It is no secret that the Bundesliga is trying to find other avenues of making money and have found international interest somewhat lacking. Though the domestic interest and the television deal remain superb, there is much less demand to watch the Bundesliga abroad. There are ways the German league association, the DFL, can improve their marketing and garner greater interest from abroad, but equally it helps when Bundesliga teams manage to do their own part in marketing themselves in different places
on the globe.
According to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich’s board member for marketing, Rouven Kasper, this is simply not happening enough:
“After the season, Leipzig went on tour [to South Africa]; besides us, only Dortmund are travelling this summer, and Paderborn are flying to the USA in September. That’s far too little,” Kasper insisted in an interview with Tz (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “Bundesliga clubs need to think more strategically. The English clubs are going out into the world – that means German clubs also need to be proactive. You can’t just stay home and then complain about declining revenue. If you don’t do anything, then nothing comes of it.
FC Bayern is a pioneer and driving force behind the international marketing of the Bundesliga, and we want to see more joint commitment from the league and its clubs to remain globally competitive. German football, the Bundesliga, needs bigger visibility.
It’s unfortunately a fact that media revenues are currently declining in countries like the USA and Japan, that makes it extremely important for the league to work with us to find strategic mechanisms to boost activities. Bayern Munich can’t travel everywhere. We have to act as a league and also cultivate smaller markets.”
BFW Analysis
Of course, it is easy for Bayern to say this. The club has the star power, money and visibility to benefit from paying to travel to different countries and market themselves through these travels. Is the benefit to cost ratio in making these trips worth it for Germany’s smaller clubs? Clearly, many do not think so. And traveling for the sake of the vague hope that the league’s profile grows in a significant manner seems like a risk with very little realistic reward, as well.
But one does not get something from nothing, either. As the league continues to try and secure more funds, perhaps this is the time for other clubs to get out of their comfort zones and take those risks.
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