When you can buy anything (except, it seems, regular success at the very top level), a club risks destroying its real fans’ desire for the level playing field of true sport.

Real fans detest everything which comes with being a noveau riche moneybags, as Manchester United found when legions of diehards set up the remarkable grassroots phenomenon FC United. Real fans don’t want to feel taken over, ‘acquired’, annexed as part of a business empire.

Umbro scores with City

The tabloid hounds in full cry are easily roused to feverish headlines, and it is a testament to City’s PR skills - and the owners’ clear commitment to sensible, medium-term objectives for the club - that the pack has been restrained in a season in which 10th place is an underachievement of fans’ expectations.

Yes, there have been calls for Mark Hughes to go, but the day sports editors stop running ‘boss to be sacked’ stories will be the day soccer stars trade their Bentleys in for Smart cars.

There has not been a  ‘Hughes out’  tidal wave, the kind of media-public feedback loop which saw Bobby Robson ousted from Newcastle without a suitable replacement to hand…and look where they are now.

Spinoza

Peer-to-peer endorsement is the best form of marketing. City and their new partners Umbro gave a presentation on Tuesday to these crucial influencers. By now they’ll be emailing and online networking their impressions of the shirt, which promises to boast the perfect City blue.

There’s more. Last night,  I was an invited to another event - 25 City influential fans in the music, media, fashion and design were invited to the Umbro base in the Northern Quarter to see, feel and take pride in the shirt.

And a media launch today saw hot new band Kid British play some storming tunes in front of media and partners at a Manchester bar.

Blues fan Gallagher

Last night, Hacienda DJ and M People main man Mike Pickering was there, as was Badly Drawn Boy Damon Gough, and Noel Gallagher -  I wouldn’t be surprised if he sported the kit onstage at Heaton Park this weekend.

Not every club can benefit from that kind of product placement. But every club could learn a lesson from the way City identifies its key influencers and engages with them.

Perhaps other clubs should do to City as United did against Barcelona - simply stand back and applaud.

Andrew Spinoza is the managing director of SKV Communications. This article first appeared on the SKV blog, which you can find at http://www.skvcommunications.co.uk/

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Comments (10)

1  By Nigel Hughes , on 05-06-2009 16:39 This is all good stuff, but the current MCFC top brass are building on a solid platform reputation-wise, off the pitch at least. Man City are cool in a way Man Utd or Chelsea can never be.     Incidentally and separately, Tranmere Rovers sacked their manager today. We're the biggest joke since Malcolm Allison bought Steve Daley. Report