Wednesday 18 July 2007

Brand Liverpool key to the future


WITH new players of all ages and origins arriving by the bucketload, and new coaching staff in at Melwood and the Academy every time they open the doors, it may seem somewhat perverse to suggest that the most significant arrival at Anfield this summer may well be a backroom boy.
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll hear the name of Ian Ayre sung from the Kop next season, but the club’s new commercial director will have as big a role in improving our fortunes as any number of promising Spanish youngsters.
His main objectives, we were told by Rick Parry this week, will be to grow sponsorship and merchandising revenues, and spearhead our efforts to build the LFC brand in international markets.
Now I understand that to many of you this will seem to be the language of the mega-corporate, and will conjure up images of close-season trips to Korea, and rolling up to matches at our new Pampers Stadium in red-and-white novelty nappies; but, handled sensitively and with a sense of proportion, this ramping up of the commercial expertise within the club can only be a force for good.

No comments: