Chapter 7: Business Marketing

Manchester United is a company that is big enough to market in anyway and everyway. They use business-to-business electronic commerce, which is the use of the Internet to facilitate the exchange of goods, services, and information between organizations. You can find nearly everything on Manchester United online. For example their official website can be used to exchange goods, services and information. As a consumer of Manchester United products, the product being the team itself, many different factors apply. Manchester United has become a global brand, not only representing the city of Manchester but England, the country itself. So not all consumers of Manchester United will be people living in England but the whole entire world. This is why Manchester United needs to make good use of the Internet.
Manchester United has different sponsorship brands such as Audi, Nike, and Aon. These companies give Manchester United money to promote their brands by having fit men wearing their logo accomplishing what only the best can.

Chapter 8: Segmenting and Targeting Markets

Manchester United has implemented market segmentation in their marketing mix in many ways. Today, due to the increase in female consumers, Manchester United has created another product line that is more accommodating to female consumers. For instance jerseys were sold mostly sizes to fit the male figure but now there are jersey sizes for a more comfortable fit for ladies.

Manchester United as a club has been increasing the number to their fan base also meaning that it is becoming more diverse, having to become more marketable to a larger audience. Manchester United has been doing well with their geographic segmentation, not by adding more products but instead changing the ones that they already have in order to satisfy the demands of consumers. About four years ago Manchester United sold heavy duty winter jackets but recently the jackets have become lighter suitable for the fall season as well. Lighter jackets can be more appealing to a global market depending on where the consumer is located.

Chapter 11: Developing and Managing Products

At Mancheter United and any other sports team, their most valued product is the players. Manchester United has one of the most famous academys in the soccer world. Famous Man United players that were brought up from the academy are players such as Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, who are still playing for the club at the ages 38 and 37. They are both legends at Manchester United and over the years, despite the evolving play of the game they were both able to adapt to the changes and still find a spot in the first team.

Mancheter United's academy is famous for its scouting agents, coaching staff and the best facilities. The academy is great for training young players that have a dream in becoming one of the starting eleven. As a soccer player at a young age one can focus more on soccer, eating, sleeping and dreaming of only soccer at the academy. Definitely the competition is tougher compared to competitive leagues outside the academy. Though the academy players can become like machines being an expert at what they do. Of course the academy is not just for any kid who wants to be a soccer player but they have to have a great amount of potential as well. Kids have to request a tryout and depending on how the tryout goes they will be allowed to enter the academy.

Chapter 16: Integrated Marketing Communication

Manchester United communicates with their consumer in many different ways. Some ways they communicate is through their website, emails, Facebook, and the mass media. On Manchester Uniteds official website, you can find nearly everything about the team from player's profiles, schedules to ticket prices. In having such a diverse fan base, Manchester United's offical website is available in 6 different languages. On Facebook you can add Manchester United on your friends list, allowing instant notification from Manchester right on your news feed. Manchester United uses the popular social networking sites in order to better inform its audience of game schedules and recent news on the team. As a consumer you can subscribe to Manchester United in order to receive emails for different kinds of sales promotions and special events they are having. Emails are sent constantly nearly every two weeks advertising new products, prices and events. Consumers can also receive information on Manchester United by just changing the channel to MUTV (Manchester United TV) to find all the recent news on the team as well as footages of games, highlights, and what goes on behind the scenes.

Chapter 10: Product Concepts

Manchester United sells all kinds of products but the most popular product is by far the jerseys. Man United is on the top of the global shirt sales chart with an average of 1.4 million official replica shirts each year in the past five years. On Man United's official website, investor relations says that "over 5 million items of Manchester United branded licensed products were wold in the last year, including over two million Manchester United jerseys." On the official Nike online store, Manchester United is advertised by stating that this jersey is an essential for the serious athlete and fan.

