Implementation of the marketing complex in the football club

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Implementation of the marketing complex in the football club

Oleksandr Onopko, Svitlana Polkovnychenko, Mykhailo Khomienok

The article adapts the marketing complex (product, price, place, promotion, people, process) to the football club. The components of the marketing mix of Football Club “Desna ” are evaluated. Communications (online and offline) of FC “Desna ” are studied. In order to make effective decisions regarding the use of the marketing complex in the activities of Football Club "Desna" SWOT-analysis is conducted. The main directions of improvement of realization of the marketing complex of FC "Desna" are generalized and substantiated. It is proposed to plan communications complex through annual compilation of a media plan developed on the basis of the SMM-strategy of the club.

Keywords: football club “Desna ”; marketing of football club; marketing complex; product; price; place; promotion; people; process.

Реалізація комплексу маркетингу у футбольному клубі

Олександр Онопко, Світлана Полковниченко, Михайло Хомєнок

У статті здійснено адаптацію комплексу маркетингу (product, price, place, promotion, рeople, рrocess) до футбольного клубу. Проведено оцінювання компонентів маркетинг-міксу футбольного клубу «Десна». Досліджено комунікації (онлайн та офлайн) ФК «Десна». З метою прийняття ефективних рішень щодо використання комплексу маркетингу в діяльності футбольного клубу «Десна» проведено SWOT-аналіз. Узагальнено та обґрунтовано основні напрямки вдосконалення реалізації комплексу маркетингу ФК «Десна». Запропоновано планувати комплекс комунікацій шляхом щорічного складання медіа-плану, розробленого на основі SMM-стратегії клубу.

Ключові слова: футбольний клуб «Десна»; маркетинг футбольного клубу; комплекс маркетингу; товар; ціна; місце; просування; люди; процес.

Реализация комплекса маркетинга в футбольном клубе

Александр Онопко, Светлана Полковниченко, Михаил Хоменок

В статье осуществлено адаптацию комплекса маркетинга (product, price, place, promotion, Feople, рrocess) в футбольный клуб. Проведена оценка компонентов маркетинг-микса футбольного клуба «Десна». Исследованы коммуникации (онлайн и офлайн) ФК «Десна». С целью принятия эффективных решений по использованию комплекса маркетинга в деятельности футбольного клуба «Десна» проведен SWOT-анализ. Обобщены и обоснованы основные направления совершенствования реализации комплекса маркетинга ФК «Десна». Предложено планировать комплекс коммуникаций путем ежегодного составления медиа-плана, разработанного на основе SMM-стратегии клуба.

Ключевые слова: футбольный клуб «Десна», маркетинг футбольного клуба, комплекс маркетинга, товар, цена, место, продвижение, люди, процесс.

Target setting

The largest and most popular sport in the world is football, which today has become a lucrative area of investment and high profit gains. With rapid development of scientific and technological progress and intensification of competition, those football clubs that clearly focus on the needs of potential consumers and use various tools of the marketing complex in their activity are successfully developing.

As FC “Desna” (Chernihiv) makes its first appearance in Ukrainian Premier League (and within a very short time became a worthy contender for its grands) and the problem of marketing orientation of its activity is currently of decent relevance, we have chosen this football club for the research.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis

The theoretical experience of scientists on the application and adaptation of the marketing complex in the activities of sports organizations is still in inception. It is possible to distinguish only some works, in particular, by L. Kozyn [2], S. Lysenchuk [3], M. Masliukivskyi [4; 5], O. Teletov [14]. In particular, in the article by L. Kozyn, the model of formation of loyal behavior of the consumer of a sports product is developed; directions of marketing measures aimed at implementation of this model are proposed. In the article by S. Lysenchuk, marketing system in professional football is modeled; marketing activity of the organizers of football competitions, as well as marketing activity of professional football clubs are analyzed. In the works by M. Masliukivskyi the essence and role of marketing activities in functioning of the football club are highlighted; their components and functions, methods and tools are analyzed; ways to promote the football brand are revealed. In the work by O. Teletov the need to strengthen the use of the concept of marketing in organization of activities of football clubs is substantiated; it is proved that Ukrainian football clubs should make more effective use of modern marketing tools: conducting research, improving pricing policy, improving branding process and complex of communication measures and distribution channels.

Uninvestigatigated parts of general matters defining. At the same time, insufficient attention is paid to the study of marketing activities of professional football clubs in domestic scientific researches. Among the issues that need further research, we can highlight the problems of adapting the marketing complex to sports.

The research objective. The purpose of the article is to study the peculiarities of implementation of the marketing complex in the activities of Football Club “Desna” and substantiate the ways to improve its use.

The statement of basic materials

Based on the study of scientific researches on marketing in football, we have determined that football marketing is any activity to create a product, its promotion and sale, related to sporting events and their participants. This activity, as well as marketing in general, cannot do without the marketing complex, which in scientific works is understood as “a set of marketing tools and methods used by an enterprise to achieve its market goals” [8, p. 20], namely - 4P (product, price, place, promotion). At the same time, it is worth agreeing with M. Sheremetyev [11] that for marketing in sports the most optimal model is 6P, which, in addition to the listed elements, includes people and process.

