Impossible is nothing even in times of COVID-19. Effective strategy lessons from the Real Madrid F.C
2023; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 25; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/14660970.2023.2248909
ISSN1743-9590
Autores Tópico(s)Sports Analytics and Performance
ResumoABSTRACTThe Real Madrid F.C. was one of the few major European football teams that avoided financial losses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the team improved its performance on social media and in terms of web traffic achieving the number one spot for both indicators. This exploratory study sets out to shed light on the strategies used by the club. The methodology uses a content analysis of professional and academic journals, official websites, surveys and managerial reports as well as in-depth interviews with academics, team managers, and fans. Findings reveal that nurturing existing relationships with sponsors and building new sponsorship agreements were key factors to survive in times of crisis. Our research also illustrates the importance of enabling supporters to build consumer-brand relationships and be active in the creation of their own brand experience. Lastly, the study shows that CSR initiatives strengthened the relationship between the club and its followers. AcknowledgmentsThe authors acknowledge Real Madrid F. C. for its time and support in the elaboration of this study.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1. Parnell et al., "Football Worlds: business and networks during COVID-19".2. Ratten, "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and sport entrepreneurship".3. Reade and Singleton, "European football after COVID-19".4. Parnell et al., "Football Worlds: business and networks during COVID-19".5. Ratten, "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and sport entrepreneurship".6. Bond et al., "COVID-19: the return of football fans".7. Mastromartino et al., "Thinking outside the 'box': A discussion of sports fans, teams, and the environment in the context of COVID-19".8. Rodríguez-Pomeda et al., "Emotions" management within the Real Madrid football club Business model'.9. Baena, "Global marketing strategy in professional sports. Lessons from FC Bayern Munich".10. Ratten. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and sport entrepreneurship".11. García, "Real Madrid and public relations: applying the circuit of culture to organizational values".12. Tajfel. "Differentiation between social groups"13. Tajfel and Turner "An integrative theory of inter-groups conflict".14. Hirshon, "Social Identity Theory in sports fandom research".15. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".16. Mael, and Ashforth, "Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification".17. Rodríguez-Pomeda, et al., "Emotions" management within the Real Madrid football club business model'.18. Fink et al., "Off-Field behaviour of athletes and team identification: Using social identity theory and balance theory to explain".19. Hirshon, "Social Identity Theory in sports fandom research".20. Hirshon, "Social Identity Theory in sports fandom research".21. Gruen et al., "Relationship marketing activities, commitment and membership behaviours in professional associations".22. Bandura, "Social foundations of thought and action".23. Guo et al., "Transforming followers into fans: a study of Chinese users of the WeChat Official Account".24. Lim et al., "The role of wishful identification, emotional engagement, and parasocial relationships in repeated viewing of live-streaming games: A social cognitive theory perspective".Parnell et al., "Football Worlds: business and networks during COVID-19".25. Bandura, "Social cognitive theory of mass communication".26. Lim et al., "The role of wishful identification, emotional engagement, and parasocial relationships in repeated viewing of live-streaming games: A social cognitive theory perspective".27. Beauchamp, Crawford and Jackson, "Social cognitive theory and physical activity: Mechanisms of behaviour change, critique, and legacy".28. Gong, et al., "How sustainable marketing influences the customer engagement and sustainable purchase intention? The moderating role of corporate social responsibility".29. Kim, Nobi, and Kim, "CSR and brand resonance: The mediating role of brand love and involvement".30. Quezado, Fortes and Cavalcante, "The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics on Brand Fidelity: The Importance of Brand Love and Brand Attitude".31. Walters, "Corporate social responsibility through sport. The community sports trust model as a CSR delivery Agency".32. Pronschinske et al., "Attracting Facebook 'fans': The importance of authenticity and engagement as a social networking strategy for professional sport teams".33. Fink et al., "Off-Field behaviour of athletes and team identification: Using social identity theory and balance theory to explain".34. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".35. Gruen et al., "Relationship marketing activities, commitment and membership behaviours in professional associations".36. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".37. Guimares, "Effect of identity marketing on purchase intent and felt-autonomy: A sports team social identity study".38. Li et al., "Corporate social responsibility of sports club in the era of coronavirus pandemic".39. Baena, "Online and mobile marketing strategies as brand love drivers in sports teams. Findings from Real Madrid".40. Wallace et al., "Consumer engagement with self-expressive brands: Brand love and WOM outcomes".41. Ratten and Ratten, "International sport marketing: practical and future research implications".42. Bühler and Nufer, "Relationship marketing in sports. Building and establishing longstanding relations in the business of sports".43. Lawrence and Crawford, "Towards a digital football studies: current trends and future directions for football cultures research in the post-COVID-19 moment".44. Ioakimidis, "Digital marketing of professional sports clubs: engaging fans on a new playing field".45. Vale and Fernandes, "Social media and sports: driving fan engagement with football clubs on Facebook".46. Hirshon, "Social Identity Theory in sports fandom research".47. Deloitte. "Deloitte Football Money League 2021".48. