Sports World Magazine: the magazine only football players can read
Supermarkets interested in promoting 3x2 offers on yogurt can find the ideal support at the Tube exit. But companies that rent yachts, sell luxury homes or install authentic cinemas in their homes need other shop windows. They also have: Known as Sports World Magazine, it is an exclusive magazine for Galaxy footballers and equivalent elites only.
There are other publications on the market that focus on the luxury industry, where advertising for watches, handbags or cars is well beyond the reach of the average person, but in Sports World magazine the level is well beyond that. Advertisements for Caribbean hotels that are more unique than any plumber, surgeons or Supreme Court justices can find in magazines, and magazines bought at kiosks are poor, with the option of renting the entire island of the Maldives for their own use or renting private jets, including pilots.
Sports World magazine was founded in 2015 by Liam Milburn and Andrew Davidson, two partners who still lead the magazine today. "We have been working on sports publications, but these publications were designed for fans when we decided to create an exclusive product for players and their families," Milburn told the world.
There are no big publishing groups or media groups behind swm. Liam Milburn and Andrew Davidson started the magazine by investing their own money, and the project grew. "We built our business from scratch," the first emphasized. "At first we only had one office, then it became three offices, then five offices......" "We now have a team of almost 20 people from the UK and Dubai who are committed to meeting the needs of the players, their families and the club," he recalled.
Milburn places particular emphasis on the concept of "demand" because swm serves not only as a luxury catalogue, but also as an intermediary between footballers and brands in selling, booking and signing services. "Players always want to protect their data," the magazine's editor explained. "They don't want their phone number or home address to fall into the wrong hands. That's why they contacted us, "he added: "The service we provide you is very cautious, and I believe that's why you like what we do and how we do it."
"Our products are not like regular magazines," Milburn insists: "It is used as a brochure for luxury brands, but it is full of topics of interest to players and their families, as well as advice and advice from leading experts in the industry. We also provide a platform for footballers' wives and girlfriends to talk about their lives and issues they may be interested in. "
SWM magazine is published in the UK, but its distribution range includes France, Italy, Germany, Portugal, Turkey, Eeuu and Spain. Published quarterly, copies are distributed to major football teams and players in different leagues. Each issue has a circulation of 5,000 exclusive units, which are sent directly to training camps or footballers' homes. Delivery of all of this is free, but you cannot get swm if you are not in the selected group.
The most famous footballers are the main targets, but swm also attracts some stars from other sports, fashion, movies or music. Some copies were sent to selected locations such as representative offices, golf clubs, luxury hotels or business lounges. "Our publications are available to an elite audience with huge purchasing power," Milburn said. "The magazine is aimed at well-paid players," he added. In fact, only players at the highest level of each club can get copies.
In Spain, only six clubs are part of the swm network: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao. However, by 2020, the magazine's plan is to extend its communications framework to all frontline teams. "Our goal is to grow and cover all the top clubs in all countries," Milburn said.
Like any swm magazine, it has its own team of journalists who prepare interviews and reports that emerge from each issue, as well as photographers, cameras and teams dedicated to managing social media content. However, most of the content of this publication-nearly 200 pages of each publication are published in high-quality paper form-is advertising and commercial content.
However, some people also have a news component, because they are public reports about topics of interest to footballers. Por ejemplo, una doble página patrocinada por la agencia de representantes St James' Square ofrece un reportaje titulado, Las 10 cosas que tu agente debería hacer por ti, acompañado de una entrevista en profundidad, que ocupa otras cuatro páginas, a los tres empresarios fundadores de esta empresa que oferta servicios irrelevantes para la vida de la mayoría de personas, pero esenciales en las de los futbolistas.
Just as celebrities who send this magazine form a select club, brands that advertise on its pages will pass their own screening. "They have to have a lot of experience dealing with players and if they don't, they won't be in swm at all," Milburn said. "We must protect our reputation with players to ensure the development of magazines and our lifestyle management services. When we recommend players to brands and do not perform well, our reputation will be threatened. " The magazine's founders summed it up, clarifying a concept: "For us, brands are partners, not just advertisers."
In these difficult times of paper publications, this formula works, as Milburn said: "A lot of brands appear in consecutive issues with different content. This is because the marketing and promotions we offer are very effective for them. " Today, many magazines are going through delicate economic times, but swm doesn't seem to have any problems finding advertisers. "There is a good waiting list," its editor said. Philipp Plein, Overfinch, Fraser Yacht, Charter Service, Louis Vuitton, Savills, Maddox Gallery, Bentley or Lamborghini are some of the club's brands.
Sports stars usually have armor contracts on their image, but swm's close relationship with most football-related companies promotes cooperation between three aspects of the business: Brands, players and magazines. In each question, we interviewed a star who explained the cover. Many of these interviews are associated with brands, sometimes with players' own sponsors and sometimes with magazine partners. For example, leo messi stars in numbers associated with Jacob& Football players seem to be promoting this brand of watches.
Football players themselves help to enhance the exclusive image around swm universe. Photos taken with magazines have become viral in dressing rooms. According to Milburn, the signing market remains open: "Our plan is to continue to build our team."
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