despite the uproar and clear supporter disagreement, Dr Assem and Ehab

Allam continue to protest against the football associations refusal for the name

change.

Dr Assem Allam stated in Conn (2013a) that he cannot afford to run the club by fans

feelings. During the course of this project, I am looking at football branding as a

business versus culture comparison and looking into whether a name change can

increase marketing ability. Dr Assem Allam has openly explained his belief that the

term City is redundant, common and meaningless, believing that by dropping the

City, the shorter name would be more powerful in marketing terms to be globally

successful (Conn, 2013a).

This report will look into the current academic beliefs in Marketing, two different case

studies in which clubs have rebranded or changed something traditional and failed as

well as primary research from speaking to football supporters around the world. The

report will be concluded with conclusions and recommendations for the club owners.

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2.0 Aims and Objectives

The aim of the report is: To identify whether a rebrand of an English Premier League

football club would increase its financial performance through global marketing.

Objectives:

1. Conduct research through primary and secondary sources on the marketing in

football.

2. Comparison of clubs that have rebranded and the responses of their supporters.

3. Research the basic principles of marketing, branding and how a football club can

enter a foreign market.

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3.0 Literature Review

The situation at Hull City AFC has been widely covered by national media both in print

and online. On the other hand, the academic thinking of marketing in football is rare to

find and has not been actively spoken about by marketing professionals.

3.1 Marketing Definitions

In the terms of academic thinking, I have researched into basic marketing principles,

brand names and loyalty to customers. The thinking behind what marketing means

differs from country to country however, both the UKs Chartered Institute of Marketing

(CIM) and the American Marketing Association (AMA) both state clearly what their

beliefs of marketing are. The CIM state that marketing is the management process

responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements

profitably (CIM, 2001). On the other hand, AMA describe marketing as the activity,

set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and

exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at

large (AMA, 2013). Both of these definitions suggest that the satisfaction of customers

are the key to marketing success. However the AMA definition takes the value further

looking at other stakeholders of an organisation and not just the customer. Despite

this, the main focus on marketing seems to be in relation to the consumer with

Brassington et al (2006, p.6) stating all marketing activities should be all about what

the customer wants and that if the customer requirements or desires are not met then

the marketing strategies have failed. A wider definition of marketing incorporates the

ideas of both the CIM and AMA but delves further into the relationship side of

marketing stating that marketing is to establish, maintain and enhance relationships

with customers and other partners, at a profit, so that the objectives of the parties

involved are met. This is achieved by mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises

(Grnroos, 1997).

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3.2 Supporters as customers

As all of the marketing definitions have stated, customers are the most important factor

in the marketing of a product or an organisation. Looking at the customers of a football

club, these could be deemed part of a culture in which Rice (1993, p. 242) defines as:

The attitudes, beliefs, ideas, artefacts and other meaningful symbols represented in

the pattern of life adopted by people that help them interpret, evaluate and

communicate as members of society. Football supporters have a pattern in life in that

they may just watch the odd game or follow a team every now and again, another

extreme would be an individual who becomes largely involved in the passion of the

game and their own club and its values/traditions. Chinsall (1985) claims that culture

is passed on from generation to generation which relates to the traditions of football in

which a parent takes his son or daughter which then carries on through the generations

creating tradition and family values.

3.3 Branding

The branding of a product or an organization is crucial. Brassington et al (2006, p.301)

explains that branding itself doesnt have to be physical, it can be emotional and have

a set of values in which the consumer matches to their own. Mitchell (1999) believes

that having brand values will be crucial in order to build trust and win the affection of

the consumers. Football clubs are classed as a passion brand according to

Brassington et al (2006, p.306) in which the brand reflects the supporter in that the

values are an inner belief and that very strong emotions are attached. The consumers

of a football club are classed as followers who tend to buy into the football club based

on geographic location, what the brand/club stands for as well as feeling part of a

culture.

3.4 Case Study: Hull City

The change in the badge and the proposed name change at Hull City AFC may be

seen as innovative by the owners however innovation without reference to the

consumer can be seen as a huge risk. Consumers are the key to a business and the

organisation is in business to serve the customers needs and wants. Customers are

the key factor to a successful business and the business should be in touch with them

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through formal research techniques, noticing and monitoring changes in attitudes and

feelings towards the products and the business (Brassington et al, 2006, p.393).

Moving onto specifically looking at Hull City and the name change, several articles

have been gathered in which Dr Allam talks about his decisions, how they will market

the club better and how he cannot afford to run the club by fans' feelings (Conn,

2013a).

