The business of arab football

From canned drinks to credit cards, the lines between football and finance are increasingly blurred in the Arab world. Regional marketing gurus were slow to spot the game's massive commercial potential - the Middle East is maybe a decade behind Europe and East Asia.

But the penny has finally dropped and the Arab world is catching up fast. Soccer sells, and everyone from the smallest local firm to the largest multinational corporation is clamoring to cash in.
"Football is an integral part of Gulf-Arab teen passion," says Dana Mubaidin, public affairs manager for Coca-Cola Gulf. "As most of our marketing efforts are targeted towards this group, we need to not only associate ourselves with football, but to try and own the property."

Media agencies strive constantly to exploit this passion: through advertising, marketing and public relations. "Football certainly guarantees a captive audience in the Gulf, as elsewhere, and that's a very attractive platform for PR," says Stephen Worsley, account director with TEAM/Young & Rubicam's public relations unit. "The global commercialization of football has been so successful that, love it or hate it, there is no escaping soccer. That makes the sport a very powerful communications tool."

Football strikes a particularly resonant chord with the region's vast youth and young-adult populations. These people have high disposable incomes and are highly brand-conscious, making them a marketer's dream. "The objective of many PR campaigns is to make a connection with the values people have or aspire to," explains Dubai-based Worsley. "Football is great for that because it's a universal language and it's about youth, passion, a sense of achievement - a whole bunch of exciting things that successful brands want to be associated with."

The World Cup saw a Who's Who of global brands jumping on the regional football bandwagon. Coca-Cola invested heavily in a string of soccer-based campaigns, while Citibank threw its weight behind a special edition World Cup credit card aimed at its Gulf customers.

It is clear, then, that football wields immense power in the Arab media world. But translating that power into profit is not as simple as it might seem - especially in a market where the game is young and global success is so far elusive. "Football as a vehicle is a winner, but the key is doing something creative behind the wheel," says Worsley. "An under-the-cap promotion to win a football won't necessarily set everybody's pulses racing." On the other hand, overly contrived campaigns risk drowning out the brand's message. "The idea doesn't have to be rocket science."

Coca-Cola's decision to sponsor the Palestinian Football Federation and national team was seen as a bold move. Why? Because arguably the toughest dilemma facing the region's marketing experts is whether to attach themselves to local or international football teams and celebrities.
The Arab world may boast some of the world's most impressive fans, but the same cannot be said of its players. On an individual, club and national team level, the region's football cannot compete with the quality - and the glamour - of Europe's and Latin America's finest.

As such, advertising and marketing campaign chiefs have to decide who and what their young Arab audiences will identify with. Striking the wrong balance risks alienating, not embracing, young consumers. Thankfully, most Arab football fans have split loyalties: a favorite local club and national team, coupled with an international allegiance to the likes of Manchester United and Brazil. "If someone likes the Brazil team, he is a potential customer," says Elie Wakim, general manager of football marketing company Shoot. "He can easily be lured to local football."

Matters are further complicated by the region's diverse demographics. "Our core target is local Arab teens of SEC1, 2 and 3," says Coca-Cola's Mubaidin. "Thus our efforts to target Western expatriates or Asians - with the exception of the UAE - is minimal." By their very nature, World Cup-based campaigns had universal appeal, but by and large, different demographic groups have to be targeted with different strategies. "Other campaigns are used when looking at Asian expatriates, who are driven by value. Hence value-added programs are used to target these groups."

With so many complicating - and often competing - forces at play, what is the golden key that will unlock the region's footballing treasure chest? "Campaigns have to make the most of their resources," says Worsley. "A Gulf roadshow with Ronaldo [the Brazilian star of World Cup 2002] would be a sensation, but it's unlikely to happen. Perhaps for this reason there tends to be more of a focus on the fans and the grassroots level - local tournaments, coaching sessions with former players and so on."

Coca-Cola is investing heavily in a "Street Football" campaign that targets young Arab football fans in this way.
The message is clear: no single strategy can guarantee success. As such, the range of football promotions is only going to get broader. And the scale bigger. Coca-Cola, for example, is already thinking about what it will do for the next World Cup, in 2006. "As the next World Cup gets closer, we will undoubtedly launch new and innovative plans to 'raise the bar' on the programs we ran this year," says Mubaidin. You have been warned.