This year Manchester United has been advertising, "superior athletic performance, lower environmental impact." Manchester United's replica shirt is constructed by DRI-fit fabric, which is 96% recycled polyester, that keeps you dry and comfortable on the field or in the stands. This fabric is made from 23% lighter fabric with a 20% stronger knit structure, comparing to previous years. The jersey also features laser-cut ventilation to promote localized cooling. This years jersey is the most environmentally-friendly jersey so far, reclaimed or discarded plastic bottles are melted down to produce new yarn and converted into fabric to create this high performance jersey. On another environmentally-friendly note, the recycling process saves raw materials and reduces energy consumption by an estimated 30% compared to manufacturing virgin polyester. On the inside of every shirt collar there is a motto embroidered: Forged in Industry, Striving for Glory. This motto pays homage to the city's industrial history and the jersey itself features the iconic gingham check that hailed form Manchester's famous cotton mills.

Chapter 18: Sales Promotion and Personal Selling

Manchester United uses sales promotion or short-term incentives to motivate consumers to purchase their products immediately by selling products cheaper for a limited time. On Manchester United's official site, they have what they call an "online megastore," which sells all kinds of Manchester United products. A promotion that they are having now is, jersey print of name and number of your choice for 5 euros or $8 when its usually 7 to 10 euros to have your jersey printed and this promotion lasts for a month. Consumers of Manchester United Jerseys would rather want to have a jersey with either a players name and number or their own personalized name and number rather than having nothing on it, so by having a promotion like this consumers that are going to buy a Manchester United jersey will look at this discounted price and ask themselves, why not pay an extra couple dollars?  Also on their online store they have a promotion that offers a free wallet with any bag you purchase. These bags are fairly small in size and run from $10 to $20 so from a consumers perspective it can seem to be a win-win situation but do these consumers really need this bag? Probably not. All of these promotions are available for a limited time only so consumers will act on impulses rather that thinking about it thoroughly.

Chapter 17: Advertising and Public Relations

Manchester United as a global brand, advertises in many different ways. Manchester United receives a lot of television air time because they do well throughout the season. Man United has to consistently win the title of the English Premier League and preferably win the Champions League in order to keep their television air time. General Motors has revealed that close to a billion people watch Manchester United games all around the world. At the moment Manchester United is not looking to well because in their last season they lost their title to rivals Manchester City and also Chelsea has won the Champions League so theres a lot of attention being diverted to other teams in the same league.

Nike has been Manchester United's kit manufacturer since 2002 till today. Their shirt sponsorer changed from Vodafone, AIG, and to Aon. On July 30, 2012, Man United signed a seven year deal with General Motors and the new deal that will feature Chevrolet as the shirts logo. General Motors agreed to pay $559 million from 2014 to 2021, which is more than double of what they have been receiving from Aon. Through various sponsorships Manchester United is given the opportunity to advertise, especially in the United States. Soccer in the United States is increasing at an exponential rate and in having General Motors as their sponsorer, Americans will be more aware of the sport of soccer and Manchester United as well.

Chapter 15: Retailing

Manchester United has a partnership with the company Nike and therefore receive a huge amount of publicity. Nike has chain stores worldwide so Man United will not miss the opportunity to promote their brand. In going to the Nike store located in Uptown, Manhattan, I found a section where the store sold all kinds of products advertising Manchester United. The store sells replica jerseys, training wear, jackets, hoodies, backpacks, and t-shirts all with the Manchester United badge on them. This Nike store is open seven days a week allowing consumers to visit at their convenience. Nike stores have an expectation to be clean and have great customer service, where in my experience I've never received any less.

The layout of the store is unique in its own way, it has five floors all consisting of its own identity. They separated men and women's merchandise very well where when you enter the store, you wouldn't have a hard time finding your way around the place. They have escalators throughout the five floors which is located in the center of the store, making it more easy to find and use. Products are separated either by sport and different brands they have in Nike. Also in the different sports and brand sections they have gone another step further in separating men, women and children merchandise into different sections. As soon as I went into the store I noticed they have a lot of employees. The atmosphere of the store gives off a vibe of a place to hang out, making it comfortable to customers. In all the five floors they have, they have employees everywhere making themselves available for help.

