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| Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon |
When
ROMAN ABRAMOVICH bought the Chelsea Football Club in the summer of ‘03, one of the smartest investments he made was hiring
PETER KENYON away from Manchester United to run his franchise. As CEO,
Kenyon was largely responsible for ManU’s on-field success and for raising the profile of that club to one of the world’s most recognizable sports brands. Last year,
Chelsea won its first Premier League title in 50 years and signed lucrative multi-year sponsorship deals with Samsung and adidas. According to a published report, since ‘03,
Chelsea’s
U.K. fan base has increased by over 300% (to 3.8 million) and its international fan base is close to 20 million. In late March,
Kenyon announced a partnership between Chelsea and AEG, which operates four MLS teams.
Kenyon spoke recently with SportsBusiness Journal
New York bureau chief Jerry
Kavanagh.
| FAVORITES: |
| Vacation spot: Maldives. |
| Piece of music: HANDEL’s “Zadok the Priest.” |
| Quote: “No one ever said it was going to be easy.” |
| Movie: “Casablanca.” |
| Book: “Tai-Pan.” |
| Last book read: “The Predator.” |
| Pet peeve: People who talk too loudly in meetings. |
| Athlete you most enjoy watching: MUHAMMAD ALI. |
| First job: Accountant. |
| Fantasy job: Rock star. |
| Best business advice received: Timing is everything. |
| Management philosophy: Give people confidence. |
| Biggest professional challenge: Making Chelsea profitable. |
| Most creative accomplishment: Manchester United’s merchandising and sponsorship deal with Nike. |
| Smartest call: Hiring JOSE MOURINHO as Chelsea coach. |
| Proudest accomplishment: Finishing the London and New York marathons. |
| Regrets: A few. |
| Greatest extravagance: A Porsche. |
Q: HENRY FORD said, “History is bunk.” What has history taught you about the soccer business?
Kenyon: That nothing is possible without success on the field.
Q: You understand brand building, having raised the profile of Manchester United, one of the most recognizable and successful teams in the world. And you had the words “football club” deleted from the club name to establish it as more than just a football team, as a global brand. What are the keys, your keys, to building a global brand?
Kenyon: The first one is success on the field. That gives you visibility. And then it’s about engaging that fan base that you’re creating, and ultimately leaving a sort of market legacy. I think those are still the key points that are relative to any sports franchise.
Q: You once said, “Most American sports are only played on the shores of the U.S. The U.S. has got some very strong franchises, but in order for a franchise to be international, the sport has to be international.” Which U.S. sports leagues understand that better than the others?
Kenyon: The NBA. They’re portrayed internationally as a single brand and they are in international markets. They’ve got key franchises in key markets. They’re true to what they do in the U.S. in other parts of the world.
Q: Of the U.S., you said, “This is a really important market. We always want more supporters and more fans to come out.” How do you attract more U.S. fans? And how do you then convert them to loyal fans?
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Kenyon Feels European Clubs Can Benefit From U.S. Success At World Cup |
Kenyon: We see this as a long-term commitment to a key market. And it is about becoming as relevant in the U.S. 365 days a year as we are domestically. You have to replicate that. You can’t achieve that by coming over with the team for ten days every 12 months or every two years. It’s about being relevant to that soccer population in that marketplace and not actually doing it the way you that do it in the U.K.
Q: Does the success the U.S. national team enjoyed in the last World Cup make the task a little easier for you?
Kenyon: Yes. You can only be successful if your industry is successful. And the success that the U.S. soccer team brought is that more people will watch it, more people will engage with it. And that’s got to be good for everybody in the industry.
Q: Earlier this year, you told The Guardian, “I think football in general’s responsibility to the community has improved dramatically over the last 10 years, and Chelsea’s done as much and probably more than anybody else.” What did you mean by that?
Kenyon: This is ultimately a sport and a franchise that is built around a community, and therefore there is lots of media coverage around the price we pay for players, the salaries of the players, and I think it is about the players and the club putting back into the community, which is where the sport comes from. We do that through national charity, Soccer in the Community, which puts kids through its programs every year and has coaches going into disadvantaged areas and local schools and facilities. I have to say, that’s an area where U.S. athletes and U.S. sports franchises do exceptionally well.
Q: How challenging is it to create a global fan base for a local team?
Kenyon: It’s difficult. This is a long-term commitment to developing Chelsea as a global brand in some key markets. We’re not sitting here thinking we can do that by one tour every two years.
Q: Everyone looks now at China as a target audience, including you, who has talked about expanding a fan base to China.
Kenyon: I don’t think anybody who’s got aspirations of a global business can ignore China and where that will be in 10-15 years. What’s quite unique is that most people in soccer see it in weeks or months, or certainly single years. I think what differentiates us is that we have a ten-year vision, which means that you’ve got to look at areas of China as being important. But, again, that’s looking at each market. China will be different from North America, and both of those will be different from the way we operate in the U.K. But the one thing that puts us in all those markets is media coverage. And the Premier League today is the most-watched league in world football.
