KWAME NKRUMAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING AND CORPORATE STRATEGY. An investigation into the use of marketing strategies by Colts football clubs in the Kumasi Metropolis A thesis submitted to the Department of Marketing Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Business Administration (MBA) (Marketing) BY Kwabena Akyeampong NOVEMBER, 2015. i DECLARATION I hereby declare that this submission as Master of Business Administration (MBA) Degree thesis is the result of my own investigation and that to the best of my knowledge contains no material previously published by another person nor material which has been accepted for the award of any degree except where due acknowledgement has been made. KWABENA AKYEAMPONG ………………….. ……………….. (PG3587309) SIGNATURE DATE CERTIFIED BY: MRS MARIAMA ZAKARIA ………………….. ……………….. (SUPERVISOR) SIGNATURE DATE CERTIFIED BY: DR. AHMED AGYAPONG ………………….. ……………….. (HOD) SIGNATURE DATE ii DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my wife, Marie – Louise Antwi Adjei for her immense contribution towards the completion of this piece. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I highly acknowledge the contribution made by my supervisor Mrs. Mariama Zakaria. Without whom this piece would not have seen the light of the day. To all my friends, coaches, players and administrators I say, thank you all for your support. iv TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION ................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ...................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENT ........................................................................................................ v LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. viii ABSTRACT........................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background of the Study ................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................. 3 1.3 Objectives of the Study ...................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Research Questions ............................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................... 6 1.6 Organization of the Study .................................................................................................. 7 1.7 Scope of the Study ............................................................................................................. 8 CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 9 2.0 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Concept of Sport Marketing .............................................................................................. 9 2.2.0 Characteristics of Sport Marketing ............................................................................... 10 2.2.1 The Sports Products ...................................................................................................... 11 2.2.2 The Sports Industry ....................................................................................................... 13 2.3.0 Sport Sponsorship as a Marketing Tool ........................................................................ 15 2.3.1 Sponsorship from Sponsors Perspective ....................................................................... 16 2.3.1.1 Create Exclusivity ...................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1.2 Building Goodwill ..................................................................................................... 17 2.3.1.3 Secure Entitlement or Naming Rights ....................................................................... 17 v 2.3.1.4 Relationship Marketing ............................................................................................. 17 2.3.1.5 Sales Increment .......................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1.6 Competition ............................................................................................................... 18 2.3.1.7 Image Building .......................................................................................................... 19 2.4 The Football Package - What is the Product, where are the Markets? ............................ 19 2.5 Football Academies ......................................................................................................... 24 2.6 Successful Football Academies ...................................................................................... 25 2.6.0 Four Categories of African Football Academies ......................................................... 27 2.6.1 Academies Organised and Manage by Clubs or National Federation .......................... 28 2.6.2 Afro-European Academies ........................................................................................... 29 2.6.3 Private or Corporate-sponsored Academies ................................................................. 30 2.6.4 Non-Affiliated, Improvised Academies ........................................................................ 32 2.6.5 Sponsorship Clutter and Media Coverage .................................................................... 32 CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................. 34 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... 34 3.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 34 3.2 Research Design .............................................................................................................. 34 3.3 Population of the Study ................................................................................................... 34 3.4 Sampling Technique and Sample Size ........................................................................... 35 3.5 Pre-Testing of the Instrument ......................................................................................... 35 3.6 Procedure for Data Collection ........................................................................................ 35 3.7 Data Analysis Plan .......................................................................................................... 36 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................... 38 RESEARCH FINDINGS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................................... 38 4.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 38 4.2 Demographic Characteristics of Respondent ................................................................... 38 4.3 Management Positions ..................................................................................................... 39 4.4 Age of Juvenile Players ................................................................................................... 40 4.5 Players Stay at the Soccer Academy ............................................................................... 41 vi 4.6 Sponsorship in Football ................................................................................................... 43 4.7 Platform for Projecting Activities of Football Academics .............................................. 45 4.8 Conceptualisation of Players as Products ........................................................................ 48 4.8 Pricing Strategies ............................................................................................................. 51 CHAPTER FIVE ................................................................................................................. 55 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION ............ 55 5.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 55 5.1 Summary of Findings ...................................................................................................... 55 5.1.1 Sponsorship of Football Academies ...........................................................................