Integrated Marketing Communications in Football

Book excerpt: This book takes an important step forward in showing how Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) have been applied within the English Premier League (EPL) – arguably the most commercialised and watched sport league in the world – and how it can and should be utilised in the context of other sports properties. Drawing on cutting-edge empirical research, the book offers a detailed view into the marketing communications practices of EPL clubs (such as brand management and communications alignment), the football clubs’ practitioners’ perspectives of IMC and the integration processes taking place within the clubs. It examines the key marketing communications practices that strategic IMC entails, including marketing strategies and goals, cross-functional communication, external communication management and brand management, and helps researchers and practitioners to understand how IMC can have the maximum positive impact on the brand of an organisation, by managing their content, channels, stakeholders and results. This book is fascinating reading for any researcher, advanced student or practitioner with an interest in sport management, the business of football, sport marketing or innovative approaches to marketing and business communications in other commercial spheres.