Ivan Meshkov: Rubin is always facing its fans. How will your program be organized?
KazanWeek has already raised the problem of attendance sports events in Kazan. Today we decided to continue the topic. Ivan Meshkov, head of the marketing and PR service of FC Rubin, told KazanWeek what problems they face on the way to attracting fans to the stands.
The average attendance of home matches of FC Rubin is about 17 thousand spectators. Even at a 30,000-seat stadium, they look a bit lonely, but a 45,000-seat one is on the way. Is it possible to correct the situation and what is the dynamics of attendance in recent years.
As for 17 thousand, this is the fourth place in the Premier League. We are second only to Kuban and Zenit and are almost equal to Spartak. The opinion widely spread by television commentators that football is not attended in Kazan is due to the location of the cameras that look at the eastern stand. There, as a rule, fewer fans gather than in the "west" or "south", simply because there is no roof on this stand. If the cameras were looking from the “east”, then the opinion about the number of fans in Kazan would be different. There can be only one solution to this problem - to reduce the price of tickets for this tribune. Building a roof there is pointless - on the way new stadium, and no one will spoil the view of the Kremlin from the western stand. In general, the infrastructure of the stadium, which is already 50 years old, does not meet modern requirements. With the advent of the new stadium, the number of spectators will definitely increase. We have conducted research and know for sure that there are actually much more Rubin fans than those who come to the stadium. Look, on match days all the bars and restaurants in the center are packed with people who come to see our team. It's just that people are spoiled, accustomed to comfort. They want to sit in comfortable chairs, be able to buy delicious food or go to the toilet without queuing. It will be possible to create all these conditions at the new stadium. We are also not going to sit idly by. Good game of the club, coupled with our programs for working with fans, will definitely bring results.
- "Rubin" and "Ak Bars" are perhaps the only Kazan teams that do serious work with the fans. What, in your opinion, needs to be done in order to meet the level of a European club?
- "Zenith" in this regard is still working. As for the question itself: first of all, it all depends on the game of the team. And the fans will see everything else at the new stadium. Now we are working with fans in several directions at once: we are creating a single base, we are in constant contact with them, we are trying to make the club as open as possible for our fans, to the point that your favorite football player can wish you a happy birthday. We actively integrate into social networks. In general, we do everything in order to create one big family"Ruby".
Many are afraid to go to football with their families due to the behavior of ultra fans, who often do not choose expressions in their desire to support their team. How is this problem solved in Kazan?
We have solutions, we just don't want to talk about them ahead of time.
- Are these power decisions?
Not at all, more technical. In general, the performances that ultras arrange before the start of the match can sometimes compete with the brightest theatrical shows in terms of brilliance. This attracts ordinary fans to the stadiums. We already had precedents when the whole stadium participated in such a performance. It was unforgettable. I think that our ultras will prepare many more pleasant surprises for everyone in the new year.
Fans who don't go to matches have several concerns about attending: the lack of convenient parking, unnecessarily tight security measures, and even a ban on the sale of beer in the stadium. Will football turn towards the fan?
- Rubin is always facing its fans. And with a smile on his face and with open arms.
Club merchandise store offers a huge selection of various goods. However, it is enough to visit the Camp Nou once in order to understand that our option is still far from ideal. Will something change in the new year, or is our fan simply not able to buy everything that could be offered to him?
We have studied the market, which, by the way, we ourselves have created, and we have a clear idea of what products are in demand among Rubin fans. So, for example, if in world practice the most popular product is a club T-shirt, then in our country, apparently due to economic reasons, a scarf is more popular. In any case, this business will grow and develop, so Rubin fans should always expect surprises in terms of club merchandise in the very near future. The new collection is already in Kazan.
Segrey Makarov
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Ivan Meshkov got into the marketing department of Rubin right from the podium. An active 21-year-old fan and one of the creators of the club's fan movement was noticed and invited to work. A couple of years ago, Meshkov went on an independent voyage, leaving the Rubin TV club television and the ticket and subscription program to Rubin. Now his company Sellout Sport System serves volleyball clubs Zenit-Kazan, Dynamo and a number of federal projects. In an interview with BUSINESS Online, he spoke about the main trend in sports marketing, about what Rubin lost with the departure of Berdyev, how Roman Abramovich brought Chelsea to self-sufficiency, and also about the meaning of the tattoo on his own shoulder.
“IN AMERICA STUDENT BASKETBALL LEAGUE ON TELEVISION
MAKES MORE THAN NBA"
Ivan, you have been involved in sports marketing for more than 10 years, 8 of which led the marketing department of the Rubin football club. It is believed that this industry itself is no more than 20 years old. How do you rate it?
In the current understanding, sports marketing has existed not for 20, but for 10 years, in many respects it is in its infancy. There are practically no personnel who could solve some marketing problems. If PR and marketing departments appeared in Russia no more than 20 years ago, then sports marketing and sports PR, and these are separate disciplines, appeared even later. There is a university in Moscow that trains sports managers, but again, managers, not marketers.
- Have you tried to change this situation?
