Global Saints- Important?

[aussiesaint20]

If our push to be a top 6 team is a realistic one and not just a pie in the sky dream do we need to focus more efforts on growing Southampton outside the UK? The EPL is one of England’s best exports and global TV ratings are incredible and growing at a rapid rate. Man Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal must have a huge amount of extra support and therefore revenue coming from overseas. What, if anything can Southampton do to build our overseas base? Or is it just something that inevitably comes with sustained success?

 

In my work of promoting and finding Saints fans all across Australia, I’m continually surprised as to just how many of us are out there, especially considering our recent five year journey in the English leagues. I also stumbled across the Thailand Saints on Facebook(880 members) and the Indonesian Saints on Twitter (1100 members). Along with our 450+ on FB and 90 in our first day on Twitter, there is a base support already in place. I know that when one of our members goes over to St. Mary’s they’re inundated with shopping requests and come back with $100’s of $ worth of Saints’ merchandise. We’re doing our small bit down here, should the club be doing more? If so, what??

 

Basically, is the global market one we should be actively chasing or do we just concede it to the ‘Big Four?’ The Man Utd and Liverpool friendlies coming up in Australia in July sold 160,000 tickets within a couple of hours. Should we look at pre season tours in Asia? A massive EPL market. To Man City for example, with their unlimited millions this wouldn’t be too big of an issue, but with our more ‘sustainable’ outlook to the club’s finances a higher international revenue could be very useful.

 

Consider it an open brainstorming session. Apologies for the lack of Kelvin Davis sightings, random transfer rumous or Guly/Fox is shi*e comments.

[The Cat]

As a club does better their overseas fanbase will naturally increase, however it will never get anywhere near those of the top 5 or 6 who have more history with that market.

 

I wouldn't want us to pimp ourselves out on pre season tours of the far east though. Doesn't look like any of the players and managers who currently do it actually want to.

[DuncanRG]

We already do quite well in that regard, I don't think these global pockets of support have sprung up entirely by chance. And cynical as it sounds (good players as they are) that is partly down to signings like Yoshida and Emmanuel Mayuka. It was said quite often last summer that getting Mayuka - the hero of the ACN - ensured half the continent supported Saints.

 

Looking across social networks and that kind of thing, it seems like a lot of foreign PL fans have taken to us as their second team behind the usual United, Liverpool etc. And it seems strange to us but in a lot of countries people will buy merchandise for their second or third team.

 

But to answer the question, yes it's important. It's income, and in the years ahead money the club can generate for itself will be even more valuable than it is now.

Edited 27 May, 2013 by DuncanRG

[Saint 76er]

Firstly, no sightings of KD to report here unfortunately, although I don't get down to the supermarket so much these days so probably missed him.

 

NC has made little effort to hide his desire to promote Saints as a global brand so he may well have plans in this regard. Whilst this could encompass a myriad ways, something on the kit thread caught my eye where a poster speculated that we may be looking to engineer a tie-in with a F1 team. This is the first I have heard of such a notion, however there is also a rumour that our shirt sponsor will be changing to a drink company next season ... ergo, Red Bull it is then, no? For good measure RB have a history of tie-ins with football teams, so on the 2+2=5 scale it's a shoo in, right?

[SaintBobby]

We should look for pockets of global support rather than "global branding"

 

Isn't Yoshida skipper for Japan? If so (or indeed, anyway) Tokyo would be a good start....

[hutch]

I'm not sure how the commercial aspect works. When I first arrived in Africa we were half way through our long stint in the PL, and there were a lot of Saints replica shirts being worn. You could buy them at all the flea markets beside the Manure, Arsenal and Real Madrid shirts. Right next door to the bloke selling Rolex watches.

 

I guess you could argue that it creates demand for more TV appearances, which is where the real money is, but in very many parts of the world every PL match is live anyway on the premium pay channels.

 

Maybe it's just about ego.

[JRM]

when I was in Kuala Lumpur I was amazed how many people were properly obsessed with the premier league and when they found out I was English wanted to talk about it all the time , loads of premier league merchandise on sale over there both official replica shirts in sports shops and the fakes in markets , saints were one of the only clubs NOT sold , but then we only sell from our own shop or online so not surprising there is a lack of international distribution.

 

knowledge goes back quite far , Matt Le Tissier still one of the first names mentioned when you say southampton

[BristolSaint]

Like the original poster I also live in Australia. Based in Perth I often get compliments on my Saints shirt either from fellow Saints who are ex pats or from ex-pats who appreciate the style of football Saints play (I am sure West Ham and Stoke Fans dont get the same compliments).

 

I think the global presence of Mr Murdoch and the live access to games here in Australia and particularly Asia as a whole will do no harm for the global brand of Saints. Granted we cant compete with the likes of Aresenal, Liverpool and Man U in terms of historical success and assoiciated Fan Base but I have also seen a large number of Chelsea and Man City shirts - their success has been much more recent.

[melmacian_saint]

It all helps. I'm always optimistic that a smaller club that grow, produce young players and surprise people. 'Smaller' clubs have done well elsewhere, Villarreal, Malaga, Leverkusen, even Dortmund to some extent, and Everton here. Even Man City were nowhere before the big money. So you either need massive money or some great management and academy work over a long period. Even then it's not often sustainable. Yet a bigger problem for Saints, surely has to be the city itself? It's not massive, it's a fairly average city with some good and bad points, but not much making people eager to live here really. On the coast but barely making the most of that.

 

You can aspire to be Barcelona on the pitch and right through the club, but terms of location it's a different world.

 

Villarreal come from a 50,000 suburb of a provincial capital of the Valencia region (not even the big city itself). But it is one of Spain's most important and touristy areas, so I do get your point. And very much agree.

I've overheard/seen a few foreign people in matches at SMS this year, particularly in the big-team games of March/April, and it got me thinking how underwhelmed they must have been by a weekend in Southampton. Unless they're on a day trip from London or are doing a bit of a South Coast tour.