One of the first interviews to be released in relation to the name change was produced

in national newspaper, The Guardian, in which Dr Allam revealed his intentions and

reasons behind the proposed name change in an interview with journalist David Conn

(Conn, 2013b). Hull Citys trade name had already been changed from Hull City AFC

to Hull City Tigers and had been registered at Companies House and with the Football

Association claiming that AFC meant nothing. In the interview Dr Allam goes on to

explain that Tigers is a name of power and will allow the club to market itself globally,

making the millions of pounds it needs to become sustainable in the Premier League.

Dr Allam made a comparison between Hull City and Manchester United in saying that

Manchester United are selling shirts in the Far East and selling commercial activities

globally claiming that Hull City needs to be known globally and by shortening the name

this will happen. In complete contrast to the opinions of Dr Allam, Manchester United

are a popular global brand because of their success on the field and off, their current

and former players as well as financially being levels higher than Hull City. It is

impossible to compare two clubs that are at the complete opposite ends of the

spectrum in terms of the Barclays Premier League. The only realistic way in which we

can be as globally successful as Manchester United is through years of on field

success, European tournaments and investing in popular players from the Far East.

After submitting the name change request, Dr Allam admitted to Conn that he had not

researched the global advantage of Tigers and claimed that he knows that it would

make a difference with a quicker impact and in Dr Allams own words he stated Its

textbook marketing (Dr Allam cited in Conn , 2013b). It is understandable the reasons

in which Dr Allam wishes to expand the marketing ability due to the fact that football

clubs due to the opportunities from the rapid economic development of Asian

countries.

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Dr Allams idea of a shorter and more powerful name is derived from his academic

research in which he cited a single article that he has claimed to make the decision

for him. This article is in the Harvard Business Review and the author, OConnell

(2013), claims that on average, companies with short, simple names attract more

shareholders, generate greater amounts of stock trading, and perform better on certain

financial measures than companies with hard-to-process names such as National

Oilwell Varco and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold, say T. Clifton Green of Emory

University and Russell E. Jame of the University of Kentucky. A 1-step increase in

name fluency on a 5-step scale, such as reducing name length by 1 word, is

associated with a 2.53% increase in market-to-book ratio, which would translate to

$3.75 million in added market value for the median-size firm in the authors sample.

Selecting an easy-to-process company name is a low-cost method for improving

investor recognition and increasing firm value, the authors says. From looking at this

article and relating it back to the football club case, parts of the article contradict what

Dr Allam has already being quoted in numerous interviews both on the radio and in

print.

Firstly, the quote states that a shorter name is only beneficial on average. It is not

specifying what sector the companies that have been looked at. If the quote had have

stated on average in the sports industry then Dr Allam would have a stronger

argument but due to no specific sector stated this cannot be justified for such a

controversial step such as a name change. Secondly, this specific quote looks at the

impact of a shorter name on the stock market and certain financial measures, not

looking at the sale of merchandise and commercial activities as Dr Allam quoted in

The Guardian that Manchester United are selling shirts in the far east and for the club

to be known globally the club needed to shorten their name (Conn, 2013b). With Dr

Allam using this specific research to back up his decision, it would either suggest that

he would like to see Hull City on the stock market or he appears to have overlooked

the impact of a shorter name on global awareness and merchandise sales.

Furthermore, this comparison is based on hard-to-process names, Hull City in my

opinion is not difficult to process and is actually shorter in character count than Hull

Tigers which further contradicts Dr Allams statement. Should this be the only article

used in his research, there is no legitimate point that can be proven in regards to the

name change of a football club.

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3.5 Extending a brand globally: A view from the Chinese market

Looking at his idea to be able to brand the club in the Asian market, Bodet et al (2010)

previously conducted a focus group with a number of Chinese students based on

building global football brand equity. This research looks at different perceptions of the

game linked with brand associations and loyalty. The movement of the marketing

strategies of clubs from the UK to foreign markets began with Manchester United who

were the first to break into the Asian market. They have been successful due to on

field success, establishment of foreign merchandise outlets and building relationships

with other global brands. The participation in Asian-based tournaments/tours, the

development of soccer schools and the recruitment of Asian players. Asian markets

are emergent countries with a very high potentiality of commercial development, highly

populated, solvent with increasing levels of purchase power, they are passionate

about sport in general and football in particularly and finally because they are super

consumers of merchandising and media (Desbordes, 2007).

