It seems like just five minutes ago that Manchester City secured another Premier League title, with Arsenal just missing out once again. But now it’s August and the Premier League is already back in full swing.

 and the Olympics over the summer break, Premier League Clubs weren’t resting on their laurels. In the money-led era of domestic football, they were touring the world on lucrative pre-season ventures, critical to their overall marketing and growth strategies.

In fact, on the final day of last season, Tottenham and Newcastle actually flew to the other side of the world for a marketing-led friendly in Melbourne, part of a ‘post-season’ tour, played in front of 78,000.

Marketing in football is serious business

, as Jamie Williams, managing partner of independent creative agency isobel, explains.

In an era when many UK industries face challenging times, our domestic football league sits pretty on top of world football. The Premier League is 

the world’s most watched domestic league

, the world’s wealthiest, and now home to six of the top 10 world’s richest football clubs.

These club’s commercial successes lie in the balance of speaking to two audiences – lifelong, predominately local passionate fans, and then a much wider global audience, which comes without inherited club loyalties or bias.

This therefore, requires a combination of both targeted and mass marketing.

Football clubs have long benefited from a passionate and loyal consumer following, probably more so than any other industry. But they also now realise that to truly grow their brands, they need to reach new consumers.

As the saying goes ‘a brand is not just made by the people who buy it, but also by the people who know about it’. And like any other brand that seeks global iconic status, football clubs need to grow their reach, awareness, popularity and consideration – on a mass scale.

Global TV audiences and associated revenues have been the key to this growth historically, coupled with tactical post and pre-season tours across Asia, Australia, and USA. Signing (or producing) world megastars like Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane is pretty handy for global fame too.

new Financial Fair Play regulations in place

, football clubs can’t overspend like they once did, so income and profit are more important than ever. This change has put the focus on match day income as the long-term revenue driving focus – especially for clubs who have invested hundreds of millions in new state-of-the-art stadiums, designed to maximise spend per visit.

And this is where the real marketing tension lies, with two very different sets of supporters in mind.

On one side, clubs have to commit to their lifelong season-ticket purchasing fans, who generate the atmosphere, who live and breathe the club, and who ultimately make the club what it is. Clubs need to be careful they don’t overcharge for season tickets, to maintain their invaluable local grassroots support.

But these lifelong fans are not the big profit making match day spenders.

And on the other side, there is football tourism. Or ‘plastic fans’, as they have perhaps unfairly been labelled.

These fair weather fans come from afar, on tailor-made trips to see a Premier League game. Tickets probably seem cheap for what is essentially a one-off experience, with fans arriving at 9am for a 3pm kick off, spending hours in the club megastore, taking a stadium tour, eating, drinking, and – ultimately – spending a shed load of money.

Commercially, these fans are every club’s dream.

Having recently built a huge new money-making stadium, Tottenham Hotspur know a thing or two about match day revenue potential, and reportedly now make close to £6m per game.

Despite the criticism around ‘day-trippers’, ‘casual fans’, ‘half and half scarfs’ and so-called ‘glory hunters’, the maximising of revenue per stadium visit is crucial for Tottenham’s future business plans, as it is for most football clubs across the league.

This demand is driven by clubs becoming globally famous and desired brands among a wider mass audience.

In a recent article on the demise of mass marketing, in favour of data-led targeted marketing, John Hegarty stated: “The plentiful supply of customer data compels marketers to focus on selling to customers, ignoring all the other people whose casual knowledge of a brand adds to its credibility and prestige.”

Football clubs have become some of the biggest and most prestigious brands in the world, through both targeted and mass marketing. Commercially successful clubs have an enviable combination of consumers, with ultra-loyal and consistent local fan bases sharing stands with new ‘plastic fans’, who have deep pockets and an appetite for a one-off piece of the action.

It’s not an easy marketing balance to strike for clubs, but with restrictive financial regulations now in place, it’s a vital one for ambitious football clubs to get right.

And ultimately, the clubs that do, will be the clubs that see future success on the pitch.

Loyalists vs Plastic Fans 

When former president Donald Trump raised his fist in the air for that 

, with blood splattered across his face and the US flag flying in the background against a perfect Pennsylvania blue sky, it was the start of a dream period for him in the race to become the next US president.