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2019–2020".49. Gutiérrez, "Hasta Tebas se rinde a Florentino Pérez: El Real Madrid es el club europeo que mejor ha gestionado la pandemia".50. Söderman and Dolles, "Handbook of Research on Sport and Business".51. Gummesson, "Qualitative research in marketing: Road‐map for a wilderness of complexity and unpredictability".52. Parganas, Anagnostopoulos and Chadwick, "You'll never tweet alone": Managing sports brands through social media'.53. Annamalai et al., "Social media content strategy for sport clubs to drive fan engagement".54. Li et al., "Corporate social responsibility of sports club in the era of coronavirus pandemic".55. Guzmán, Zhang and Ahmed, "Towards understanding a football club's social media network: an exploratory case study of Manchester United".56. Beiderbeckc et al., "The impact of COVID-19 on the European football ecosystem – A Delphi-based scenario analysis".57. Ahmed, "Coronavirus threatens €10bn hit to football transfer market. Player values tumble as Europe's top teams prepare to cut spending after pandemic weakens revenues".58. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2019–2020".59. Baker, "Real Madrid announces a surplus of 874,000 euros".60. Blanco and Forcadell, "Real Madrid football club: A new model of business organization for sports clubs in Spain".61. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2019–2020".62. Geurin, "Sport brand ambassadors" experiences in sponsored user-generated branding programs'.63. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".64. Mitten, "Manchester United take coronavirus donations past £1 million".65. Adelantado, "Barcelona donates 500,000 euros to research against coronavirus".66. This is a measure that allows companies to suspend the contracts of its workers or reduce the working hours of employees temporarily for economic, technical, organizational, productive or force majeure.67. Miguel, "El Barça ejecuta un ERTE del 85% del sueldo a 77 trabajadores".68. Li et al., "Corporate social responsibility of sports club in the era of coronavirus pandemic".69. Patwardhan and Balasubramanian, "Brand romance. A complementary approach to explain emotional attachment towards brands".70. Bodet, "Experiential marketing and sporting events".71. Fink et al., "Off-Field behaviour of athletes and team identification: Using social identity theory and balance theory to explain".72. Fink et al., "Off-Field behaviour of athletes and team identification: Using social identity theory and balance theory to explain".73. Lawrence and Crawford, "Towards a digital football studies: current trends and future directions for football cultures research in the post-COVID-19 moment".74. Carlos Sainz is considered the best driver in the history of rallying according to the FIA World Rally Championship. Specifically, he was twice World Rally Champion in 1990 and 1992 with Toyota, also achieving four runner-up finishes and five third places. On the other hand, he has contested thirteen editions of the Dakar Rally, finishing first in 2010, 2018 and 2020 and third in 2011 and 2021. Moreover, he was the 2020 Princess of Asturias Award for Sports.75. La Vanguardia, "Nadal y Gasol recaudan más de 14 millones para los damnificados del coronavirus".76. Reuters "Messi, Guardiola donate $1.08 million each to coronavirus battle".77. As, "Coronavirus: De Gea donates €300,000 to Madrid COVID-19 fight".78. Bühler and Nufer, "Relationship marketing in sports. Building and establishing longstanding relations in the business of sports".79. Baena, "Online and mobile marketing strategies as brand love drivers in sports teams. Findings from Real Madrid".80. Lawrence and Crawford, "Towards a digital football studies: current trends and future directions for football cultures research in the post-COVID-19 moment".81. Vale and Fernandes, "Social media and sports: driving fan engagement with football clubs on Facebook".82. Anagnostopoulos et al., "Branding in pictures: using Instagram as a brand management tool in professional team sport organizations".83. García, "Real Madrid Football Club: Applying a Relationship-Management Model to a Sport Organization in Spain".84. MurciaEconomia.com, "Las diez marcas más mencionadas en Instagram este verano".85. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2019–2020".86. Deloitte, 'Deloitte Football Money League 2021.87. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2021–2022".88. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2020–2021"89. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2021–2022".90. Real Madrid, "Annual Report 2019–2020"91. Meta, "El Real Madrid supera los 100 millones de seguidores con sus estrategias de monetización y engagement".92. García, "Real Madrid Football Club: Applying a Relationship-Management Model to a Sport Organization in Spain".93. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".94. Osei-Frimpong et al., 'What keeps me engaging? A study of consumers' continuous social media brand engagement practices'.95. Ratten. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and sport entrepreneurship".96. Baena, "The importance of CSR practices carried out by sport teams and its influence on brand love: The Real Madrid Foundation".97. WFSLife, "Life World Football Summit".
Referência(s)