Professional soccer’s K League 1 Ulsan Hyundai has made a strong presence in the PR and marketing sector following its second consecutive league title in its inaugural season.
Ulsan won the 35th round of the Hana OneQ K League 1 2023 against Daegu FC at Munsoo Football Stadium on March 29 to clinch the league title with 21 wins, seven draws and seven losses for 70 points, regardless of the outcome of the remaining matches. It was their fourth league title and second straight in the inaugural league.레모나토토
Ulsan attributed the victory not only to the performance of its players and the leadership of head coach Hong Myung-bo, but also to its “luxury promotion and marketing strategy.
“By fulfilling the needs of our fans in a variety of ways, Ulsan has earned the title of No. 1 in soccer and No. 1 in PR and marketing. Ulsan’s awards speak for themselves. Since the first game of the 2021 season, the team has been named Fan Friendly Club (including the Grand Prize) nine times in a row. This is the most consecutive awards among K League teams and has yet to be broken.”
“The documentary ‘Blue Waves 2023’ has been a hit every season. Ulsan’s own documentary ‘Blue Wave’, produced since 2021, has been recognized for its competitiveness as a content by being the first in professional sports to be broadcast on OTT since its first season.” “In its third year, the ‘Blue Wave’ series is evolving into a content that serves as a bridge between clubs, players, and fans and provides a blueprint for the direction of video content production, promotion, and distribution for K League clubs.”
Ulsan said it has also strengthened its communication with fans both online and offline.
“We opened a fan cafe, ‘Cafe Blue Wave,’ to actively communicate with fans. Players transformed into daily baristas and served coffee and drinks directly to fans, and had a time of close interaction through conversation.” “We also opened a ‘media exhibition hall’ on the second floor of the W section in Munsus Football Stadium, our home stadium. “We opened the ‘Media Exhibition Center’ on the second floor of the W section of the Munsoo Football Stadium. It is operated as one of the courses of the stadium tour,” he explained.
He continued, “The interest of fans and the intensified soccer enthusiasm in the city of Ulsan have led to monumental achievements for the club. Out of Ulsan’s total revenue of 16 billion excluding parent company support, marketing activities alone have generated 10.2 billion won so far this season,” he said, “4 billion in tickets, 3.2 billion in sponsorships (excluding group companies), 1.4 billion in F&B, and 1.6 billion in merchandise, all of which were achieved purely through the club’s own efforts. These marketing figures are more than just a popularity indicator, but a valuable indicator of the club’s self-sustainability.”
Ulsan’s PR and marketing growth is best illustrated by its home attendance numbers in the K League this season. Ulsan drew 18,933 fans against Daegu. A total of “300,406 people” attended the 17 home games this season.
This is the first time Ulsan has exceeded 300,000 fans in a single season since its inception, and the second time the club has reached 300,000 home fans since the implementation of the paid attendance policy. The team’s average home attendance this season is currently 17,670, which ranks second all-time after the 1998 season’s 19,926 (11 games).
Ulsan is overcoming the limitations of being a “non-metropolitan club,” and its gate receipts were 400 million won in 2014 and are expected to grow to 4 billion won by 2023. The number of spectators is the most obvious success indicator of the club.” The team also showed off its strong presence with its own F&B (food and beverage) business, which exceeded its sales targets.