Manchester United have been described by one US marketing executive as the global sporting brand that the New York Yankees baseball team ‘wish they were’. However, for all their success in Asia, can United really be described as a global brand when there are limits to their penetration of the North American market?
Manchester United have been described by one US marketing executive as the global sporting brand that the New York Yankees baseball team ‘wish they were’. However, for all their success in Asia, can United really be described as a global brand when there are limits to their penetration of the North American market?
Manchester United are currently on a five-match tour to the States, Canada and Mexico, admittedly without their World Cup stars. This is evidently designed to boost their presence in the American market. However, while 40,000 fans turned our to watch a training session in Malaysia on last summer’s pre-season tour, only a few hundred watched United train in Philadelphia earlier this week.
Major League Soccer is making steady strides in the States, but there is still a long way to go before it can even match ice hockey for commercial appeal. Teams like United visiting the States depend quite a lot on the expatriate market, ex Brits with their mid-Atlantic accents telling tales of better times in their new homes but with a sentimental tie to their home country which can find expression through football.