Annotated Bibliography

Introduction Manchester United has been an excellent in the modern history of Football. Its events outside the field and away from the pitch have been a major highlight in the recent years. MU has been present for over a hundred years, and has achieved constant growth during these decades from a miniature club into a global brand. In fact, it has now become a phenomenon and a complete lifestyle. The strategic direction of Manchester United in developing and sustaining its brand identity has been attained by studying the growth models of the other premier football teams, which constitute the heart of the football business. It is mandatory that all aspects of the marketing mix are strategically used to help build strong dominance in the market. Moreover, a sustainable and strong brand image has been the key of MU's success. Manchester United's global outreach and expansion into global market has been the corner stone of the core competencies which make MU a success phenomenon worldwide. (Tyrell & Meek, 2000, pp 120-185) Manchester United's core competencies will be critically examined in this paper. Particular attention will be paid, on the methods in which they have applied on various marketing and communication strategies to build strong brand equity and image. Moreover, by presentation of Manchester United's promotion practices will help us understand and analyze as to whether their model have been success or a failure. Manchester United is one of the most successful clubs in the history of world football. They have excelled all the other clubs of England by winning 18 league titles, 11 FA Cups and four League Cups and a in the history of British football. The club has won three European Cups and the brilliance of the club can be gauged from the fact that they triumphed Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League, during 1998-99 season. (Charlton, Murphy, & Endlar, 2009, pp 10-50) Having enjoyed all the success for a sustained period has brought many financial laurels to the club as well. Manchester United is among the top five richest clubs in the world. Besides being wealthy it is most fanatically supported football club in the world as well. The current worth of MU is around $1.19 billion which makes it larger than any sports entity on the planet. Bigger than American football league franchises and basketball giants. After remaining listed on London stock exchange for many years Glazer family bought MU for £800 million. Manchester United has the reputation of being the most popular football club in the world. The highest average home attendance rate in Europe makes it a lucrative business entity. MU's worldwide dispersed fan base in more comprises of more than 200 officially registered branches of the Manchester United Supporters Club (MUSC). These supporter clubs are located in more than 24 countries. The club benefits from the advantage of widespread support on its worldwide summer practice tours. Prestigious accountancy firm and football industry consultants Deloitte reported that Manchester United has an estimated 75 million fans ...