In terms of entering these foreign markets, Bodet et al (2010) explains that

professional football clubs need to clearly define who they are, how they want to be

perceived, who they want to attract and how they want to be positioned but before,

they need to determine how they are perceived on these markets. In relation to Dr

Allam, it is important that his research is thorough and he approaches this market

segment to determine where Hull City stand at the minute and what could be done to

improve these views based on the opinions of those in that country.

In this particular study, the focus groups aimed at finding out the views of Chinese

students on the English Premier League. According to the results in the report, it

appears that professional football clubs perceived brand quality can be organised

around six factors which are club achievements, on-field performance, current

members of the club, history and traditions, marketing programmes and team kits.

When looking at the importance of players as a brand attribute, several interviewees

noted that the presence of Chinese players strongly affects their interest and then their

level of awareness something that Hull City could look into in the next transfer

window should this be a route. One participant mentioned: players and coach can

influence my team choice. Clubs which buy Chinese players will enhance attention of

Chinese fans. Another claimed: I would pay more attention to the clubs which buy

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some Chinese players. If the players can play as key player, this will attract my

attention. An example of this working well was the signing of Park Ji-sung from South

Korea who moved to Manchester United in 2005 and is now a global ambassador for

the team, building relationships globally through a former player. Most respondents

also agreed that history and traditions are fundamental assets to the brands even if

they do not know the clubs history very well another factor in which Dr Allam could

look into with regards to the name change.

Bodet et al (2010) also knows that several respondents mentioned that they

supported a club because of a specific player and, if this player was transferred to

another club, they would change their mind, even to support the best rival. Then, it can

be said that the clubs do not benefit from a strong brand image because the image

does not survive to the players when they leave. This represents an important issue

for professional clubs, and they clearly need to develop a strong and distinctive brand

image on a long-term perspective.

There clearly is an international market available for the English Premier League clubs

however, the ideas and opinions of internationals should be taken into account and

researched before the marketing strategy is implemented.

3.6 Public Relations, social media and campaigns

The Guardian interview (Conn, 2013b) was released online on 12th November 2013

and outrage sparked amongst some Hull City supporters and members of the football

community. Word spread fast across social media in which Hull City began to trend

on Twitter.

Not only have the supporters voiced their opinions via social media, but also other

clubs supporters and supporters groups. An example of which with Cardiff City who

have also gone through the same process of a complete rebrand under their Malaysian

owner Tan Sri Vincent Tan who since has retracted the rebranding. Further

individuals who have commented on the name change include the likes of ex-players,

managers, business owners and other football associates.

It was through social media that campaigners began coming together with the use of

#NoToHullTigers. This began to trend and resulted in the formation of the City Till We

Die campaign group in 2013 which would later be known as the Hull City Supporters

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Trust as of 2015. From the formation, social media from the campaign group has been

ever active with a detailed blog keeping everyone up to date with meetings and actions

and constant involvement with supporters. Digitally, the CTWD Facebook page which

had over 5,500 likes and a Twitter account with 6,500 followers within six months of

the first interview being published.

The City Till We Die campaigners

worked hard to provide an opposing

view of Dr Allams opinions which are

most detailed in their twenty one page

submission to the FA, specifically

collated for a meeting with Mr. Neil

Prescott, the Financial Regulation

Officer for Club Governance at the

Wembley Stadium on January 24th

2014. The report looks into a variety of

different areas, which include; the

history of name changes in the English football league looking at how name changes

have impacted previous clubs in the past, the dismantling of the rationale of the name

change which similarly criticizes the choice of words and lack of research conducted

by Dr Assem Allam, the wider implications of a name change and also, most

importantly, how to maximize revenue modern day without changing the name.

Today, Hull City Supporters Trust are still fighting issues within the club including the

ongoing battle with the proposed name change. Each member of the supporters trust,

957 as of 19th April 2015, are shareholders in the trust which allows members to voice

their opinions and attend the annual general meeting with the member selected board

of directors.

April 9th 2014 also saw a turnaround in the name change as the Football Association

Council rejected the name change. The name change was put forward to a number of

representatives across football and the vote of no came from 63.5% of the member

vote (FA, 2014). Despite this, a year on Dr Allam formally appealed against the FAs

decision against the name change in which the Hull City Supporters Trust will be

putting a new submission to the FA to oppose changes.

City Till We Die has made clear our full

support for Dr Allams ownership of Hull City.

He was the financial saviour of Hull City

when he bought the club in 2010, addressed

its debts and avoided possible liquidation. He

then invested further to pilot The Tigers back

to the Premier League. Dr Allam is a Hull City

hero who has now loaned the club over 70

million from his own wealth we only

disagree with him on one matter, that the

playing name of the football club should be

changed.

