Southgate’s tenure as England Manager has come to an end. Following the heartbreak of another “what if?” tournament where England fell short of the ultimate prize once again, our Account Director, Tom Tawell, takes a look at the marketing lessons we can learn from his reign in one of football’s most prestigious yet highly pressurised roles.
1. Playing Defensively Will Only Get You So Far
In football, a defensive strategy might take you to the final, but it seldom wins you the trophy. The same principle applies to marketing. Reactive strategies can maintain your brand’s position, but they alone rarely lead to groundbreaking success.
To truly stand out, brands need to be proactive, innovative, and future-thinking. Marketers need to “play the ball forward” and “attack the goal” by pursuing new opportunities, anticipating market trends, and leading with bold campaigns that push boundaries and move the chains up the pitch.
2. Timely Changes are Crucial
In football, failing to make timely substitutions can cost you the game. In marketing, delaying changes to an underperforming campaign can result in “missed passes” and “wasted shots”.
If a marketing tactic isn’t delivering results, don’t wait until the 70th minute to sub it out. Make data-driven decisions early and often, ensuring your strategy remains agile and responsive to market demands. Optimisation is essential!
Proactivity and a willingness to pivot can be the difference between a campaign that secures a resounding win before the final whistle.
3. Diversify Your Tactics
Sticking to your favourite players or tactics, no matter how successful they’ve been in the past, can lead to stagnation. Despite his three goals, Harry Kane’s lacklustre performances at EURO 2024, including his single touch in the box during the Final, undoubtedly held the team back. Meanwhile, younger, more in-form strikers were warming the bench, ready and waiting to make an impact – enter Ollie Watkins with his 90th-minute winner against the Netherlands and Cole “Cold” Palmer with his 73rd-minute equaliser against Spain!
Southgate’s reluctance to change his lineup earlier in matches, or to start some of England’s most dynamic yet less proven players, serves as a reminder that sometimes moving away from your “standard game plan” is necessary for the greater good of the team.
In marketing, this means being open to new ideas, technologies, and strategies, even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone. The latest, untested tactic might just be the game-changer your campaign, brand, or destination needs to outperform the competition.
4. Identity Over “Moments of Brilliance”
Being a “moments team,” like England at EURO 2024, or a “moments brand” that only shines sporadically, won’t lead you to the promised land. Spain’s consistent, attractive style of play throughout the tournament gave them a clear identity, serving as a model for brands aiming to reach the top.
Just like Spain, a brand with a clear mission, vision, and values will perform consistently at a high level from campaign to campaign, rather than relying on occasional bursts of brilliance.
As a brand, it’s crucial to establish a clear identity, stay true to your values, and ensure your messaging and campaigns are always aligned with your brand ethos. Consistency across platforms is vital, much like teams replicating their performances across multiple stadiums and cities during an international tournament.
This unified approach will set you apart from less organised teams and brands that spark but never fully ignite.
5. The Right Players in the Right Positions
Victory on the pitch often hinges on having the right players in the right positions. Each player’s unique skills and strengths must be harnessed effectively within a well-thought-out formation to maximise the team’s performance.
Likewise, in the modern-day marketing arena, success relies on having the right tactics in the right places, both online and offline, to drive exposure and sales for your brand. It’s about “phygital” marketing, where physical drives digital and digital drives physical.
In football, you need a mix of physical and technical (flair) players. Similarly, to drive results for a brand, you need a mix of physical strategies such as out-of-home advertising, events, and in-store promotions, combined with digital strategies like social media content, email campaigns, and SEO. It’s the merging of these elements that creates a winning formula.
Just as a football team needs a robust defence, creative midfield, and diverse attacking options to control the game and score goals, your marketing strategy must integrate various channels and techniques to engage your audience, build brand awareness, and convert leads.
By putting the right players in the right positions, you ensure that your marketing efforts work together seamlessly, leading your brand to championship status!
6. A Clear System is Your Ultimate On-Field Weapon
At EURO 2024, Spain demonstrated that a clear system can lead to big rewards. Whereas, relying solely on individuals, like Palmer or Watkins, to come off the bench and save or win the game for England was not a sustainable strategy.
Similarly, in marketing, you cannot depend on random tactics or isolated departments to achieve your goals. Within a marketing agency or in-house team, it’s crucial to establish precise strategies, templates, and tracking systems to optimise performance.
Spain’s defined system ensured that it didn’t matter which player was subbed in or out – the onfield eleven continued to function smoothly regardless.
In marketing, a well-defined strategy allows for seamless adaptation and consistency no matter the changes in personnel or tactics. This cohesive approach ensures that all efforts work together effectively to achieve your objectives.
7. Exceptional Leadership Skills
Whatever you think of Southgate’s management style and achievements, you don’t lead England to a fourth-place finish at the 2018 World Cup, runners-up at Euro 2020, a quarter-final at the 2022 World Cup, and runners-up at Euro 2024 over eight years without possessing exceptional leadership qualities. These include resilience, team building, calmness, community engagement (reconnecting English football with the fans), and media relations, which had been fractured for many years.
His journey from missing a crucial penalty in ’96, leading to England being knocked out of the EUROs by Germany on home soil, to revitalising English football after the low point of the defeat by Iceland at EURO 2016, demonstrates a remarkably strong and determined mentality.
He brought harmony and togetherness back to the England squad and made them competitive once more.
Yes, he was often frustrating with his negative tactics, stubbornness, and reluctance to consider alternative viewpoints. However, many of his core qualities are exactly what you need to be successful in marketing and business as a whole.
But in our game, just like in professional football, it’s crucial to strike a balance between risk and certainty. Southgate’s cautious approach ultimately left him looking at rather than holding the silverware, showing that playing it safe will only take you so far.
Final Whistle Analysis
Football and marketing may seem goalposts apart, but the strategic principles that underpin success in both fields are remarkably similar.
By adopting the lessons learned from Southgate during his time as England boss and especially at EURO 2024 – being proactive, making timely changes, diversifying tactics, developing a clear identity, and putting the right team in place – brands and marketers can up their game to ensure that they’re the ones lifting the trophy.
Want to talk marketing tactics for your brand or destination? We’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at marketing@toolbox-marketing.com