United's new signing bigs up the brand

Mar 16 2009 by Andrew Mernin, The Journal

As well as developing relationships with Newcastle’s various UK sponsors, Webber is keen to transform the club into a commercial force overseas, particularly in the Brazilian, Russian, Indian and Chinese (BRIC) economies.

“People will argue that Newcastle is a global brand already but I would say we could do a lot more, I would say we have become an uncontrolled global brand.

“The international market place is now more open than it ever has been. Everyone is trying to get into the BRIC and the Premier League takes us there.”

Just as Derek Llambias has bemoaned the mistakes of the previous regime for some of the club’s current failings, Webber points to examples of where commercial opportunities may have been missed in the past.

“Because of the movie Goal! (a 2005 film in which a young Mexican wins a Newcastle United contract) we are a large brand in Mexico.

“Now, obviously, the timing may not have been right, but if Goal! had been launched when I was here I would have flown out three weeks before its release and spent time in Mexico talking to the top brands.”

Alongside brand-building, another pressing item on the director’s agenda is shirt sponsorship.

Despite Northern Rock’s crisis and ultimate nationalisation, the bank agreed to honour the shirt sponsorship deal – reportedly worth around £5m-a-year – with Newcastle until it ends next year.

Should the bank choose not to extend the contract, it will be up to Webber to find a replacement sponsor, no mean feat at a time when virtually every sector has been hit by the ill effects of the recession.

“It’s too early to talk about” shirt sponsorship, says Webber who admits he is still in the process of “mapping out” his plan to bring more revenue into the club.

Regardless of the current economic downturn, Webber’s quest for commercial partners or sponsorship deals is made all the more challenging by a dramatic change in the dynamics of sports advertising.

He says: “The whole sponsorship industry has changed significantly. Football clubs were so used to global brands just banging on their door and saying here’s a couple of million quid, what can we do with it?

“In the last four years that has totally changed and it’s now a buyers’ market. Brand directors can literally sit back, shop around and choose any club.”

There’s no doubt Webber has come into his new role at a difficult time for Newcastle United but, despite the team’s precarious position, he firmly believes the club can go toe-to-toe with likes of league leaders Manchester United – commercially at least.

“In terms of overseas revenue, there’s no reason why we can’t be in the top five or six, and one day we can absolutely challenge Man United. As a football club that has to be our vision, if we want to be global we need to have a global presence.

“Whether that is through selling on merchandise stands or stores in different airports in places like Beijing or building academies in India, I think we need to be a little bit more astute about how we go into these countries.”

Much of his confidence in achieving his goals at Newcastle is built on the rich network of contacts he has developed from a career spent travelling the world meeting directly with CEOs of huge international brands in the search for commercial deals.

For two years he worked at the International Tennis Federation where he was charged with driving sponsorship revenue into two of the sport’s most prestigious competitions, the Davis Cup and the Fed Cup, the annual international competition for women.

His job at one of the largest sports governing bodies in the world came on the back of a promising career as a young tennis player which saw him represent team GB on tour as a teenager.

At AEG he helped secure kit sponsorship for Spanish top-flight football club Athletico Madrid and brokered a stadium sponsorship deal between a major global brand and Everton FC, although the deal has since been put on hold by the Government due to a planning dispute.

Webber is keen to stress that, in his new role, there are no stadium-naming rights deals in the pipeline.

“St James’s Park is such a strong name, so powerfully held by the fans, and a brand would have to do an unbelievable job to get people to start referring it as the new name. It’s not on the radar.”

According to Webber, the commercial side of sport revolves around contacts and connections and he aims to harness his network of friends in high places to put Newcastle United near the top of the league in terms of revenue.

He explains: “My ambition is to make this the most cutting-edge commercial outfit in the Premier League.

“I’m sure other directors will probably say the same, but my belief is that we can do this, and I have the contact base to do so and, given time, and a few more performances on the pitch, there’s no reason why we can’t have an extremely exciting offering on the pitch and at the ground.”

Regardless of what happens on the pitch, he is also hoping to transform the St James’s Park match-day experience into one which will please fans and stakeholders alike.

Webber says: “It’s all about looking at the fan’s journey to create an experience that’s not just about the 90 minutes of football, it’s about the journey to the ground, what happens at the ground for our fans, what happens at half time and how our fans get away from the ground.

“If I can put brands at the heart of that fan experience then it adds a lot more value for all our stakeholders and I think that’s a new way of looking at things.”

Hopefully, for the sake of one of the North East’s most famous brands, Webber’s new way of looking at things will ensure that Newcastle’s BRIC-bound journey rumbles on all the way to its destination.