The CITY TILL WE DIE campaign group January

2014

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It is important to look further past the newspapers, past the academic research and

explore rebranding in reality; looking at multiple football clubs as well as the true,

honest opinions of individuals around the world.

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4.0 Research Methods

In order to gain a varied view of opinions on the subject of marketing in modern day

football and the traditions in the game, three surveys will be made available online and

will be advertised through the use of social media. The first survey will look at the views

of Hull City AFC supporters, looking into the current name change situation at the club

as well as how the club are currently marketing themselves to the nation and

worldwide. The second survey will look at the views of all other football supporters and

will ask similar questions to survey number one however, adding on how they are

impressed with their own clubs marketing strategies.

An additional survey will be targeted at individuals from other countries and will be

based on recognition and what makes them interested in a team within the English

leagues. This will look at the importance of kit colours, badges and names for teams

and how they affect the marketing in different global locations.

Further to this, it is also important to try and take into consideration the views of

marketing managers at a number of premier league clubs. For this particular section

of my research I intend to contact senior club representatives of Everton FC, Cardiff

City FC and Hull City AFC to gather their thoughts on the changes that have been

made previously at each club as well as how the fans influence their marketing

decision.

Ethics and confidentiality will be critical in the research due to the use of human

participants.

5.0 Limitations of Research

The research was conducted as unbiased as possible sharing the survey via public

social media platforms and fan forums. In terms of research with regards to the foreign

market, language barriers proved to be a slight limitation of my research. Despite this,

I have still managed to gain sufficient research through my literature review.

In terms of conducting interviews with senior club representatives, this became a major

limitation. Cardiff City FC didn't reply to my contact request and the communications

with Hull City AFC began well but unfortunately never came as far as an interview.

If this project was funded with a bigger budget and a larger time frame, the research

would have been completed on a larger scale and more football clubs would have

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been approached with regards to the marketing and opinions if their own senior club

representatives.

6.0 Data Analysis

6.1 Case Study: Everton

One club that have changed their Club badge in the last few years are Everton FC.

The club decided that a new badge was needed in order to maintain consistency

throughout national and international media on print and television as well as making

a suitable reproduction for the digital era.

The new badge was unveiled prior to the

2013/2014 football season with that seasons

kit already being in production with the

updated badge. Figure 1 shows the previous

badge to the reproduction which shows a

noticeable difference with the change in the

design of the tower, the removal of the scroll

and wreaths. The reproduction was suitable

for digital use as well as looking a lot smarter and tidier. Despite this, many fans did

not like the badge and over 25,000 signed a petition against the badge change.

Speaking to a club representative at Everton, the reasons behind the badge change

were mainly to simplify a complicated badge that was often poorly reproduced. In an

interview the club representative admitted that the process in which the club went

about changing the badge didnt work, in part due to not fully involving fans in the

process.

In my own primary research it was discovered that Everton fans have high values of

traditions, keeping the history of the club alive and the importance of name, badge and

heritage. The wreaths and the scroll underneath the badge were both deemed as

being traditional and important features of the badge. As the new proposed design

had neither of these, fans took a negative stance to the badge which may have also

contributed to a drop in kit sales during the 2013/2014 season, although the badge

was not the only factor in this- the kit was similar to that of the previous season, for

example.

Figure 1

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Knowing that the opinions of supporters and shareholders were important, Everton

then rethought the idea of the badge change and gave everyone related to the club an

opportunity to voice their own opinions. The club representative went on to explain

that around 300,000 surveys of 10-20 questions were sent out to Evertonians about

what areas were important to them. We collated all of the feedback, held focus groups

with fans, directors and shareholders to gather all opinions which we then forwarded

to an external design company who came up with three designs which all had elements

of the opinions of the Evertonians.

Figure 2 shows the three

designs that were developed

from the feedback given

which was then put up to the

test of the supporters who

were given the chance to

vote for the favourite of the

three in which badge number

one was voted favourite by

78% of supporters and the

one that was produced and used in the latest 2014/2015 Barclays Premier League

season.

When asked whether taking the fans thoughts into account was the best way to go

about the changes, Evertons club representative went on to say absolutely, fans are

crucial to the process; they are tattooed, children have bedrooms full of our

merchandise and people have badges on their gates outside of their houses.

Engagement is key and done properly has showed that fans are willing to adapt but

just wanted to be in the know with changes and be able to have their voice heard. The

new badge is not as simple as the 2013/2014 edition however it is what the fans

wanted and it is still replicable and digitally fit.

