How Globalisation Has Impacted The NFL’s Global Expansion Strategy

Globalisation theorists proclaim that cultural homogenization and ‘Americanisation’ has resulted in American norms and products being pushed onto other cultures (Van Bottenburg, 2003). From this Ritzer (1993) coined the term ‘McDonaldization’ to define society. Therefore, it is no surprise American bodies are taking advantage of global appeal in order to attain the commercial benefits. One organisation with increasing focus on global appeal is the American National Football League (NFL). In illustration, the 2018 NFL Superbowl attracted a worldwide audience of 103 million viewers who tuned in to the event held in the fittingly named ‘U.S Bank Stadium’ A brand spokesperson claims that the NFL aim to increase commercial revenue to $25 billion by 2025 (Cheen, 2014), a figure which could only be made achievable by tapping into new markets. Undoubtedly, globalisation is driving such brand extensions, used to conserve and mature brand equity (Keller and Aaker, 1992). Globalisation can be described as the increased integration of values in addition to fluid movement of trade, technology and people across borders (Westerbeek and Smith, 2003). Resultantly, we are seeing previously contained sports crossing new borders in search for untapped sources of revenue (Abosag et al., 2012). For example, the NBA has made great strides in the Asian market, utilising a strategy of ‘glocalisation’ (Huang, 2013). Essentially, tailoring the NBA brand to current basketball philosophy in the region. Major League Baseball (MLB) are another lesson on how American based sports can prosperously cross borders (Chen and Zhang, 2012). Contrastingly, the NFL’s expansion beyond America has been much more questionable. Despite being America’s best supported sport, American football has scarcely appeared to cross boundaries and remains a minor sport in Europe and Asia (Van Bottenburg, 2003). Therefore, it has to be considered whether the brands strategy of globalisation is sufficient enough to appeal locally to those across the globe.

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One major symbol of globalisation in sport is the migration of foreign athletes into major leagues (Klein, 2006). For example, the NBA and MLB possess many players born outside of the United States (Pardini, 2008). This has been shown as a method of generating global interest. In illustration, the emergence of Chinese basketballer Yao Ming in the NBA sparked great interest in the player’s home nation (Huang, 2013). The extent of publicity created was claimed to add 30 million followers to the Houston Rockets – a team who previously had only 1 million viewers in the US (Score and Change, 2016). Cho et al. (2012) provide reason to this by expressing that nationalism is fundamental in attracting local support within global sport. In relation, only 3.5% of NFL players are born outside of the United states (Gaines, 2011). The NFL seemed inspired by the NFL’s work in China launching their own attempt to scout the country’s large population for talented athletes. Despite this there are currently no players of Chinese descent in the NFL (Kawashima, 2017). Perhaps it could be argued that the structure of the NFL limits globalisation’s benefit of the free movement of people, with most athletes being plucked from US colleges. Miller (2002) supports this by citing that many athletes found in European training camps were of good enough standard to have made the NFL if they had appeared at college level in the US. The stature of the MLS (Major League Soccer) has also clearly been enhanced by imports such as David Beckham through gained publicity and merchandise sales. Correspondingly, merchandise sold by the New York Giants’ icon Odell Beckham Jr. outside of the US is incomparable to that of his namesake. Instead, the NFL appear to be focusing on overseas games as a preferred method of grasping transatlantic interest.

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The ‘Miami Dolphins’ are an NFL team who normally play their home games in the basking sun of South Florida. However, in 2007 the Dolphins emerged at a drenched Wembley Stadium in London (Seabrook, 2007), signalling the beginning of the NFL’s ‘international series’. These events appear somewhat ‘glocalised’, mixing the American culture imbedded in the sport with local entertainment. As local ratings across the NFL have come under intense scrutiny over the past few years, there is a growing importance to increase the international fan-base (Stein 2017). The NFL’s presence outside of America is expanding with deals being signed to host games in the UK and Mexico as well as a simultaneous rise of worldwide coverage (Breer, 2018). Whilst this has come under scrutiny it is nothing new within the sporting world with even ‘Formula 1’ now diverting races into regions including Bahrain and Malaysia (Zhou, 2017).