With president Joe Biden stumbling from his terrible debate performance, the Democrats lacking unity, and major court decisions going Trump’s way, his rise from the floor after being shot in the ear felt like a defining moment. Anything other than a dominant Trump win in November seemed unlikely.

But things change quickly in politics. With president Biden pulling out of the race and Kamala Harris now the Democratic nominee, the Democrats suddenly feel united, the mainstream media is fully behind the Vice-President, and the momentum now seems firmly with her.

Harris’ campaign managed to raise a record-breaking $81m in donations in its first day of campaigning, and Harris appears to have hit the ground running, with her "say-it-to-my-face-Donald"-style soundbites landing blows in ways Biden’s speeches could not. And, by leaning into 

, she seems to be engaging with younger voters in a non-cringe way. Something Hillary Clinton failed to do, when she took on Trump.

"Kamalamania", as some supportive US media outlets are calling it, might be a stretch, but there is serious wind behind the potentially first female US president's sails.

In response, Trump is making the same branding and communications mistakes he made in 2020. He’s doubling down on his message to his core audience, not growing his following. 

As marketers know, big brands cannot grow by targeting the same people with the same messages. There comes a point when new audiences are needed. Brands also need to stay culturally relevant and adapt to changing consumer needs.

In 2020, the Trump campaign ignored this, and his failure to expand his support likely cost him the election. With his red state MAGA voting blocs already locked in, he could have run a positive, unifying re-election campaign based on his economic and foreign policy record. But instead, he stuck to aggressive tactics, insults and name-calling, turning off key swing-state suburban voters, especially women.

Crunch time is approaching again, and the Trump brand seems to be following the same playbook as four years ago. He’s doubling down on his MAGA brand values and not expanding his audience.

First, his running mate selection. In choosing a potential VP, Trumphad an opportunity to modernise his brand, widen his appeal, and reach out to the more moderate side of the Republican party. He could have picked a complementary running partner, perhaps a woman, like Nikki Haley. She could have softened his image with undecided voters and signalled unity and change.

But Trump did the opposite. In picking Ohio senator JD Vance, he doubled down on the MAGA movement. Vance’s extreme anti-abortion policies and sexist rhetoric do not help Trump win support among suburban female voters in crucial swing states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Instead, it reminds them of the division and chaos from Trump's last presidential term.

Perhaps running against a black woman with Indian heritage has thrown him and muddled his campaign strategy. His recent appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists conference was a disaster. He 

, stumbled over his "black jobs" label, and called journalists "nasty" for asking legitimate questions.

Trump isn’t understanding his audience, scoring own goals against the very voters he needs to attract. There are 33 million people of voting age in the US who identify as mixed race, the fastest-growing racial group there. His core right-wing base may see his tactics as "old-school conservative fighting talk", but to the moderate voters he needs, it’s a major turn-off.

Following the failed assassination attempt on Trump, there was a moment when it appeared his campaign strategy might change. He might move away from aggressive divisive tactics and attempt to be a unifier, crafting messages to bring moderate Republicans and independents towards him. Swing voters seemed destined to go his way if this new moderate expression of brand Trump could be expressed effectively. But it seems there is only one way that Trumpdoes Trump. He’s quickly reverted to his core brand and doubled down on his base, and, just like in 2020, it could cost him.

There is still a long way to go in this election of course, and there may be more game-changing moments. Will Vance survive? Will Trump pivot and bring a woman onto his ticket? Can he evolve and modernise his brand to appeal to more moderate swing voters? And will Tim Walz, Harris’ VP pick, give her a bounce? Walz was the first to call Trump and Vance "weird", which has now become a label used by some Democrats, including Harris.

The answers to these questions will be telling. But if Harris can ride her wave of positivity and rise above Trump’s insults, the US may well elect its first female president on 5 November.

Same old 'Brand Trump'? Same old comms mistakes

Beyond chuffed to be working with Beyond Meat as their pan-European agency, and to welcome them to the isobel family. 

Looking forward to getting stuck in. Not that we haven't already..

Beyond Meat Win

Steve’s in the Evening Standard this week talking about diversity and the changing scene in Ad Land.

Steve in the Standard

Loyalists vs Plastic Fans

Same old 'Brand Trump'? Same old comms mistakes

Beyond Meat Win