Exactly. Milan is a brand that is huge, and has been run like shit, and that was the problem with B&G in the 2000's, they didn't do the marketing work that was necessary to take advantage of the strength of the brand.
Just listen to our marketing professionals talk about what they took over:
?It is probably too much to call it Stone Age but [AC Milan?s] commercial team was definitely 10 years behind the Premier League and probably two, three years behind the top clubs in Italy,? says Casper Stylsvig, the club?s new chief revenue officer, and a former global sponsorship director at Manchester United.
They've just started to engage in social media with earnestness, player memes (that bring awareness of players and personalities, which drive attention, which bring in sponsorship money) can only emerge when you have players who perform. If we weren't winning, Kessie being called Presidente isn't funny. If Hakan and Kessie sucked, the fusion dance shit wouldn't be funny. Winning cures everything.
And yes, I was talking about the past--but we're not talking about Grande Torino. We're not talking about some 80's and 90's nostalgia, like, people know Milan.
Theo is a kid, and he's talking about Maldini being his idol and the best to ever play his position. Why do we talk about Milan, as a brand, being this old time mythology that no one knows about.
The financial
potential of Serie A is massive. That's why Commisso is buying Fiorentina, and why he wanted to buy Milan. It's why Friedkins bought Roma, again, because they probably couldn't buy Milan.
You guys keep talking about what Milan's revenues or social media numbers are, right now, but the
potential is massive for Milan. That power of the brand is massive, and again, winning cures all. If Milan starts appearing in the CL, then you're going to have announcers talk about "Milan's history." If we start winning big games in the CL, people will talk about the mythology of Milan, Milan DNA, all that crap, but it just builds a narrative. Sports is pushed by narrative, by story-lines, otherwise they're just fucking sports games.
Why does women's tennis have popularity? Because there are great stories there. You have great rivalries. The Williams sisters brought in great interest, racial undertones, and so many other factors.
The NBA was literally dogshit, people didn't watch the games lives, and then Magic Johnson and Larry Bird came in and they created a story for the league. They literally saved the NBA, and brought it up in America, before Michael Jordan made it explode.
Senna versus Prost? Their rivalry was great.
What does Milan offer TV audiences? A narrative. History. Great players. So if Theo becomes the next great LB, Maldini being the man who brought him in, expect stupid pre-game shows on that. Leao becomes the next Mane or Son? He has the personality to catch interest, they'll start comparing him to Ibra. And it goes on and on.
Milan is a massive brand, and that is built on winning. Milan is about winning, about European success, which Berlusconi realized was far more important than Scudetti, because he knew he had to reach for larger success.
God, I can't believe I have to explain this basic-as-fuck reality about sports as a business.