Figure 2

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6.2 Case Study: Cardiff City F.C

Another club to have a dramatic change of marketing direction was Cardiff City FC.

Long known as the Bluebirds the Welsh team ended up having a complete rebrand

which was announced June 2012 after a the proposal leaked in May 2012. The

rebrand consisted of changing the kit colours from blue to red and changing the badge

from a bluebird to a dragon with further talks of potentially changing the name of the

club to Cardiff Dragons. This move came as Malaysian investors Tan Sri Vincent Tan

and Dato Chan Tien Ghee met with directors as they wanted to extend the appeal of

the club. They claimed that the new investment package would allow the club to

resolve a longstanding debt with the Langston company a valid reason for a rebrand

should debts be wiped.

In an interview with the BBC (2012) the club

explained that the changes would be introduced

with a view to exploiting and maximising its

brand and commercial revenues in international

markets, which it is hoped in turn will bring

success to the club locally, whilst also attracting

new partners and investors. This case is similar

to that at Hull City with both sets of owners wanting global recognition for their teams.

Only Eight months after stating that the name would not change, Tan Sri Vincent Tan

claimed that should the club be promoted to the Premier League then a name change

should not be ruled out. Cardiff Dragons was the name he intended to call the club

should they be successful in the on field game. Like the situation of Hull City, outrage

sparked amongst supporters.

These supporters joined together to display their anger at such proposals. Local

media, Wales Online, conducted a poll based on the name change in which 74% said

the name should not change, 10% said they didn't mind and 16% said that now the

club was playing in red its name should change. Without supporters a club does not

have customers and when asked if they would still support the club should the name

This club will always be Cardiff

City Football Club and its name

and heart will never change nor

are any of the changes meant to

destroy any part of its history or

culture

Dato Chan Tien Ghee, Cardiff City

17

change, 58% (Wales Online, 2013) said that they wouldnt over half of the fan base

would be lost and no true gain.

Within days of announcing that there could potentially be a name change, Tan Sri

Vincent Tan himself issued a statement on the Cardiff City website saying I can

assure all supporters that we will not be changing our name from Cardiff City Football

Club, a club I am very proud to be a part of. Our name is our identity and remains at

our core (Tan, 2013).

The rebrand began in the 2012/2013 Championship season in which Cardiff City and

Hull City both earned automatic promotion to the Premier League. Cardiff City claimed

that the investment would sustain Premier League football which failed due to the club

finishing the 2013/2014 season at the bottom of the league, relegated back to the

Championship the second season of the rebrand.

Two years on, on January 8th 2015, after many protests, 70 representatives including

supporters groups, local government, stakeholders, travel groups, message boards

and campaign groups are invited to the club for a consultation meeting in which Tan

Sri Vincent Tan confirmed that the club would rebrand back to Bluebirds and

confirming that the kit would return to blue after spending 100m on the rebrand in the

first place (Wathan, 2015).

Figure 3

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7.0 Results

From conducting three different surveys it has been possible to segment the

respondents based on their location and football team. Survey one was conducted

with football supporters who support any other club other than Hull City.

7.1 Survey one: National football supporters

When collecting the results, it is important to note that there were 59 responses which

were all fairly gathered through the use of social media sharing tools such as retweets

on Twitter and shares on Facebook.

The age of the participants ranged from 18-64 and spread over four continents with

94% being from Europe, 2% from Australia, 2% from North America and 2% from

South America. The main question in this survey was based on the opinions of

marketing in football and the modern changes that clubs are making as discussed in

the Hull City, Cardiff and Evertons case studies.

As shown in figure 9.1a, only around 20% are for modern marketing changes with the

remaining 80% all being against. When asked for reasoning with regards to their

answers, there is a vast range of different opinions. Out of those that were For the

changes, almost half mentioned that fans

should be included in a consultation regarding

the changes. One respondent mentioned that

clubs do need to have the flexibility to

embrace modern marketing whilst maintaining

an eye on the traditions and history upon

which the given club was founded, another

stating that stadium rights could increase

revenue and may be more accepted by supporters.

A view in which fan consultation was not mentioned

detailed I don't really see the big deal on changing

the name of a Football Club, if it's for marketing or

not. For example, Hull Tigers would be Hull City's

new name if the FA (Football Association) approve

it. If they did, so be it. Same club isn't it? It's like

The increasing

influence of big

business in the

game is alienating

the supporters that

make the game

what it is.

Everton FC supporter

The C in FC

stands for

club. Its FC

not PLC

Tottenham Hotspur supporter

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buying a Night Club and changing the name. You own the deeds to that Night Club.

