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iGaming to a Journey South: Exploring Brand Growth Options for Celtic

Discussion in 'News' started by TC News, Feb 11, 2021.

Discuss iGaming to a Journey South: Exploring Brand Growth Options for Celtic in the News area at TalkCeltic.net.

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    iGaming to a Journey South: Exploring Brand Growth Options for Celtic

    Established in 1887, The Celtic Football Club has become one of the most well-known of all British clubs. Within the borders of the UK, the Glaswegian outfit stands among the biggest and most popular, finishing in the top two of the Scottish Premiership in each of the last 25 campaigns.

    Despite the insurmountable success of Celtic, going as far as winning nine titles on the trot and regularly appearing in the UEFA Champions League, the club is limited. The return of a true contender to what has been Celtic’s crown will help to bring more intrigue to the league. Still, the Premiership will always be restrained without colossal investment and new revenue strategies.

    Being such a recognisable club that competes at the highest level, in the modern age, there are several ways to enhance Celtic’s brand to bring in more revenues and expand the fan base.

    A very valuable club despite the limitations
    [​IMG]
    Source: Pixabay

    Every year, www.brandirectory.com calculates and ranks the football clubs of the world to determine which organisations boast the highest value brands. As you’d assume, the upper echelons of the annual list are populated by European clubs, with the regular Champions League contenders often atop the pile. Celtic is one of these top-ranking teams, having even climbed into the list in recent years.

    In 2015 – following the Bhoys’ fourth successive Premiership crown – the club ranked 34th in the world league table of brand value, boasting a £79 million valuation. By the end of the 2016/17 campaign, Celtic had enhanced their global standing further, climbing to stand as the 25th strongest brand in the world of football. That season witnessed the first of Celtic’s four consecutive domestic trebles.

    Following a dip in the ensuing campaigns, 2019 saw a rise for Celtic into 37th, with the brand value growing to £125 million, with a Brand Strength Index score of 70.16/100 at the time. Last year, many leagues, included the Premiership, concluded earlier than usual, resulting in a lot of movement in the brand value charts. Celtic tumbled to 48th because of this, with the most recent brand valuation standing at £94 million.

    Celtic is a very valuable club, but to become more valuable, they’ll need to earn more money. The primary sources of revenue – from competition, tickets, and TV rights – are all-but fully realised, so other avenues need to be sought to enhance the brand value.

    Expanding on savvy sponsorship deals
    [​IMG]
    Source: Unsplash

    This season, Celtic truly moved into the elite-class of kit partnerships once again. The club has long been associated with leading brands, from Umbro to Nike from the 1960s to 2015. For the 2015/16 season, the club agreed a £30 million deal with New Balance for a different take on the classic Hoops strip. To increase high street appeal, though, 2020 saw a return to a global leader in sports manufacturing, Adidas, in a deal that www.celticfc.com claims is the largest kit sponsorship in Scottish sports history.

    In 2016, Celtic also turned to a more optimised primary shirt sponsor, with the aim of increasing their global footprint. Rather than continuing with relevant local brands like Magners, Tennents, and Carling, the Parkhead residents decided to pivot with an Asia-facing betting brand. Through the partnership, the club not only receives sponsorship revenue but also has a chance to advertise itself overseas.

    The Asian market, particularly China, is known to have an avid and ever-growing football fan base, with followers being enthralled by British football. The partnership is much more than two logos being presented side-by-side, too, with the sponsor helping to launch Celtic’s first Chinese site, grow the Weibo channel, and, in turn, secure a live TV rights deal with LETV of China.

    The next great medium of sports engagement


    The modern digital space offers brands more ways than ever to engage with fans and potential audiences, with one of the fastest-growing areas being that of gaming. The professional gaming landscape of eSports grows in power and influence each year, with numerous titles – including those that simulate sports – earning millions of viewers. Traditional sports teams have been quick to get in on the action, with many siring their own teams.

    Celtic FC Esports is one such team and has already had a team feature in the Call of Duty World League Championship. The team also managed to land second in the inaugural e.Football.Pro League. Right now, the team’s in the midst of the 2020/21 e.Football.Pro competition, which takes place on PES2021.

    Competing in the professional tournament of PES comes by way of further partnership deals worked by the club. While FIFA 21 does have Scottish Premiership rights, which includes Celtic, the club also sided with PES2021, with the game featuring Celtic Park, the players, kits, and logos. Having more deals like this is, naturally, advantageous to the club – both for exposure and income.

    Another space of gaming that’s also become wildly popular, but not yet explored as an area of engagement by football clubs, is that of iGaming. Online casino games, particularly slots, often enter into partnerships with brands to offer a tailored experience. At www.onlinecasinos.co.uk, all of their top ten best online casinos feature branded games atop their own ‘most popular charts. There’s The Goonies slot made by Blueprint, Monopoly Live brought into action by Evolution Gaming, and Ghostbusters Spectral Scratch from IGT, to name a few.

    There are hundreds of branded slots across those best sites, but across the whole space, the only truly branded football game that features the images and sounds of real-life football are the old Top Trumps games. As such, in a partnership with a British developer like Microgaming, Celtic could look to share in the game’s proceeds while also putting the logo front and centre on some of the most popular gaming sites in the world.

    Is it time to venture south?
    [​IMG]
    Source: Unsplash

    Almost every season, it seems, there are new calls for Celtic, and perhaps some other Scottish clubs, to venture south and join the Premier League, forging a British Premier League. Welsh clubs have been able to make it into the absurdly wealthy division since its inception, and with Celtic walking over the rest of the Premiership for over two decades, it seems that they’re ready for increased competition.

    The money available for Celtic in the top-flight of Scottish football isn’t comparable to that of just being in the Premier League. The SPFL shares around £32 million annually between its clubs from TV deals, whereas in the EPL last season, last-placed Norwich City earned £31.8 million in equal share, £1.8 million in merit, and £44.6 million from overseas TV income – as well as several other revenue streams.

    By competing in the Champions League, Celtic earned £32.47 million in 2016/17, just for making it to the group stage. The sum accounted for just over one-third of the club’s annual revenue. As such, the club would fear losing this massive source of income. Yet, if they remain in the Premier League, The Bhoys would get at least £31.8 million in equal share guaranteed. Should they drop out, however, they’d be looking at a rough £20 million ceiling in the Championship.

    With Rangers back to full strength, the Scottish Premiership has its main attraction, the Old Firm Derby, back and swinging. Still, to really push into the riches earned by fellow British football teams, working into the Premier League seems to be the most logical option.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 12, 2021