Franklin Foer
discusses in his book, How Soccer
Explains the World, how soccer has been globalized with teams like Real
Madrid. I think Real Madrid does a great job of explaining how one, unique
characteristic in a company or team can lead to the spread of its popularity
across the world. This one, unique characteristic Real Madrid has is Cristiano
Ronaldo. I believe this characteristic, whether it is the Nike swoosh or
Ronaldo, helps the company or team in terms of revenue and popularity.
Real Madrid is a sports team I used
to never watch. I am not a soccer fan so I had no reason to watch them.
However, I have discovered over the last few years that Real Madrid has a
unique feature: Cristiano Ronaldo. I discovered who Cristiano Ronaldo was due
to his incredible athletic ability and his marketable personality. As I saw
more and more of this soccer player, I started to investigate. I would stop
switching the channel when his highlights would come on. Eventually, I got to
the point where I watched my first Real Madrid match. The marketing effort put
forth by Real Madrid had finally worked. I never thought in a million years I
would ever watch a soccer match, but because of this widely popular figure, I
am now a staunch Real Madrid fan. I am not the only one who has this story.
There are many people in the U.S. and across the world who have jumped on the
Real Madrid bandwagon because of Ronaldo. In result, Forbes recently reported
that Real Madrid posted the highest annual revenue ever in the history of
sport.[1]
I do need to emphasize that Ronaldo is merely the “logo” in this scenario. Real
Madrid has plenty of other talent and ability to make it a great product.
Nike is a similar example to Real
Madrid’s situation. Nike arguably has the most recognizable logo/slogan in the
world. The Nike swoosh with the words “Just Do It” is engrained in billions of
heads across the world. I believe that this logo and slogan helped a company
that started off with the name “Blue Ribbon Sports” become one of the most
successful business in the world. However, like Real Madrid, it is not all
about the logo. Nike makes high quality shoes, shirts, and now even golf clubs.
I have friends from Florence, Italy whose wardrobe almost entirely consists of
Nike apparel. There are plenty of other brands for them to buy in Italy, but
they stick with Nike. This must be due to the imagery that the swoosh
represents all across the world: excellence and success.
I believe the spread of a good
product across the world is beneficial for everyone. I benefit from watching
Ronaldo because I, along with many other Ronaldo fans across the world, are
entertained and amused by his great skill, and Ronaldo and Real Madrid benefit
because they make lots of money and win championships. Of course there are
losers in this example of globalization. These include lesser-known players who
are Ronaldo’s competition such as Leonardo Bonucci. However, globalization
provides insight to the world which product is truly the greatest because only
the best ones can spread internationally.
[1] http://www.forbes.com/sites/kurtbadenhausen/2014/09/05/real-madrid-posts-highest-revenue-in-history-of-sports/
Interesting points you make about how Ronaldo has almost become a logo for the world. He is very recognizable like Nike is. I think this applies to any major brand as well. However, I don't know if the spread of a good product is always good because Nike has some questionable practices, unlike Real Madrid.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the labor practices of Nike are questionable,I do agree with Sam that Nike overall benefits countries and their economies by providing high quality goods with brand recognition.
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