Chapter 6: Consumer Decision Making

Manchester United has become a mascot in the soccer world. The sport of soccer has already integrated  with many cultures all over the world. Sports in general is looked upon in a positive manner. By playing sports an individual, especially at a young age, tends to keep a healthier lifestyle compared to individuals who do not participate in a sport. Sports can also keep children, or young adults out of the streets, where you may find gang violence and drugs. Also in playing a sport that is team oriented, an individual can improve their teamwork amongst their age group, where teamwork is essential in our society today.

Manchester United, with its deeply rooted history, has one of the most loyal fan bases in the world. With the current manager, Sir Alex Ferguson who has served Manchester United since 1986, gives Man United a strong foundation. From their history and foundation fans can find security in cheering for this team. Old Trafford, Man United's stadium located in Greater Manchester, England, had to expand their stadium due to the demand from fans, where there was an increase of approximately 8,000 seats allowing a capacity of 75,765. Old Trafford is the second largest soccer stadium in the world.

Fans of any sport have the sense of obligation to support their teams. Manchester United in having the biggest fan base in the world, fans want to see their team succeed. Competition now goes from the field to the stands. Fans will do whatever it takes to make rival team's fans look inferior to them. If you are a loyal fan, one will go out of their way to purchase a Manchester United shirt. Consumers of Man United's jerseys can feel confident in what they are representing. Once a Consumer wears the shirt of Man United they have joined a community for 'good.' Man United is the most respected team in the world and a consumer of their product can find unity from the clubs name itself 'Manchester United,' fans becoming 'united.'

Chapter 5: Developing a Global Vision

Over the years Manchester United has delivered a strong performance both as a team and business. Manchester United has the best record in Europe with sell out crowds every game day. Soccer in Europe is not just a sport but part of their culture. There is a sense of obligation to attend these games and cheer for their team.

Strategy for growth:

- Maintaining teams playing success- Manchester United has an academy that raises players from a young age to play for the team.

- Developing the value of media rights- Man United has their own televised program where the community can be informed of news on the team with a press of a button.

- Leveraging the global brand- The partnership with Nike has increased jersey sales exponentially. Also in the summer they would goto other countries for their pre-season. In having their pre-season in another country there are many opportunities for the club. First off promoting the global brand of Manchester United, meeting fans to playing friendly games in their local stadium. This year the club went to africa to play with different clubs there.

-Converting more fans to customers- Communicating with the customers is priority. Man United has great fan service where fans can become customers. Once you've become a fan, you would want to buy the products and represent the team wherever you go.

Chapter 4: The Marketing Environment

In the marketing environment, demographic factors play a crucial role in target marketing. Manchester United being a 134-year-old team has a tremendous fan base (659 million) as well as new incoming fans as well. One of their reasons behind their success is because of their marketing mix which is designed to appeal to a specific group of potential customers. In Manchester United's case their potential customers are people who enjoys the sport of soccer. Soccer being the number one sport in the world as well as Manchester United being one of the most popular teams, Manchester United as a brand can only find more success.

In recent years Manchester United has had interest in the asian market and in order to expand their fan base they bought Park Ji Sung, a South Korean player, who found much success in Manchester as well as Manchester finding much success in the asian market having created the largest asian fan base in the world. This summer after the departure of Park, Shinji Kagawa, a Japanese player, who rose to stardom in Germany was picked up by Manchester allowing them to expand their asian conquest. Not only does Manchester United benefit from quality players but also their country as well. Recently Manchester United has announced a new three-year partnership with the leading Japanese engineering firm Yanmar. This agreement will allow United to utilise Yanmar's expertise in their key markets worldwide and enhance their profile in Japan. Through this opportunity Manchester United can use Kagawa's link to set up Promotions in Japan enabling them to engage with the four million Japanese fans in Japan.

Manchester United having a large fan base, profits greatly from their stores. They sell uniforms, clothes, accessories, souvenirs and even pet products for all ages and sex. In having all of these products in stores Manchester United can be accepted in a larger community.

