A recent study found that Liverpool’s brand is the second-strongest globally and the strongest in the Premier League.
Even though Liverpool’s 2022–23 season was a disappointment, the club’s global brand power endures.
Liverpool’s trophy-laden history and more recent resurgence under manager Jurgen Klopp have both ensured that the club’s popularity has continued to grow, even though it hasn’t been as successful domestically as teams like Manchester City in recent years.
The Brand Finance Football 50 2023 Report, which provided information on the brand value and brand strength of the top 50 football teams in the world, was published on Tuesday.
The Premier League champions Man City led the table for the first time, with a brand value of £1.299bn, placing Liverpool fifth with £1.173bn. The strength of the Reds’ brand, however, came out on top in the Premier League and was second only to Real Madrid globally, despite having a lower brand value than City, Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Barcelona.
Through a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance, Brand Finance was able to determine the relative strength of brands. Based on those metrics, Liverpool received a brand strength score of 93 out of 100, earning it an AAA+ rating. Only Real has a stronger brand (94 points), with Barcelona, Manchester United, and Manchester City rounding out the top five.
The global sports agency Octagon’s head of commercial strategy, Daniel Haddad, said there are a few dynamics in his interview with the ECHO’s Bottom Line Podcast. The Premier League is currently experiencing a phase where they are distancing themselves from other European leagues, and there is a knock-on effect from that.
“Even teams like Real Madrid and Barcelona have a competitive advantage over every major Premier League club. The Premier League is being pushed by the collective, not just by Liverpool, Manchester United, and Manchester City; the Premier League is where it is because of the collective agreement, the strength of the group, and the culture of British football. Hopefully the big clubs will keep this in mind.
“Being in the Premier League provides you with that foundation that safeguards your brand because it is the most widely followed league in the world and it will remain so. Currently, there is no scenario that can be predicted in which La Liga, Serie A, or the Bundesliga begin to erode the international voice of the Premier League.
“There are a ton of different approaches to ranking football clubs. Audience, globalization, and fan base are the only constant metrics that they all return to. When looking at Premier League clubs on a comparative level, Liverpool and Manchester United are still far ahead of every other team and alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona if you disregard the numbers touted about how many fans each club has.
The methodology used to calculate these numbers can be pretty flimsy at times.
In terms of voice share across the globe, you have four super brands.
The clubs outside of those four have done various things to set themselves apart and build their brands, as you have seen. Manchester City’s City Football Group has achieved success in terms of its network of international clubs, its investment in the Etihad Campus, and the new music venue that is an outgrowth of that. The historical global audience of a club isn’t as large as that of superbrands, so all of these things are beneficial. ”.
Haddad claims that Klopp’s hiring for Liverpool occurred at the ideal time. At a crucial time when the sport was expanding to new audiences in important territories, the style of football and the hardware that went along with it assisted in attracting new fans in developing markets.
“Liverpool are in a unique position where that kind of global fan base was always there and never eroded during some difficult years and has definitely seen a new boost,” said Haddad. “Football is still becoming more and more popular in some markets, including China, India, and the US; consequently, now is probably a good time to succeed.
It’s often mentioned how Manchester United capitalized on its success in the 1990s. That is probably true, but given the Premier League’s current growth trajectory, now is also a great time to be successful because there are still a lot of untapped markets for fans to tap into.
“Liverpool’s success under Jurgen Klopp has undoubtedly had an impact to keep that growth comparable to Real Madrid, Barcelona, and United, but it has also kept it proportionately growing faster than those other clubs during that time period. ”.