Same applies to Dr Allam, he has bought Hull City, he pumps money into it each

season, let him change the name, they're surviving in the top division of English

football, I can only imagine his goal is to add to their previous success each season.

They were in the FA Cup Final last year against Arsenal, they've never done that. If

it's not broke don't change it, right? The history will always be there but times change,

the world is changing. I personally don't support Hull City, I support Manchester United

but if we changed our name, I'd maybe argue over a better name but I love the club, I

love the history. I will always watch them despite their name, colours or league

position (survey results, 2015). Looking at the 80% of respondents who are against

changes, the high majority (84%) talk about tradition and how that shouldnt be

changed or intervened with, one in particular stating If fans have supported the club

for many years and they don't agree with something as major as changing kit colour

or the clubs name then changes shouldn't be made as at the end of the day these are

the people that are keeping the club running by buying tickets and merchandise.

Following modern marketing changes, the next question looked into what impresses

the respondents about the marketing at their supported club. 68% of football

supporters at Everton claimed that little or nothing impressed them about their clubs

marketing strategy. However community work was a big factor as well as appealing to

Evertons traditions and values. The West Ham United supporters seem to be the most

pleased with their clubs marketing efforts

with the support of charities, the use of social

media on all levels from first team to

academy. One Arsenal fan recognised that

the team is already recognised worldwide

but emphasised that they often have

advertisements in other languages to appeal

to a greater audience. Looking further afield,

one respondent from South America talked

about his local team, the Corinthians, and

explained that the communication with the fans and the encouragement given to

female fans in what is a predominantly male sport, in an incredibly patriarchal country

was what impressed him the most about the marketing of his club. Overall, the majority

I like the fact the

WHUFC talk and listen

to the fans. The

Chairman is very

visible on social

media.

It still feels like it's

about the supporters

and the game rather

than making money.

West Ham United supporters

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of supporters are not currently overly impressed with the marketing of their clubs with

respondents from Leeds United, Newcastle United Tottenham Hotspur all having

nothing much to say.

As much as marketing in any business has moved or is moving to digital platforms

with the development of technologies, it was also important to ask about supporters

opinions of their clubs efforts on social media. Today, social media is one of the easiest

and most effective forms of communication from business to consumer in football

especially with news updates, match commentaries and other features such as

competitions or engagement. As shown in figure 9.1b, 74% claim that they are happy

with the current social media channels that are been updated by the club and the

remaining 26% either are not happy at all with the use of their clubs social media

channels or believe that much more could be done.

The final part of the survey is based around the importance of different aspects of

being a supporter and the traditions at a football club shown in the table in figure 9.1c.

With one being the most important, it is clear to see that the two most important

aspects are the traditions of a club and how the owners treat those traditions as well

as being able to afford to go to regular games/ticket prices. The least important to

these particular respondents is the half time entertainment as well as the level of

quality of the corporate facilities within the stadium.

The final table in figure 9.1d shows the main traditions in football and how they are

ranked amongst each other. They are all ranked at a similar level of importance

however the history and traditions of a club are the most significant traditions to

supporters.

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7.2 Survey two: Hull City supporters

The second of the three surveys was aimed specifically at Hull City supporters, looking

at their opinions in the recent proposed changes as well as their overall opinion on

marketing at the club. In order to receive a varied response it was important that a

range of different aged individuals were interviewed. Through promoting the surveys

on social media, word soon spread about the survey and there were soon over 100

responses.

Figures 9.2a and 9.2b show the varied age ranges of the participants who took part in

the specific Hull City survey as well as their locations.

As both of the results have a wide range of responses, the overall results received will

vary in opinions whether it is from a 25 year old living in another part of the UK or a 68

year old who has been to every game since his childhood. 67% of the respondents

are season ticket holders at the club and around 30% of all participants, as shown in

figure 9.2c, have supported the club for over 36 years before the success of the

premier league and an FA Cup Final.

The current situation at the club with the proposed name change, badge change and

the phase out of the AFC is a topic that has divided supporters, causing uproar and

a broken relationship between a lot of the supporters and the club itself. The survey

was sent out fairly and was advertised on the public, online platforms meaning that

any chance of bias had been eliminated. Figure 9.2d shows the breakdown of the

participants when they were asked whether they are for or against the name change

proposal in which 6.25% claimed that they are for the changes, 16.67% are

undecided and 77.08% are against the name change, which already shows a strong

trend in the responses. In order to gain further detail of the supporters reasonings

there was also an option to state why that particular choice was chosen in which the

majority of respondents answered. The minority that stated that they were for the name

change mainly felt that it is the owners decision, they have earned the right to change

the name and that if it benefits the club then it can only be a good thing.