Chapter 3: Ethics and Social Responsibility

Stated on Manchester United's mission statement, to be the best football club in the world, both on and off the pitch, the club believes it should be a part of the community in the widest sense. Widest sense meaning that their success should not only be measured in the number of trophies they win but also have an impact on the community at large. The club is committed to making an impact on environmental and social issues at a regional, national and international level. By using the Manchester United brand they hope to support and create awareness of the issues worldwide.

Manchester United's corporate social responsibility policy statements consists of:

- Active Social Engagement- states that they are committed to making a positive difference to the communities they operate in. There is a broad range of community programs that are dedicated to engage as well as make better the lives of the younger generations.

- Environmental Policy Statement- states that they are aware of their responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy environment. Strive to avoid polluting the land, air or water and take reasonable steps to prevent pollution at its source.

- Supply Chain Engagement- states that they work in a partnership with their suppliers and that they treat their supply chain honestly and fairly. They are also engaged in the Envirowise Supply Chain Partnership Programme which helps them achieve both financial and environmental targets. An example can be the 2010/11 season Nike replica shirts that were made with 100% recycled materials containing no fewer than eight 1.5 liter plastic bottles.

- Sustainable Events Policy- states that they recognize that their event management activities and operations have the potential to have both positive and negative environmental, social and economic impact.

- Safeguarding Adults Policy- states that they recognize and accept its responsibility for the safely and wellbeing of vulnerable adults who come within the care of the organization and its staff.

- Community and Environmental Sustainability- states that they commit themselves to the health and safety of their employees, customers, contractors and the public at large.

- Equal Opportunities Policy- states that they are an equal opportunities employer. Their policy is not to discriminate against existing staff of persons seeking employment on the grounds of age, sex, disability, ethnic origin, nationality, religion, belief, race, color, gender, gender re-assignment, sexual orientation, marital or civil partnership status or family circumstances.

- Safeguarding Children Policy- states that they believe that it is never acceptable for a child or young person to experience abuse of any kind and recognizes its responsibility to safeguard the welfare of all children and young people by a commitment to practice which protects them.

Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Manchester United, a very successful and wealthy club, built upon history they have a large global fan base. Being one of the largest clubs in the world they have attracted many sponsors such as Audi, Aon, Nike, etc. Partnering up with these huge companies, Manchester United is able to become a global brand. They can promote together as well as share their customers at a worldwide level. Manchester United is not only a soccer club but also a business as well.

Business activities the club are involved in:
- Manchester United's team itself, has to do well in their league as well as other tournaments they are involved in.
- They have their own cable television channel: MUTV
- Merchandise/ souvenir shop
- Museum

In order to understand the current and potential environment a situation analysis (SWOT analysis) can be made identifying their internal strengths and weaknesses and examine external opportunities and threats.

Strengths:
- Solid history (19 league titles)
- Top brand partnerships (Nike)
- Global fan base (659 million fans)

Weaknesses:
- Runners up in the 2011-12 campaign
- Disqualified in the preliminary stage of the 2011-12 European Cup
- No trophies won last season 2011-12

Opportunities:
- Using the transfer market wisely (Big name players will sell jerseys)
- Creating a bigger fan base in Japan after the new signing of Shinji Kagawa

Threats:
- Rival clubs (losing numbers in fan base)

Brief History

Manchester United F.C. (MUFC) is an English professional football club founded in 1878 which was originally known as Newton Heath LYR F.C. and changed its name to Manchester United in 1902.  The club is based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester since 1910 and plays in the English Premier League. Manchester United has won 19 league titles, 11 FA Cups, four league cups and 19 FA Community Shields. They also won three European Cups, one of each UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Intercontinental Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. Today, Manchester United valued at $2.23 billion, is one of the wealthiest and most widely supported football club in the world. Earlier this year in July the club was ranked number one in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's 10 most valuable sports teams. The owner of the club is the Glazer family, who also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The manager today is Sir Alex Ferguson, who has been managing this club since 1986 making him the longest-serving manager in club history. He was the first manager to win "The Treble," which consists of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in the same season. Therefore Ferguson was knight for his services to football.

Mission Statement

"Manchester United's mission is to be the best football(soccer) club in the world, both on and off the pitch."