AC MILAN: MARKETING THEIR WAY BACK TO RELEVANCY

Morning!

How's the week been? I hope you completed that to-do list and had chance to relax this weekend. Or at least had time to get some focused work done with no distractions. Unpopular opinion: my favourite time to work is on the weekend. No pressure, no stress - absolute bliss!Anyway, this week I watched the most interesting YouTube video I've ever seen. So much so that I very easily sold my brother on the idea of buying a football club - don't ask you'll understand in the end.

Oh and we're sticking to 1000 word max from here on out (already wasted 200). The aim is to add the same value, in as little time as possible!Enjoy!This week's menu:- How AC Milan spiralled out of relevancy- How they marketed their way back to the top- How can you can do the same

Was this email forwarded to you?

Breaking Down The Strategy

If you love football, this one is going to be a cracker. If you don't know football, that's okay. I'll give you some quick context. AC Milan are an Italian football club who were once thought of as the best club in the world.

Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Pirlo, Kaká, Ibrahimovic, Baggio, David Beckham. All legends. All played for AC Milan.They were THE club back in the day. In fact, in 2003 they had the same revenue as Real Madrid - just goes to show how big they were.But then everything went downhill.The team started losing, the stars left, the owners sold up, and what followed was a rapid decline. The club had huge amounts of debt and the AC Milan team dwindled. It's said they were losing around $100-200m per year at the peak of the spiral. It was bad, really bad.

When they were killing it on the pitch, they were very relevant. But 10 years without winning... well that made them eerily irrelevant.

But then new owners came in and completely changed the goal posts (get it?).

They decided that rather than trying to be the best team in the world, they'd become the biggest football brand in the world.

So the club put winning league titles to the side and started to find new creative ways to propel their brand and drive new revenue.

The change in perspective was perfectly summed up by their Chief Revenue Officer:

Quickly everything changed at the club...- A huge marketing team was brought in- A new AC Milan media house specifically for content (see below)

Milan, the media brand was born. But what did they actually start doing?1) They doubled content production

They realised football is so much more than gameday. Milan's goal was to keep those fans engaged from Monday → Matchday. Because more attention = more revenue. Not to mention, with content they can be relevant all around the world. Not just for people who attend the games in person. By giving worldwide fans a look at the behind-the-scenes with the players. It allows them to connect with the club without ever watching them play.2) Expanded to other verticles

During covid, they set up "From Milan with love" which was a concert which people could watch from their homes. It has nothing to do with football. But it's entertainment and it gets eyes on the brand and that's all they cared about. Attention = Relevancy = Revenue3) Made game days an experience (not a football game)

Of course, the majority of people go for the football. But what if you could convince people's wives, sisters, uncles, and aunties to all attend the game too? It would increase revenue right? So they started integrating different avenues and entertainment activities for game day.

Then they took an even bigger step and set plans in motion to build a new stadium. Because with a new spectacle of a stadium...- They open up the ability to sell more products - They'll attract more tourists (for tours, etc)- They'll be able to enhance the pre-game experienceI mean, who wouldn't want to go here:

The approach has taken them from a dwindling team of the past to a team at the top of the sporting world.And if you're wondering how successful their approach has been, this will absolutely blow your mind...

AC Milan are now:- The biggest Italian club in the US- The 3rd biggest international team in ChinaTwo HUGE countries and AC Milan are dominating them.Not to mention, they just won the league for the first time in forever.

How?Because they took back their relevancy↓Used the attention to generate more revenue↓Invested that revenue back into the team

Relevancy & Attention. That's what won them the league!

Although this is a very new way of running a club. The theme has been one we've seen for the last 3-4 years in the sport. Just think about it... how many football clubs have released behind-the-scenes documentaries in the last 5 years? Let me tell you:- Man City- Sunderland- Tottenham- Arsenal- LeedsAnd I'm guessing there are many more to come.

The reason they're all jumping on this bandwagon is because it's working. Truth be told it's been working for decades across the pond in the US. They treat their sports teams the same way. I mean just look at this hat:

People wear that hat all over the world. I've actually got one in my cupboard. But it's a New York Yankees hat. Like is that not crazy? A random baseball team I know nothing about, yet I own their merchandise? Bonkers!

That's what happens when you really create a brand that is more than just a business with a product. Relevancy doesn't come cheap, but when you have it, it's priceless!

You've seen the breakdown, but how can you do it? How can you make your company a walking, talking, engagement machine?On this one it all comes down to 2 things:1) Become a content machineBoth AC Milan and New York Yankees have one thing in common and that is they're pumping out content at an insane rate. If you want to be a renowned media brand worldwide, you have to become a content-generating machine.2) Distribute like crazyContent is great. But only if people see it. As AC Milan CRO said, "It's all about engagements". So how can you get as many people viewing and liking your content as possible? Well, step 1 is being everywhere. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter.

Distribute the content you create EVERYWHERE your target audience is!

Honestly, writing this has made me do a lot of thinking about where I want to take Ratcliffe Brothers in the future. I think in this day and age to be a globally renowned brand - or even nationally renowned - you have to do more than just provide a great service. And that's all for today! Crazy story though right?

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the weekend. Until next week, have a smashing rest of your weekend.— Niall

What did you think of this week's breakdown?Click on a link to vote:

• 👍 Unreal Niall - cheers!

• 😐 About as average as your haircut

• 👎 0/10

This has been a breakdown of AC Milan's marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy in your business!

Don’t forget to subscribe to get next week’s breakdown straight to your inbox!