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Market selection is crucial to any brand looking to expand globally (Czinkota and Ronkainen, 2010). It is clear that the ‘NFL’ see London as a base for their expansion into Europe (Breer, 2018), despite more apparent levels of interest from Germany (Van Bottenburg, 2003) and Mexico (Jordan, 2010). The idea behind this is to use experience gathered to modify a ‘game-plan’ for other international markets. The London experiment appears to be growing with the NFL agreeing to host further games in Tottenham’s new specifically designed stadium (Vrentas, 2015). The accessibility of the city makes it practical for Americans to attend (score and change 2016), and convenient for those travelling from other European cities (Jozsa, 2014). The NFL also hopes to add China to the map, following the route of ‘MLB’ (Major League Baseball) and ‘NHL’ (National Hockey League) by targeting their population of 1.3 billion (Zhou et al., 2017), however this would attract logistical problems greater than those posed at London (Score and Change, 2016). After all, NFL athletes would be impacted the most with severe jet lag impacting their strict routines (Gardiner, 2016). The NBA currently lead the way for league globalisation, with the inclusion within the Olympics Games portraying basketball as a truly global sport (Zhou et al., 2017). The fact that American football is not considered a global sport makes growth reliant on a greater deal of education than brand’s like the NBA have had to consider (Madden, 2006).

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These global events along with the NFL’s international marketing activities ultimately aim to increase local interest. Subsequently, more children playing the sport increases the talent pool in these regions, improving the gateway to the NFL for future international stars (score and change, 2016). Increased international players consequently increases international interest as afore-shown, meaning the popularity of the NFL should grow in a ‘snowball’ fashion. However, this idea is somewhat refuted by Vrentas (2015) who illuminates the case of the ‘Harlem Globetrotters’. The writer believes that when the team comes to town, interest in the sport peaks. However, it does not create sustainable interest as the image they bring appears unattainable and unrealistic for local teams. However, Bandini (2009) responds to this believing that the more common these events become the less they will be viewed as a ‘fair coming to town’. Vrentas (2015) also draws attention to the competition with soccer, proclaiming that occasional showcase games in soccer offseason is all that would work in some regions. This claim could be partly justified by the case of the NFL’s European league.

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The NFL’s targeting of new markets in search of commercial success dates back to the creation of the European league in 1991 (Score and change, 2016). This evidently a brand extension by the NFL which Campbell and Kent (2002) define as an attempt to extort current awareness when introducing a new product offering. ‘NFL Europa’ somewhat raises the argument of standardisation or adaption, debated within marketing for decades. It is largely accepted that when entering a new market, brand elements are either ‘standardised’ or ‘adapted’. However, the more recent term of ‘glocalisation’ has been developed which merges the two previous terms (Zhou et al., 2017). ‘NFL Europa’ could be seen as a failed attempt to create a glocalised product for European consumers. However, it could also be simply branded as a method of fan development in the continent (Miller, 2002). The league operated under several names incorporating nations such as the UK, Holland, Germany and Spain until eventually disbanding in 2007 (Jozsa, 2014). Each nation incorporated their own imprint on the sport; fierce and passionate in Italy, dynamic and charismatic in Germany (Vrentas, 2015). Despite existing for many years (under many names) it did not attain the success the NFL anticipated (Score and change, 2016). The league was dissolved as part of the NFL’s reforming strategy, with focus then being placed upon the previously discussed ‘international series’ (Vrentas, 2015). In retrospect, losing a league with negative return in preference of premium priced events which attract a haven of entertainment and glamour may be looked upon as a wise decision. However, recent struggles such as the current racism – kneeling to the anthem – row could potentially stunt the sport’s growth in the US (Leonard, 2018). In addition, the re-emergence of competitor league ‘XFL’ is also likely to challenge the brand’s US dominance from 2020 onwards (Rovell, 2018). Ultimately, the NFL may regret placing all efforts on their North American League. Additionally, if brands of American football are emerging across the globe, the NFL should be looking to umbrella them under their logo. The departure of a European league is likely to diminish ‘grass-roots’ levels of the sport within the continent (Van Bottenburg, 2003). Thus, ultimately meaning there are no capabilities for growing the game from the ground up. Consequently, growth of interest is reliant upon the NFL brand ‘pushing’ the sport onto consumers. As Vrentas (2015) states, the days of scouts trolling NFL Europe for potential stars and holding training camps for the younger generation is over. This largely indicates a greatly missed opportunity for global expansion.

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With the failed attempt at creating a sustainable European league, efforts of progression may be placed on creating an overseas franchise. London looks set to host the first franchise of this type, with NFL brand officials claiming it could be possible by 2022 (Breer, 2018). Cheen (2014) finds that whilst overseas games create a global buzz, an overseas franchise on the map would increase income more substantially. It appears that the brand now sees London games as more than a series of successful marketing stunts. Vrentas (2015) best describes this stating “They’ve helped plant seeds of interest in the game abroad over the past 30 years, but now they want to be in a position to harvest the fruits.” The Jacksonville Jaguars franchise have benefitted commercially from the international series to the extent where considerations have made to move to the city permanently. The teams trips to the UK have resulted in their owner’s claims that it has opened revenue streams which were previously inaccessible, in addition to playing in front of larger crowds (Basch, 2017). It has recently emerged that Jaguars’ owner Shahid Khan has proposed to buy the rights to Wembley stadium (Kelner, 2018). This laying the foundations for a possible franchise move in the future. NFL officials assess potential markets based on aspects such as stadium quality, location and accessibility (Jozsa, 2014). Fundamentally, London appears to tick all the boxes. In relation to overseas franchises it could be argued that the newly established team in Las Vegas could further develop global interest. This largely due to the city’s high volume of tourism (Jozsa, 2014).

