The surprising birth and rapid demise of the European Super League is an example of how fans and consumers shape brands
Consumers are more connected, informed and empowered than at anytime in history, and for these reasons brands have seen a shift in expectations. Yes, generally people prefer ease of access and speed, but we also generally demand that brands align with our ethics and values. As a result, brands have become increasingly transparent and more open to being shaped by consumers.
Brands that have responded to consumers have not only survived the past few years, but have especially thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The brands that perform best are empathetic. These brands are able to understand their customers and anticipate evolving needs. These brands are fast to rollout new products and services as needed, which proves agility. These brands also have an affinity with their customers. They create emotional connections that provide value, and this makes these brands more resilient during tough times.
Who Owns Football?
Sports, gaming, the arts, and entertainment are all coming together and a new model of engagement is evolving. Brands are taking active participation models and allowing consumers to directly shape content and create their own brand experiences. We’re allowed, even if temporarily, to delve into our passions, connect with each other, and feel in control of events far beyond our walls and screens at home.
Nothing else demonstrates this better than Reddit’s WallStreetBets (r/wallstreetbets) impacting the ability of hedge funds to short GameStop stock. The community attempts to democratize day trading. Members of the group caused the stock price of GameStop to skyrocket and the hedge funds holding “short” positions on the stock lost up to $5 billion. The event caused many of us to re-evaluate the fairness of the financial system’s winners and losers, and who really owns a brand.
Wall Street is again in the news because of JP Morgan Chase’s involvement in the financing of the very short-lived European Super League (ESL). The ESL lived for 48 hours and featured twelve of the most valuable football clubs. The league promising “significantly greater economic growth and support for European football.” Also, “founding clubs will receive €3.5 billion solely to support their infrastructure investment plans and to offset the impact for the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The why has been explored, written about and discussed extensively. What we are more curious about is the who and the how. WallStreetBets caused us to take another look at the winners and losers in finance along with who actually creates the value of a stock and brand. The creation of the European Super League forced us to ask, “Who really owns football?”
To football supporters, the label of “consumer” is a dirty word because the sport is built on identity, connection, and community. Eduardo Galeano has summed it up clearly as, “[you] can change your [partner], political parties or religion, but [you] cannot change [your] football team.” Clearly football is owned by the fans. As the leading brands already know and others are realizing, brands need to lead with empathy and authenticity. The decision to radically restructure the world’s most popular sport, seemingly without consulting the club staff, players, or fans was met with a quick and pointed resistance.
The only surprise here is that the club owners were caught off guard by the hurt and angry response of football fans, players, and staff.
What’s Next?
Football is riding a wave of growth due to globalization and increased commercialization. However, the COVID-19 pandemic that we’re just starting to emerge from has done significant damage to the finances of football teams and leagues, as it has for most business around th globe. In Europe alone, the expectation is a loss of $4 billion in revenue from 2019/2020. That loss is expected grow in 2020/2021.
Fans do want to see clubs continue to innovate, succeed, and grow revenue. However, they don’t want their clubs to sacrifice their own core values. To begin restoring the club’s connection to its fans is to engage employees and supporters. It appears team owners need a refresher on the balance of power in the football ecosystem and restore what is now a great deal of lost trust.
These clubs now need to rethink their approach and place the needs of fans at the brand core. This will not only help them navigate this self-created crisis but block what they were striving for with the ESL. Bill Shankly said, “At a football club, there’s a holy trinity – the players, the manager, and the supporters. Directors don’t come into it. They re only there to sign the checks.”
By trying to insert the directors in an effort to square the trinity, it reveals that the supporters are under-leveraged.. By listening to fans before taking action clubs can identify the moves that will bring in long-term returns.
Fans have also seen what they can accomplish. But, will they continue to push for change and commit energy into addressing broader issue across the game such as diversity in management, racism, and gender inequality? Well beyond football consumers shape brands and the demands for democratization will continue to grow.
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