According to statistics released by ‘Brand Finance’ this morning, Sunderland are the world’s 22nd biggest brand in football. A footballing brand is defined as the following:
A marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos and designs, or a combination of these, intended to identify goods, services or entities, or a combination of these, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits/value.
However, a brand also makes a contribution to a company beyond that which can be sold to a third party. ‘Brand Contribution’ refers to the total economic benefit that a business obtains from its brand, from volume and price premiums over generic products to cost savings over other clubs.
As surprising as it may seem, Sunderland over the past 12 months have increased their commercial brand by 35% and find themselves in the top 10 for growth this season, which is unsurprisingly topped by champions Leicester City. The Black Cats also find themselves just outside the top 20 largest brands in world football, sitting in 22nd place, seven places higher than last season. Manchester United sit top of the pile, with rivals Newcastle United below us in 32nd spot, down 10 from last year.
Yes, Sunderland may be a club that are seen as relegation favourites each year on the field, however, off the pitch, we are a club that have been set-up to be successful. Lucrative partnership deals with Addidas and Dafabet bring in a lot of revenue into the club, whilst ongoing global marketing strategies in Asia, America and Africa has brought exposure to the club worldwide. The UK provides very limited opportunities for growth, with Asia the key battleground for clubs to recruit new fans and gain market share, however, Sunderland have focused their attention on Africa, with the ‘Invest in Africa’ scheme, amongst others.
In recent years, the club have launched ‘SAFC Global’, an initiative designed to grow and develop the club’s following and partnerships across the world; it grew out of ‘SAFC in Africa’, which focused on developing partnerships across the continent and beyond.
Despite their recent failings on the pitch, off the field Sunderland continues to grow and flourish. The Black Cats’ first contact with Africa was in 2012 when oil-mining giants Tullow Oil’s charity ‘Invest in Africa’ became the club’s shirt sponsor for the 2012-13 season. The sponsor deal was understood to be worth around £20 million, with Sunderland describing it as a ‘ground-breaking, not-for-profit initiative’ to help promote investment in Africa. The club also signed a partnership agreement with Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko, which saw them offer practical support and advice in youth coaching to the Kumasi-based club. Gary Hutchinson, Sunderland’s commercial director said:
Our ambition is to be an established club. Everyone follows Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea but after those clubs are the rest of us. What we want is to be that next club”, evidently, Sunderland are looking to join the elite league of popular English Premier league clubs in Africa.
The well publicised new Premier League deal saw the rights to the next three seasons’ games divided between Sky and BT Sport for over £5.1 billion, a 71% increase on previous seasons. This has boosted the brand values of all clubs in the League, but there will be high demand for Sunderland’s games, particularly if on-pitch struggles and drama continue.
One factor that Sunderland owner Ellis Short need not worry about will be the incoming gate revenue. The Black Cats have a huge fan base despite their struggles, with gates regularly surpassing 45,000 each home game, and regular sell-outs of away allocations every week.
As Sunderland’s commercial brand continues to thrive, you can’t help but feel that if the club can perform as well on the pitch and they do off it, then maybe we can make that progress that David Moyes craved since his arrived on Wearside.
