Manchester United is in talks with marketing groups
including WPP, Publicis and Omnicom about an ambitious global
strategic partnership to drive the club's digital fan base to 50
million users.
The club is in talks with four global companies - the fourth being
McCann Worldgroup - with the aim of finding a partner to implement
a five year plan to drive the club's global digital
operation.
"We are a football club and a global brand, a media phenomenon, but
at the moment we are not doing enough for our fans," the Manchester
United group commercial director, Lee Daley, told
MediaGuardian.co.uk.
"Our database is currently 4 million and we want to drive that to
50 million-plus globally within three years. Our future is
community and content."
Mr Daley said that he intended to form a "strategic marketing
relationship on a global basis" with one of the four groups.
"The right partner has to have global reach, it will be a
network-based relationship and there has to be core strength in
Asia," he added, speaking at the Cannes Lions International
Advertising Festival.
"We are a global brand currently attached to local operating
capability."
Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, told
MediaGuardian.co.uk: "It is about raising awareness in this part of
the business world.
"We are a worldwide brand but not everyone knows that and we can
never be complacent."
Mr Daley, the former chief executive of Saatchi & Saatchi
London, was responsible for bringing the club to the Cannes
festival for the first time this year.
During the festival last week he gave a seminar with former United
player and 1966 World Cup winner Bobby Charlton, now a club
director, and on Friday hosted a media and marketing drinks on a
motor yacht in the Cannes marina with Sir Alex in attendance.
Mr Daley said that the club was set to complete research into its
global audience that was likely to show a fan base of around 90
million.
In 2003 the club conducted a similar project, using Mori, which put
its global audience at around 75 million.
Mr Daley said that the increase was due to the increased
penetration of the Premier League on TV around the globe.
He added that he was keen to tap new fan bases in regions such as
Africa.
The figures are likely to show that the Man Utd fan base in China
"has probably doubled in the last four years".
"The club has a remarkable following but for most fans there can
never be a direct relationship of, say, going to Old Trafford,"
said Mr Daley.
"We need to figure out how to enhance the experience for the fans,
increase the ways they can enjoy us. That is the aim of the
strategic partnership I want to make."
