The FIFA World Cup 2014 kicked off yesterday with a 3-1 win by the hosts Brazil over Croatia. We will not go into the controversy surrounding the arguably suboptimal organization or the […]
The World Cup kicked off with Brazil vs Croatia and this is how Twitter played it out
How New York City FC uses storytelling as a social media tool: The David Villa example
During a class at the Sports Business Institute Barcelona (SBI Barcelona) we talked about creating web content that sells and engages. Program director Diego Valdes listed several techniques that can be applied […]
Leonardo Bonucci and the perfectly branded Instagram photo
Juventus F.C. and Italian National Team center-back Leonardo Bonucci is not only one of the arguably best defenders in the world, he is also very talented when it comes to positioning brands […]
The four elements in Malcolm Glazer’s Manchester United strategy
Malcolm Glazer, the (in)famous owner of Manchester United and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, died on 28 May 2014 at age 85 from complications related to a stroke he suffered in 2006 (ESPN). […]
Major League Soccer football players by birthplace in 2014
Here an informative infographic from Major League Soccer (Facebook.com/MLS). Going through the numbers I was not surprised to learn that 61 percent of all football players in the MLS are from the […]
An analysis of the #ShareTheSofa campaign by Heineken
The following post was an assignment for the Sports Business Institute Barcelona Football Communication & Social Media course. Heineken, a Dutch brewing company, has been a sponsor of the UEFA Champions League since […]
Replacing Stamford Bridge: What Chelsea would need to consider
The following post was an assignment for the Football Marketing & Management course at Sports Business Institute Barcelona. We analyzed what needs to be considered, if Chelsea would want to replace Stamford […]
Complementary and competitive social media platform consumption: A football brand example with Borussia Dortmund
In the Routledge Handbook of Sport and New Media edited by Andrew C. Billings and Marie Hardin, Walter Gantz and Nicky Lewis address fanship differences between traditional and newer media and explain, […]
Sevilla FC vs. SL Benfica: The Social Media Comparison
This season’s UEFA Europa League finale is finally here: Sevilla FC vs SL Benfica. As we did for the semi-final match between Juventus and Benfica, we compiled the numbers from both teams’ […]
The tangible influence of a football brand: The Juventus FC example
This post explores how this year’s Italian Serie A champions Juventus FC addresses the three dimensions of a brand’s functional aspects as identified by Kapferer (2008) that exploit the experience, mental associations and […]
Superfund and the easiest way to ambush an Austrian TV show
Viewers encounter a vast amount of brands before, during and after broadcasted football matches. Very often, many of them do not see the difference between an actual sponsor and a brand that […]
Social media best practices for emerging football markets: A fictitious «Celtic FC goes Japan» exercise
Many companies and organizations have been critical towards social media and thought – or maybe hoped – it would only be a fad. Because of that, many of them are still struggling with […]
Juventus vs. Benfica: The Social Media Comparison
Earlier this week, our friends from the Sports Business Institute Barcelona tweeted an interesting social media comparison between UEFA Champions League 2013/14 semi-finalists Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, which showed the Madrileño clearly […]
Five key principles to consider for handling outrageous football talent
Just a short post to point to an interesting book I enjoyed reading: Mike Carson’s The Manager: Inside the Minds of Football’s Leaders. We have all heard anecdotes or seen outrageous behavior by […]
Paul Pogba: The Branded Footballer
Football players are as much a brand as the club they play for. Think of Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo, Kagawa, Pirlo and the young Paul Pogba. Even though they all sport a jersey with […]
How FC Zurich brings its brand essence to life
A football brand is more than just the crest or logo of a football club. It is what makes fans come to the stadium, buy jerseys and get excited about their favorite […]