Now we are negotiating with the universities of Tatarstan on the creation of a sports marketing laboratory on their basis. We have already held a trial lecture with a presentation of our company and projects at the Volga Academy of Sports - there was a full audience. We would like to open a sports marketing laboratory to attract students who are interested in it and give them practical knowledge. There are no textbooks on sports marketing. There are Western samples that, while they are being translated, go into circulation and become available in Russia, lose their relevance. In addition, the models that are used in the West are not always applicable here in Russia, they need to be adapted.
Aren't those PR specialists who are graduating from Russian universities today suitable for work in the field of sports marketing?
There is important point- prefix "sports". Sport for this person should not appear at the institute, along with marketing, it should appear in his life almost from birth. I know myself, I know those with whom I work, they are fans of sports: football, basketball, volleyball. I think there are many people who in their childhood kept notebooks, wrote down accounts, drew tables, pasted photographs, I am one of them. You have to live in sports, be a fan, go to the matches of your favorite team, do it.
How will your program be organized?
We see it in the laboratory format. You can start, for example, with student sports. We talk a lot about student sports. They say a lot, but in fact... What is student sport? What is a student team? What is a professional team? In addition to the team, there is some kind of club, there is some kind of brand, there are personnel who are responsible for video content, for public relations, and so on. In university sports, in order for a team to become bright and successful, it needs a face and rear in the form of activists. I am sure that now in any institute there will be guys who are fond of video filming, who know how to edit, who can draw, and there will be those who can unite them.
- And what will be the result?
Then a manager will come out of the university who will be able to say that I was a press attache, for example, of the Volga Hawks student team. I led the team for five years: I promoted the team in social networks, the website, followed the statistics, supervised the filming of videos, made TV about the team. It's real right now. There are talented people in any university, you just need to create conditions for them, you need to develop a certain model. We are ready to provide this assistance. We have a complete understanding of how to do it.
You say that Russian sports marketing is so different from Western marketing that even their textbooks are not suitable for us. Why such a difference?
It's a matter of mentality. In the West, sport is a part of life, they have a culture of a fan who has time for this, has money for this. We often have people working two jobs to feed their families. You look at how much time an American or a European devotes to his hobby, and how much - a Russian. In Russia, not everyone can afford to devote enough time to their hobby, to something that does not bring money.
But the standard of living is growing, I remember the last three decades - the dynamics are positive. In addition, the development of information technology simplifies the task. Any yard team can start a page on social networks, shoot interesting videos on the phone and promote themselves.
- Why does the yard team need this?
To have fans. It is important for any athlete to be cheered for - these are additional emotions, additional responsibility. This motivates me to take sports more seriously. Wouldn't you like a student basketball team institute, so that fans would come to their matches: arrange performances, sing songs, support the team? So that from the institute they get used to the audience. There should be a springboard from student sports to professional sports, but now there is none.
In America, the college basketball league makes more money on TV than the NBA. There from collegiate sports in professional track trodden. They know where they are going. The attention of the press, the attention of the fans motivates, does not let you relax.
« SAMARENKIN COULD CALL AT 12 NIGHT AND SAY:
"IVAN, HERE THE THOUGHT HAVE CAME TO ME..."
- How did you get into sports marketing?
From the stands of the stadium. I played football until the age of 17, was actively ill, participated in the creation of the Rubin fan movement, traveled a lot, read a lot about sports. At one time Evgeny Vitalievich Golov gave me a chance, for which I am incredibly grateful to him, he believed, he saw a prospect in me. Everything was in practice, with theory, and now there is a problem, but then it was completely deaf. I still have a couple of books by the manager of the Serbian football club Crvena Zvezda, where he describes one of the most successful club building models of the late 80s and early 90s. This is an example of a country close to us, Yugoslavia then, Serbia now.
- How did the transition from a fan to the director of the Rubin marketing service take place?
That is exactly what happened. In 2003, I was invited to this work. In 2004 - 2005 I worked as a freelancer, and in 2006 I was invited directly to Rubin as a specialist in the marketing department, which included me and another friend, it was difficult to call it a department. We started moving forward and achieved good results. So, for example, we created the first club channel " Rubin TV". I am grateful to Rubin for the fact that I got such an experience. Thanks to Rubin, I visited the best stadiums in the world, talked with specialists, for example, from the Barcelona football club. With the guys from some clubs, we still keep in touch.
- In today's "Ruby" is there anything that was introduced by you?
For example, Rubin TV club television, a ticket and subscription program implemented jointly with AK BARS Bank. We introduced a system of subscriptions, which were both a bank card and a loyalty program card. We were the first in Russia to realize this, largely thanks to the then president of the club, Dmitry Anatolyevich Samarenkin. Before his arrival, we often acted with our hands tied, because the coach had a very conservative attitude towards everything. Now, in my opinion, only Spartak repeated this at the opening of the arena.
- What was it like working with Dmitry Samarenkin?
He could easily call at 12 at night and say: “Ivan, a thought came to my mind,” discuss some issue and make an appointment at 7 in the morning the next day. He is on fire with a project, with an idea, sometimes it seemed that he was working around the clock. It was mine best time in Rubin, when wings opened behind us, we rushed and rushed even after Samarenkin left, Rubin was still moving by inertia.