The main components of the marketing complex in relation to the football club are shown in table 1.

Table 1. Adaptation of the marketing complex to a football club

Source: compiled by the authors based on the data [4-6; 9; 10; 12; 13; 16].

In our opinion, the main task of the marketing complex of a football club is to ensure its sustainable competitive advantages, as well as the sports goods related to it, in the sports industry market.

“Desna” is Ukrainian professional football club from Chernihiv, having a 60-year history, which is playing in Ukrainian Premier League this season and offers customers its main product - a football match. We conducted analysis of the marketing complex of FC “Desna”, the results of which are systematized and presented in table 2.

Table 2. Sports marketing complex of FC “Desna”

Source: created by the authors.

Here are some explanations for Table 2. A football match as a product of a club is, above all, an emotion. The better a team is, the more people watch it and attend its matches. After 23 matches FC “Desna” ranks fourth in Ukrainian Championship and shows a decent game. On average, 3545 people came to the “Desna” match in the 2019-2020 season. This is by 24.3 % more compared to the previous season of 2018-2019, when an average of 2852 people came to the team's match [15]. The average attendance of home matches is slightly higher - 3920 people, which makes it possible to fill the stadium of 12060 spectators capacity by only 32.5%. Compared to the previous season, the attendance of home games increased by 20%. “Desna” ranks fourth in the Premier League teams in terms of attendance of all matches and fifth of home matches [15].

In addition to emotions, FC “Desna”, like any other club, sells products with club symbols: T-shirts, magnets, key chains, cups, caps, football roses (scarves), etc. One can buy these attributes either at the club's website or directly at the stadium on match days in special tents [9].

Club ticket prices are moderate (the average cost of tickets for home matches is UAH 60) and can only increase for important, star-studded matches against other popular clubs (average ticket price for attending matches with “Dynamo” (Kyiv), “Shakhtar” (Donetsk) or “Zorya” can reach UAH 100, since such matches always sell out) [9].

The pricing policy of club attributes is quite affordable for consumers. Prices are kept at the level of similar products without club symbols, which becomes a significant competitive advantage, because in most cases consumers have to overpay for the brand or logo. All products are branded and bear the club logo [9].

The main place of contact of Football Club “Desna” with its customers is Yuri Gagarin Stadium, which is located near the City Park of Culture and Recreation. However, the club uses other venues, including the HOLLYWOOD shopping center, to communicate with the fans. All communications of FC “Desna” can be divided into online and offline (Table 3).

Table 3 Communication channels of FC “Desna”

Source: created by the authors.

FC “Desna” has certain reputation and image in the Internet and every year tries to become better and gain new audience. The best status among online media has the Instagram page. Posts are regular and quickly gain feedback from the target audience.

Facebook page is a rather successful one. At the moment the page features serial posts about the state of the players, club news and match photos. At the same time, due to not regular videos, the number of followers on the YouTube channel is increasing very slowly.

In the Telegram-chat of club's fans (DesnaFC fan) there are representatives of the club's management, so fans have an opportunity to get to know important information firsthand. However, the number of subscribers in the chat is not enough for effective communication.

For the purpose of the study the authors conducted a survey on the knowledge and publicity of Football Club “Desna” (Chernihiv). The survey covered 86 persons, including 48 men and 38 women. In percentage terms 55.8% and 44.2% respectively. 64 respondents aged 19 to 25, representing 74.4% of the total number of respondents. 52 persons said they were interested in football, while the rest (39.5%) said no. Two persons have not heard about FC “Desna” (Chernihiv), i.e. 2.3% of all respondents. 40 persons do not follow the club news at all (47.6%), 12 respondents follow Facebook and 12 YouTube (14.3%), 36 follow Instagram (42.9%), 8 persons follow the official website of the club (9.5%) and only 6 persons follow Telegram (7.1%). Slightly more than half of the polled - 44 persons (51.2%) have attended at least one match of the club. Only 4.7% of the respondents attend each match of the team (4 persons), at least 10 matches a year are visited by another 2 persons (2.3%), from 5 to 9 matches a year are attended by 4 persons (4.7%), from 3 to 5 matches a year - 12 persons (14%), 1-2 matches a year - 22 persons (25.6%), and almost half of those polled (42 persons - 48.8%) do not attend club matches at all. It is interesting to note that 44.2% of respondents or 38 persons watch FC “Desna” (Chernihiv) matches online, either on TV or on the Internet. Only 20 respondents (23.3%) have products with the club logo or club attribute. 73.8% of respondents are satisfied by the club's pricing policy, while 26.2% consider the prices too high.