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As stated one of the main drivers of globalisation is the interconnectivity of global highways (Baker, 2014). The NFL recognise the importance of digital technology as a globalised effort of reaching fans. This is of paramount importance as it is suggested 74% of NFL fans do not live in the region of their favoured team (Greenhalgh et al., 2014), with globalisation clearly inflating this figure. Correspondingly, live-streaming of content has been utilised by the brand, signing deals with Twitter and Yahoo to broadcast live matches (score and change, 2016). Thus, following the lead of the NBA who signed a deal worth $500 million for exclusive streaming rights on Chinese media (Zhou et al., 2017). Despite possessing lucrative broadcasting deals, digital technology allows the NFL to enter markets without prior negotiation of broadcasting deals or playing matches locally. NFL broadcasting in the UK took-off with channel 4 in the 80’s, it is apparent that this is once again gathering interest with Sky overseeing a 55% increase in ratings (Bandini, 2009). This making UK coverage unlike any other country in Europe (Vrentas, 2015). Greenhalgh et al., (2014) also believe that modern technology increases contact and engagement with fans making sport more accessible than ever. The brand are also innovatively glocalising their media platforms. For example, ‘NFLUK.com’ is specifically designed for UK fans, introducing them to the game and its history (score and change, 2016). This local tailoring shows consideration to the market as after all, the sport is less well known in the region. Additionally, the NFL collaborated with marketing agencies in China to create their digital media strategy (Madden, 2006). Technology is most importantly impacting the running of the game due to the increase of technical infrastructure such as video replays (Gardiner 2016). Despite globalisation enhancing the NFL’s ability to travel to new destinations, it does not necessarily mean every stadium is modern enough to embrace the sport. Overall, Cheen (2014) summarises on-line activities expressing that the NFL are using modern media to connect the game to the globe. However, Van Bottenburg (2003) believes that despite the NFL’s ability to purchase and design media, consumer interest cannot be bought, especially in the shadow of soccer.

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On the other hand, it has to be acknowledged that globalisation efforts may be damaging the brand’s main market in the US. Vrentas (2015) stems the opinion that despite only a five-hour time disparity over the Atlantic, international games widen the void between the NFL’s commercialisation and fans’ love of the sport. Each international game is ultimately America’s loss. This is backed up by 58% of fans who believe London should host no more than a pre-season game, with many high profile names also voicing their opposition (Bandini, 2009). Whilst international expansion is essential to increasing revenue, the NFL must also pay consideration to the demand of American based fans as they are the most valuable stakeholders.

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Overall, it is clear that globalisation has presented the NFL with the opportunity to reach potential fans across the globe. As shown, where sport used to be classed as a pastime, there has been a clear transition to business orientated focus (Houlihan, 2008). The NFL’s failed attempt at running a European league clearly had its downfalls in terms of player development and international appeal. However, interest towards the ‘international series’ is a major shining light. The next stage may be the introduction of a Europe based franchise which appears to be on the near horizon. It is indisputable that grass roots levels of American football are being neglected in Europe and Asia. Creating fan engagement and player development around the potential European franchise may be the possible avenue for the NFL’s future international success. Participation is key to the development of any sport which may make it of upmost importance to re-delve into these markets in the future, with a more focused plan. The NFL’s ability to build on its digital media strategy could be very influential in years to come as it surfaces as the brand’s main focus for glocalisation. What is clear is that in a world which culture is becoming increasingly ‘Americanised’, attracting the interest outside of North America surprisingly does not seem such a simple matter (Van Bottenburg, 2003). As Kawashima (2017, p.130) states “a sport is a culture, and into American football, American culture is condensed.” Despite moderate success of other American sports, it is evident that soccer dominates the attention of the rest of the globe. As Jordan (2010) believes, the NFL is ultimately setting up for failure by not truly globalising in a way that soccer has. The ‘London experiment’ clearly shows the appetite for American football outside of the US. Ultimately, despite concern from fans ‘back home’, the NFL may be responsible for failing to secure the future of the sport if they decline to fully globalise in the near future.