Benefits of Promotion for Vodafone
The marketing benefits for Vodafone from the alliance
cover three main areas. |
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Enhancing brand awareness and image |
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The agreement includes the incorporation of
Vodafone’s brand logo on the playing kit, the rights to use the
Manchester United logo in promotions, advertising and perimeter signage
at all Manchester United home games (ex-cluding European Champions
League). Vodafone also features strongly in Manchester United marketing
materials including match programmes, the Manchester United magazine and
internet site www.manutd.com. |
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The association with a football team, especially
Manchester United, also adds excitement, passion, fun and emotion to the
Vodafone brand. |
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These benefits clearly support marketing objectives
by promoting and enhancing the Vodafone brand, which will help to win
and retain customers. |
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Extending the range of products and services |
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Through the link with Manchester United, Vodafone has
the opportunity to increase sales of phones and accessories. With a
variety of ‘Reds’ phones and accessories, Vodafone is offering a
range of Manchester United phone covers and cases with different
designs. |
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Offering Manchester United branded phones and
accessories enables Vodafone to win more customers and increase brand
awareness across the globe wherever there is a Manchester United fan. |
Adding value to services |
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The Official Mobile Communications Service for
Manchester United fans is manUmobile. It is typical of the added value
services that Vodafone is creating. Thanks to manUmobile, fans have
direct access, through their mobile phone, to the latest news from the
club 24 hours a day. Once users have registered at http://www.manumobile.com
from their PC, they can receive a host of information direct to their
digital mobile phone via text messaging. These services include text
alerts giving fixture lists, match information, match incidents and news
flashes. manUmobile ensures that fans know what is happening on the
pitch, even if they are not at the game and are miles away from a TV
set. |
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Fans can also register and access the service with a
WAP handset via http://www.manumobile.com/wap. |
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Using this service, fans will have access to club
news, details of ticket availability, route guidance to Old Trafford and
detailed statistical information about each team or squad member. Under
match information they can find fixture details, Premiership league
tables, reviews of matches, match reports and so on. |
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The marketing benefits described above enable
Vodafone to promote its global branding strategy by using the UK as a
launchpad for stretching its own brand across the globe through one of
the UK’s most prestigious global brands: Manchester United. |
Vodafone’s sponsorship deal with Manchester United
costs Vodafone £30 million over a four year period. Vodafone clearly
has to evaluate the effectiveness of this partnership in terms of its
own marketing objectives. It does so in four ways: |
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- General awareness is measured through consumer research. For
example, consumers may be asked questions such as “Did you
know that Vodafone sponsors Manchester United?”
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- The impact of phones and accessories is measured by charting
ongoing improvements in sales.
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- The success of value added services such as manUmobile is
monitored in terms of the number of people registered and usage
of the services.
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- Media Evaluation – Vodafone monitors TV and press coverage
to measure the exposure of the Vodafone brand resulting from the
sponsorship.
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Keeping check in this way enables Vodafone to
assess whether or not it has made a wise strategic move in teaming
up with Manchester United. Evidence strongly suggests that it has. |
Manchester United and Vodafone each stand to
benefit enormously from their sponsorship and commercial alliance. |
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From Vodafone’s point of view, having its name
on the shirts of the world’s best known and most highly visible
football club is a clear benefit. |
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The partnership has done much more than that,
however. Equally important, Vodafone has become Manchester
United’s communication and technology partner, enabling the fans
of the club to get news and information on the Reds wherever they
are, through Vodafone’s value-added services. |
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Also, because Manchester United has a global fan
base, Vodafone’s alliance with the club is enabling Vodafone to
develop its own global presence. |
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For Manchester United, the deal not only
generates extra income, but also provides valuable new services to
its fans. This makes being a Manchester United fan even more
attractive and for the club new fans mean new customers to sell to. |
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Like all the best deals, there really is
something in it for everyone. |
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