22

41% of those that stated that they were against the name change claimed that history,

traditions and values should not be changed and this is an important factor to

supporters as well as the English game. Many others displayed their concern as to

whether a name change would increase revenue and global status. Without any true

proof from Dr Allam, many fans do not believe his theories and believe that survival in

the Premier League will be the way to drive revenue with the new television rights

which are due to be introduced as well as the 200,000 of the away supporters

initiative which, as of 22nd April 2015, has not been spent in the way it was intended

and no news has been released based on that income.

The remainder of the supporters remain undecided with the decision, many of them

due to the fact that no real information and proposals have been released.

Identical survey one, Hull City supporters were also asked about their opinions on

social media and how well Hull City use it. Figure 9.2e shows the proportion of

supporters who believe that the social media is used well to those who believe that it

isnt used well at all. Those who stated that social media is used well all said that they

were happy with how Facebook and Twitter were used and love the updates, match

Allam saved us from going out of business and invested the cash that got us at least two

seasons in the premier league and an FA Cup final. He believes a name change can

make our club more marketable in Asia which can only benefit the club financially and

build its reputation. Even if he is wrong about this (I'm undecided), for the money he has

put in to this club as a non-footballing man to give back to the community and bring Hull

success I don't mind the name changing. If it was a random Thai billionaire like at Cardiff

I would be more resistant. The new badge is modern and represents the club better.

18-24, other UK location

I don't see the benefit to the club in alienating thousands of its 'die hard' support on a

whim - what is the point in destroying history and tradition chasing non-existent Far East

Support - the money potentially in increased sponsorship is dwarfed by TV rights and if in

the event of relegation telling your hard-core support to 'die as soon as you want' how

much support/income will be lost - never felt more dis-enfranchised from a Club I've loved

since 1974 with my family having supported since 1920

35-44, East Riding of Yorkshire, season ticket holder

I'd like to keep the original name as it ties every player and fan of the club together.

However I can see the business decision behind changing the name and want the club

to be as successful as possible

25-34, Hull

23

commentaries, interviews and past game highlights. On the contrary, many fans

disagree and are not happy about how the social media channels are currently being

run. One of the first complaints that stood out from

the responses was that the correct hashtags are

not being used on Twitter in the opinion of the

supporters. Hull City currently use #UTT however,

this is also used by Huddersfield Town and their

supporters. For many years, Hull City fans have

shared their thoughts by using #hcafc which the

club did originally use and then dropped even

though the majority of supporters still talk about

football over this hashtag, not #UTT. Many others simply refuse to interact with social

media due to the name change and the change of names on those specific platforms.

For example, one participant said that he searched for Hull City and could only find

fan groups, not the team that has been known as

Hull City for over 100 years. Other factors include

a lack of engagement between supporters and the

club replying to tweets would increase brand

reputation as well as brand awareness and having

inconsistent branding across all platforms.

The important aspects of the game were also proposed to Hull City supporters in which

the top two factors were identical to that of all other supporters; being able to afford to

go to games as well as the tradition and how the owners treat those traditions. The

lease favoured factors are also the same as those in survey one showing that all

football supporters generally have the same opinions in the game, as shown in figure

9.2f.

Figure 9.2g shows what areas of marketing could be improved within the club

according to the supporters in which much related to merchandise and affordability if

the general match day experience.

Some participants stated other ways in which the marketing could be improved which

included:

- Consultations with supporters on marketing decisions and other activities

Social media is constantly

updating, and keeping the fan

base entertained with interviews

and past game highlights,

however more match day

information regarding traffic and

alternative routes could be

applied in real time

18-24, East Riding of Yorkshire,

season ticket holder

As a journalism student I believe

the social media isnt the best at

Hull City, yes we see tweets with

links to stories however, we dont

get a social trend of visuals

instead of text

18-24, Hull

24

- Giving away signed merchandise at half time

- Reducing the prices of refreshments and changing the alcohol available

- Safe standing

- Allocation of away tickets based on preference of standing/seating

- Work with fans to generate a better singing section

- Fans having a genuine stake at the club

All of which would be easy to take on should the club choose to listen to the supporters

and their opinions.

