Wooing fans back into Ghana stadia – in the wake of the globalization of football

Subject area: Marketing Strategy and Marketing Management. It can also be used to illustrate the application of specific concepts and frameworks, such as “revenue (demand/Capacity) management” in services marketing and “Integrated Marketing Communication” under marketing communication. Study level/applicability: Postgraduate and Final Year Marketing Majors. Case overview: The case describes how the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the flagship football product of the Ghana Football Association, continues to record low attendances at various league centres since the turn of the new millennium. The case highlights the effects of global forces (both macro and micro factors) on the patronage of GPL matches. It also brings into focus the effects of professionalization and commercialization of the league, especially, on traditional football clubs. It presents discussions on the need for football clubs to adopt sound management principles, such as market-orientation in response to the dynamic global forces. Apart from illustrating the effects of globalization on football, the case can also be used for teaching topics on integrated marketing communication/brand management and revenue management for perishable services. Expected learning outcomes: To enable students to appreciate how the forces of globalization affect businesses in developing countries; to enable students to apply strategic marketing frameworks (PEST, Porter's five forces Model, SWOT, etc.) to analyse business situations; to enable candidates/students to understand the use of services management principles to address problems relating to perishable demand and unused capacity; students should understand the importance of quality products/services and branding to an organization's ability to deliver exceptional customer experience; to enable students apply the elements of integrated marketing communication to address organizational problems; andto sharpen students' critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills. Supplementary materials: Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email [email protected] to request teaching notes.