Considering the results of the study, it should be noted that FC “Desna”, like many others, faces the problem of attracting and increasing the number of fans. Use of marketing promotion methods can help to develop and increase interest in its activity.

The main roles in football have the players. It is they who create the show that audiences attend. However, the football club is not only players, but also large staff: from coaching staff to administrator. In addition, the club has its own president. In this regard, it is worth noting that in the recent history of FC “Desna”, the position of club's president has been predominantly occupied by people with dubious reputation, whose personalities are full of rumors and speculations, which unambiguously does not benefit the club.

Sponsors and partners play an important role in sports marketing. In 2019, FC “Desna” gained a new title sponsor, Parimatch, that the club's future achievements one can connect to [7]. In addition, “Desna” cooperates with both technical and media partners, collaborates with state-owned enterprises, particularly, with Chernihiv trolleybus department, which provides additional runs of trolleybuses after the game.

In order to make effective decisions regarding the use of the marketing complex in the activities of Football Club “Desna” we conducted SWOT analysis. In this regard, we compile a list of weaknesses and strengths of FC Desna that characterize its internal environment. At the same time, it is important for the management to identify and overcome those weaknesses that make its competitive advantages invisible. To assess the external environment of the club, we analyze the opportunities and threats. The football club needs to find such internal forces that would allow it to effectively exploit opportunities and resist threats. To this end, it is important to investigate the relationship and interdependence of internal and external factors. Based on the investigation carried out, we compile the SWOT matrix (Table 4).

Table 4 FC “Desna” SWOT analysis matrix

Source: created by the authors.

In order to develop a strategy, it is important to consider all paired combinations at the intersection of the fields. In particular, study of the relationship between strengths and opportunities (intersection of S&O fields) will enable to form a strategy aimed at maximizing returns. And the combinations that are in the W&O field must be taken into account when developing a strategy aimed at overcoming the weaknesses of the football club based on the use of all opportunities. Using the combination of S&T, the football club must propose a strategy to overcome threats with the help of strengths. Development of a strategy to overcome weaknesses and threats should be based on taking into account the paired combinations of the W&T field.

In order to expand the consumer base, increase the fans' interest in the players, and in “Desna” football matches themselves accordingly, we suggest the main directions of improving the implementation of the marketing complex of FC “Desna”, which are shown in Table 5.

Table 5. The main directions of improving the implementation of the marketing complex of FC “Desna”

Source: proposed by the authors taking into account the questionnaire.

Marketing activities of a football club should be based on planning of a complex of communications, which provides continuous link with fans and maintains their commitment.

Stages of communication planning of the football club (identification of target audience; determination of communication goals and desired response; choice of appeal; choice of means of dissemination of information; choice of properties characterizing the source of appeal; collection of information received through feedback channels [1, p. 484]), is the basis for creating a media plan. When drawing up a media plan, it is important to choose those communication channels in which the fan is present, as well as to study what information is of interest to the consumer.

Creating a media plan involves formation of the SMM strategy for the club, which is required to unite all channels of communication with fans. SMM (social media marketing) includes: communication strategy, choice of content and frequency of its writing, design style, tone of communication. It is important for a football club to understand when to use specific communication channels, what information to convey, and how often to repeat it.

By following the established media plan, the football club will be able to attract new fans and increase matches attendance, improve communication and increase loyalty and commitment to the club. And this will allow to achieve better financial indicators and stable performance in general.

marketing complex price promotion

Conclusions

The conducted study showed that the activities of Football Club “Desna” (Chernihiv) are based on the active use of the marketing complex. The club has certain achievements in each of the components of the marketing mix. In particular, the product policy of the club is aimed at producing a football match as the main product as well as souvenirs with club symbols. In pursuing the pricing policy, the club takes into account capabilities of its fans, stating reasonable prices for goods and services. At the same time, flexibility of the pricing policy is manifested at the matches of “Desna” against the popular clubs of Ukrainian Football Premier League, when the demand for tickets is growing. Close contact with the fans is provided by the infrastructure of Chernihiv, namely the stadium and the shopping center. The club's communication policy is based on the use of the official website, social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Telegram-chat), as well as print media, and interaction of club representatives with fans during football matches.

The SWOT analysis of the activities of Football Club “Desna” revealed the strengths and weaknesses, as well as threats and opportunities. Among the advantages are lack of competitors in the region, active work with consumers, among the disadvantages are lack of its own infrastructure, the club's fragile reputation.

It is important for FC “Desna” to introduce the most up-to-date innovative technologies in different directions of its marketing activity, as well as traditional tools of attracting viewers. In order to continuously connect with fans, retain and increase their commitment, it is important to plan a communication complex, which requires the preparation of annual media plan on the basis of the enterprise SMM strategy.

In addition, the club needs to focus its efforts on constantly informing about its activities, players, successes, etc. Activities should be aimed at both potential visitors and those who have already attended the matches. For that purpose, the club should expand its participation in city events, both sports and social ones, which will increase interest in players and stimulate the desire to attend matches.

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