Tottenham have fallen behind their north London rivals in terms of their brand value, according to a study on the financial impact of marketing and commercial enterprises by Brand Finance.
After a tough year on the field Spurs have not only been left with uncertainty over their ownership, star players and future direction, they have also taken a massive monetary hit. Without the state-backed or privately funded wealth of their rivals in England, Tottenham have long had to operate in a different manor.
Daniel Levy, Joe Lewis and ENIC Group have invested less of their personal wealth and put more stock in raising the club's profile than in purchasing global superstars. While that had a great benefit during their rise under Mauricio Pochettino, it wasn't to the benefit of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
It is now down to Australian head coach Ange Postecoglou to get Spurs back into top four contention, but they are already lacking on this front from a brand perspective. Brand Finance's findings reveal a major $81m (£65.2m) drop off for the 2022/23 term compared to last year.
It leaves them with the ninth most in the world, down from eighth last in 2022. The figure now sits at $931m (£749.5m) and is a sizeable drop off, especially for a club that has prided itself on excelling in such areas.
"Tottenham Hotspur FC (brand value up 3% to €897.42 million) has decreased its 2022 rank by one, now sitting in ninth. The 2022-23 season has beendisappointing for the Spurs as they were knockedout of both the FA Cup and the Champions League," the report explains.
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"The club’s reputation and brand strength were further compromised following manager Antonio Conte’s exit in March 2023, leaving the club in search of their fourth permanent manager in four years."
However, it is also written that off-pitch and non-footballing related activities have had a benefit to Spurs. It is said that brands are now under increasing pressure from fans and other consumers to improve their stance and action on environmental issues, therefore any moves towards this reflect well from a brand value point of view.
"For Example, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (ESG score 58/100 ) recently partnered with battery technology, electric vehicle, solar, and critical power services company VivoPower, due to a shared vision to minimise harmful environmental impacts," the paper writes.
"Through this sponsorship, Tottenham were in turn able to engage a brand that would assist them in bringing awareness to their own sustainability objectives. VivoPower undertook a review of Tottenham Hotspur's stadium and training centre to explore future net zero carbon solutions."
This has helped them, alongside their stadium revolution which gives them one of the highest fan ranked responses. The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was the seventh most popular in the world in a poll. This reflects their Brand Strength Value Index rise, even though the sporting sector has been underwhelming.
Along the same lines, the Brand Enterprise Value Ranking rose by 31.1% to $2.32bn (£1.92m). This is a more inclusive metric, defined as "a measure of the worth of thecompany’s core business, to all investors, regardless of how that company is financed", the metric takes into account league perception, stadium ownership, squad value, global reach and fan strength alongside club heritage.
With the Premier League's ever-increasing growth, Spurs are taking advantage of that, but not as well as they could had their footballing decisions had more reward.
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