Q: A study by Deloitte & Touche identified a “strong correlation between sporting performance and expenditure on players.” You said, “It’s annoying that we get tagged with ‘buying the title.’” Is that a misperception?
Kenyon: I don’t think you can achieve the greatness that we’re looking for without resource, and resource is money. But I think there’s an intellectual resource, which ultimately is what brings success. And every sport in every country can point to clubs or franchises that have money but no success. I think it’s too simplistic to say that because you’ve got more money, you’ll gain more success. The thing that is overlooked there is the intellectual aspect of the people who are responsible for the franchise, which ultimately is what makes you successful.
Q: It’s a criticism that’s been leveled at GEORGE STEINBRENNER and the Yankees. They have the most money, but they’ve also been very successful.
Kenyon: Success says it’s a wise investment. That’s the way you’ve got to look at it.
Q: Can the professional sports leagues in the U.S. learn anything from the Premiership and the Champions League? Conversely, can the European leagues learn anything from the leagues in the U.S.?
Kenyon: I don’t feel we can answer those questions. All sports and all leagues can learn from each other. I don’t think we should be too precious. That’s where I’d like to leave it, as opposed to getting into the specifics of competition.
Q: Is there anything you have borrowed from U.S. leagues, or thought were good ideas?
Kenyon: The way they market themselves, the way they are media-friendly.
Q: What do the U.S. pro leagues do best?
Kenyon: Athlete presentation, media relations, and packaging the sport for media for maximum exposure and value are all things that the U.S. sports do as good as anybody in the world.
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| Kenyon (r) With YankeesNets' Harvey
Schiller At Partnership Announcement |
Q: Manchester United had a partnership with the Yankees. What did the two franchises gain from it?
Kenyon: Awareness. Certainly that reverberated around the world. Content, which was very important to the Yankees at the time in terms of splitting off the Yankee TV network. And the partnering of two top franchises across sports was quite unique. That brought certain benefits of learning more about some of the relative strengths of two different sports franchises that are probably as recognized as any across the world.
Q: Will soccer ever take hold in the U.S.? What needs to be done?
Kenyon: The sport in Europe’s been going over 100 years. So, I think if you look at where U.S. soccer is today, it’s in good shape. The trends are very positive. We came across last year and played an MLS team, and it was one of our best games [here]. That was something that we probably wouldn’t have done six or seven years ago. The fact that the U.S. national team is sixth in the world tells you where the sport has progressed to. I’m a great believer of talking up because I think there’s been a great job done. You’re in a marketplace which is unbelievably competitive for other sports. But I think it’s still young in many ways. I think the foundations have been firmly planted. We believe that the sport will get stronger, which is why we’re so committed to that marketplace.
Q: Does the game itself need any changes? Is there anything you would change?
Kenyon: The game has always got to evolve. There’s great debate, as there always is, about sports and rules, but you’ve got to believe we’re entering a stage where a better use of technology could be brought to bear. That would aid the referee decisions, which are critical to the outcome of major competitions. But the big thing is that the game keeps pace with the change and that it continually evolves. And I think that’s what means it will continue to be the global sport and be around for another 100 years.
Q: Wouldn’t you love to see basketball adopt the running clock of soccer?
Kenyon: (Laughing) It would be quite amusing.
Q: No more TV timeouts and coach’s timeouts. You’d have to play.
Kenyon: Yeah, I know. I spoke to Americans around the [time of the] World Cup, and I think the fitness of the athletes is what engaged a lot of the American public. Keeping that up for that length of time was something that people really respected about the game itself.
Q: What’s the best new idea you’ve heard?
Kenyon: Embrace change, because we’re always in a changing environment and that keeps you relevant. And I think you’ve got to do it your way.
Q: Former San Francisco 49ers owner EDDIE DEBARTOLO JR. said the best thing about sports is winning. What do you say?
Kenyon: Winning is our mantra, and it won’t happen without winning. [We] are in the ultimate competitive industry. People talk about being on the stock market and being measured every quarter. Well (laughing), we’d love to get to be measured every quarter.
Q: DAVID HALBERSTAM wrote that “[American] pro football had never been a place for coaches who were sentimental.” Is that not true of all pro sports?
Kenyon: I think our industry is too big now to be sentimental. There’s too much riding on every decision.
Q: Where is the imagination in sports today?
Kenyon: It’s about the game itself. It’s about the flair, the style, and the individual athletes that can change the outcome of the game. We’re all probably lovers of different sports, but we all remember that moment in time when one athlete or a team changed the outcome of a competition or a league. And that’s what I think captures everybody’s imagination.
Q: Who is the most creative individual athlete you’ve ever seen?
Kenyon: I think you’ve got to put [MICHAEL] JORDAN up there. I’m being honest.
