Blue is the colour (of money) Can Peter Kenyon turn Chelsea into a global brand to compete with the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United?
Owen Gibson The Guardian September 10, 2003 Under the guidance of Peter Kenyon Manchester United have done their best to paint the world red but many sports marketing experts believe his shock defection to Chelsea will signal a power shift in the battle for the hearts and wallets of football fans across the globe. The immediate priority for Mr Kenyon, aside from dealing with a rough ride from United fans who have seen him defect from the club he claims to have supported since watching Best, Charlton and Law win the 1968 European Cup, is to boost the Chelsea brand overseas. For all the millions lavished on the club since the arrival of Roman Abramovich earlier this summer, analysts believe the west London club lags a long way behind Real Madrid, Liverpool and Manchester United in the global marketing stakes. The quickest shortcut to establishing Chelsea as one of the world's top teams off the pitch will be gaining entry to the elite group of clubs that make up the G14. It was a threatened breakaway by the top clubs proposed by Italian company Media Partners in 1999 that forged the links between the clubs which developed into the G14, which also include Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan and Ajax among their number. With his well-established links to the organisation through United and the fact that the group is thought to be well disposed to enlarging its power base, Chelsea's admittance to the top table of European football could happen before the end of the season. The club's close season tour of Malaysia was a taste of things to come but, as Kenyon will know only too well, Manchester United has stolen a march on every other club in the far east. Perhaps Kenyon's greatest achievement to date was to recognise the potential to export the United brand to hundreds of millions of football fans in the region. A series of tours have set the tone for other teams, with the club becoming progressively more popular each year and culminating in last year's Beatle-esque adoration of Beckham, Giggs and even Paul Scholes. This summer United turned their attentions to the US, which is proving a harder nut to crack. Without any footballing heritage, but with the backing of �300m kit sponsors Nike, United managed to sell out every game of a pre-season tour but those who accompanied them believe there is still a long way to go. A much heralded merchandising tie-up with the New York Yankees baseball team has failed to return much value and football is liable to remain a curiosity rather than an obsession for Americans for the near future. Now that every major club in the world is trying to break into the lucrative Asian market, as well as open up new fronts in the US, Africa and the Middle East, Chelsea will find it difficult to catch up. For all their millions they have neither the heritage nor the global fan base of Manchester United or Real Madrid, which only this summer started making a concerted effort to conquer the far east - beginning with their dramatic capture of Beckham. Speaking at a sports marketing conference earlier this year Emilio Butragueno, the former Spain centre forward and now Real's deputy general manager, laid out the club's plans for world domination. Most of those present remarked how similar they were to Kenyon's plans for United four years ago - building up a fan base through summer tours to clear a path for cafes, shops and shirt sales. Kenyon's other great coup was turning the Manchester United brand and all the emotional attachment it has for fans into a marketable commodity. Sponsorship specialists have remarked that United's �30m deal with Vodafone was one of the first to really harness the value of a club to its sponsors. And sources close to that deal have confirmed that, while other companies came in with bigger offers (including, ironically, Chelsea sponsors Emirates Airlines), Kenyon was savvy enough to spot the marketing potential of a deal with global mobile phone giant Vodafone. The deal has worked for both parties and the synergies are set to become even more apparent as video mobiles become more prevalent. Not everyone at Old Trafford is a Kenyon fan. Some believe he mismanaged the transfer negotiating side of his duties, paying over the odds for the likes of Juan Sebastian Ver�n and Rio Ferdinand, allowing David Beckham to go cheaply and this summer failing to land Brazilian star Ronaldhino. But it is believed that others will handle transfer negotiations, including Ambramovich's right hand man Pini Zahavi, leaving Kenyon free to concentrate on the global marketing and branding side of the operation. The move could also have intriguing consequences for broadcasters. Kenyon has been vocal in his insistence that Manchester United should be allowed to negotiate its own overseas television deals, threatening to undermine the hard won collective negotiating powers that the Premier League has managed to retain in the face of pressure from Brussels. Like Manchester United, Chelsea has its own television channel and radio station and rival clubs and broadcasters will keep a close eye on his plans in this area, as well as ways in which he might look to exploit mobile phone and internet rights. Despite bringing to London SW6 the likes of Hernan Crespo, Ver�n, Adrian Mutu, Claude Makelele, Joe Cole and Damien Duff in an unprecedented �100m spending spree, many within the game believe the signing of Kenyon could prove to be Abramovich's most astute buy yet. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for Your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at Myinks.com. 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