Local sports presenter, David Burns of BBC Radio Humberside conducts weekly

interviews with the players and the manager and is the heart of sports on the local

radio. When speaking to Mr Burns he said its sad but I feel the proposed name-

change at Hull City is one of the low points in the clubs history. Its divided the fans at

a time when there needed to be unity. I dont think a convincing financial case has

ever been made for the name change and the PR and marketing around it by the club

has been lacking. Im an old school football fan so am wary of sharp marketing men

(and women) in sharp suits even though my degree is in Business Studies and my

dissertation was on the Financial Management of The Football League. Football

marketing for me should be about enhancing the fans experience not enhancing the

clubs bank accounts.

25

7.3 Survey Three: Internationals

The final survey looked at the opinions of internationals, most of whom did not know

anything about Hull City. Around 80% said that the name would be the first factor they

would recognise about and English football club followed by kit colours and the club

badge.

Figure 9.3b shows what factors attract an international to a football club. It is clear to

see that the club players is the highest factor followed by national media. Club

traditions is in a surprising third place with 18% and most importantly, the club name

received zero votes meaning that the club name isnt something to make an

international support a football team.

The final question was based specifically on the name change itself as shown in figure

9.3c. The name Hull Tigers received the most votes with 55% however this is very

marginally with 45% voting against the traditional name.

It is more professional whereas Hull Tigers (in my opinion) sounds more cartoonish and

fake. Like something you'd hear in a TV show or film. Hull City AFC makes the club sound

bigger because its based in a city, but with Hull Tigers some people won't know where

they are based. Also, Hull City will promote the city more. It could improve the reputation

as more people will know about it therefore people may want to visit

Hull City AFC, Europe

I dont like "franchise football" as suggestion, it would further take the

attention away from football as an enjoyable pastime and spectacle into a

sterile market based commodity. It is a fantastic marketing suggestion that will

give hull city an advantage in foreign markets for instance Americans would

be possibly more likely to support a team if they were branded in the

"franchise" style and if they were marketed in countries where tigers where

deemed "lucky" or "important" then they would probably gain more support i.e.

investment/consumers then they would have previously

Hull Tigers, Europe

26

8.0 Conclusions

In conclusion to all research, it is clear to see that there are many points in which Dr

Allam should take into consideration with regards to any changes at the club. These

include:

1. It appears no sufficient and firm research has been conducted into how the name

change will specifically effect Hull City.

2. It is clear to see from the situations at Everton FC and Cardiff City FC that their

rebrands didnt work and that fan consultation was extremely important the rebrands

cost both clubs and didnt make any money from completing it.

3. The FA have already refused the name change, Dr Allam is now appealing against

this decision which has led to a further submission from the Hull City Supporters Trust

which will be submitted on 5th May.

4. The majority of Hull City supporters are completely against the idea and believe that

the owners have gone the wrong way about the proposals.

5. Like Hull City supporters, those passionate for the game are passionate about the

traditions and the heritage, its not just based on one set of supporters.

6. 55% of internationals prefer the name Hull Tigers however, none of them stated that

the name of a football club would attract them to support the club, players, form, media

and traditions would.

7. Academia tells us that customers are the key to any business no matter the sector.

Without supporters the company would diminish and revenue would drop on a freefall

through ticket sales, merchandise sales and refreshments.

8.1 Recommendations

It is recommended that Dr Assem and Mr Ehab Allam reconsider the different options

to increase revenue and global marketing ability at the club. I believe that the

relationship between many of the supporters and the owners have been strained.

In my opinion the situation could be resolved to everyones benefit. I feel it would be

better for both sides to take a step back and maybe build relations by conducting a

consultation about the proposed marketing changes with directors, shareholders and

supporters alike. It must be appreciated that most supporters would recognise the

27

invaluable contributions the Allam family have made to Hull City Football Club and the

city as a whole.

28

9.0 Appendices

9.1 Survey one: National football supporters

Figure 9.1a Are you for or against modern marketing in football?

Figure 9.1b Is social media used well at your club?

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Figure 9.1c - what is most important to you as a football fan?

Figure 9.1d - how important are the traditions of your club?

30

9.2 Survey two: Hull City supporters

Figure 9.2a Which age range do you come under?

Figure 9.2b What is your current location?

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Figure 9.2c How long have you supported Hull City?

Figure 9.2d Are you for or against the name change proposals?

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Figure 9.2f What is most important to you as a football fan?

Figure 9.2e Is social media used well at Hull City?

Figure 9.2g What areas of marketing could be improved at Hull City?

33

9.3 Survey three: Internationals

Figure 9.3a What makes you recognise and English football club?

Figure 9.3b What attracts you to support a football club?

34

Figure 9.3c If you were being sold a product in your home country, which would be more appealing?

35

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