Manchester City Football Club

Challenge
Manchester City Football Club has dominated the English Premier League for the last few years, and now seeks to expand their American audience, with the ultimate goal to become the #1 undisputed football club in the U.S. in the next ten years. How can a foreign athletic team overcome cultural differences, time zones, and competing athletic teams to capture the hearts of an American audience?

Process
Competitive audit
Consumer research
Survey development + analysis
In-depth interviews
Positioning framework
Final pitch delivery

Strategic Response
Despite the client’s analysis of a Generation Z target audience, our research determined that youth interest in soccer in the U.S. is increasing, creating white space for a foreign athletic team. By leveraging the brand’s underutilized equities, their mascots, two lovable aliens named Moonchester and Moonbeam, Man City F.C. has the opportunity to connect with Generation Alpha through the themes of soccer, space, teamwork, and adventure.

Blue Moon is an educational and entertainment platform designed to help kids dream big. It will come to life through a children’s book detailing the origin story of the mascots-turned-characters, a new animated Netflix series where kids can follow along on Moonchester and Moonbeam’s space adventures, immersive pop-up experiences, and partnerships with children’s educational brands. The pipeline is already set up for when these 6 year olds hit adolescence; Manchester City already has the entertainment and educational programs in place, including an E-Sports presence and a leadership institute. This will set the stage for kids to fall in love with Manchester City from a young age, because love builds loyalty.