- And how did Berdyev's departure affect the company's image?
From the point of view of marketing, Berdyev's departure is the loss of the coach's personal fans, of which there were quite a large number.
We could talk about even greater losses if we developed the markets of Central Asia, where he ( Berdyev- ed.) was cultivated if Rubin had club shops, representative offices there, pre-season tours would be held in Tashkent, in Ashgabat, where Berdyev is very popular and Rubin was popular due to him. See how Manchester United is tapping into the Chinese market, how Barcelona is tapping into the US market with a pre-season tour in America. We did not master the market of Central Asia, although we had every reason to do so, this direction, in my opinion, would be very promising if Berdyev remained the face of the club, but since this did not happen, then, accordingly, Rubin did not lose anything .
- Why did you leave Rubin yourself?
I wanted to expand my horizons, work on a different scale, there were ideas, projects, thoughts related to mass sports, and I wanted not to be limited. Rubin is a heavyweight organization, where all the approval processes take a very long time. There was a plan, there was an idea, I wanted to implement it and not be dependent on circumstances. I constantly visit Rubin's matches, the period of some kind of professional jealousy has passed, I go, I get sick, as I was sick.
"IN THE FIELD YOU NEED TO WORK, AND NOT JUST MAKE BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATIONS"
- In Tatarstan Sellout Sport System - the only player in the sports marketing market, do you have any competitors in Russia?
What we are doing, I have not seen anyone else, the market is quite free, because there is a problem with specialists. There are competitors in the field of video production, the creation of club channels, they specialize in this, but they are unsportsmanlike, let's say so. They can make a versatile video. On the one hand, a competitor, on the other - no. We offer a comprehensive club service - we have no competitors here.
Can we say that the same functions that you perform are performed by marketing departments in other clubs?
Yes, but not all clubs can afford such marketing departments, unless it's an NBA club. We have a staff of 35, and the clubs receive a comprehensive service across all industries, but for this they do not need to maintain such a huge staff, because we do not have them alone.
- Are there any attempts to enter the Russian market by some foreign colleagues?
There are and were when I was still working at Rubin. How does this happen? Managers gather in some kind of conglomerate, hang regalia on themselves, they say, I was the director of such and such a club, the manager of Formula 1 or something else, and offer consulting services. They say: we are cool guys, we will write a strategy for you. Again, this all looks like Western literature that comes to our shelves. You have to work in the field, and not just make beautiful presentations. Developing a strategy is not enough, who will implement it?
"FOR ME THE FACE OF THE CITY WERE ROMAN SHARONOV AND SERGEY RYZHIKOV"
- Can sports marketing be compared to show business marketing?
It is possible, why not? This is the so-called Celebrity Marketing. The popularity of some athletes is sometimes higher than the popularity of artists, respectively, the mechanisms and tools of work are somewhat similar. In principle, in Moscow, at the State University of Management of the Russian Federation, where I gave a lecture on sports marketing and advertising in sports in the late 2000s, there are just two departments: management in sports and management in show business - they overlap in many ways.
- And how can you make money on a famous athlete?
Well, for Barcelona, Messi and Neymar are full stands at the 90,000th Camp Nou. A world-class star is a guarantee of occupancy of the stands, respectively, of ticket sales. In addition, the release of licensed products, the sale of rights to use the image in an advertising campaign are used. All top stars earn on this. Take Maria Sharapova, who topped the Forbes list of the world's highest-paid female athletes with an annual income of $29 million. The lion's share of her earnings came not from winning tournaments, but from advertising. Cristiano Ronaldo earned two-thirds of his $73 million income from advertising. But in Russia, in my opinion, this market is not very developed, there is something to work on.
- And in Kazan, which athletes can become the face of the city?
The face of the city? There are no such. Leading roles in our clubs are played by legionnaires or representatives of other regions.
- What about Ekaterina Gamova?
Well, Gamova, as far as I know, is from Chelyabinsk. Although, if you take everyone, then Gamova is now number one. For me, the face of the city was Roman Sharonov, Sergei Ryzhikov, they are not from Kazan, but have grown to the city.
We have a problem with our own pupils, and this is the foundation. We raise and cultivate sports at the level of professional achievements, but this is a kind of building a house, starting from the roof. We have built walls in the form of infrastructure, and the foundation in the form of competent children's, youth, student and mass sports is yet to be built. This is an important task that is now facing the leadership of the republic, the new Minister of Sports.
"IN ORDER TO START EARNING, YOU NEED TO INVEST"
- In fact, clubs have to earn money themselves, but in reality, how is it going?
To start earning, you need to invest, and many Russian clubs do not have this understanding. It is possible to exist at the expense of the budget or money of sponsors, which are pumped into clubs through administrative resources - to spend without thinking about how to earn. This is a relic of the past, but this formula is still actively used in Russian sports. They gave us money - we played the season, the money ran out - the sport ended. And who suffers from this? Fans. The players will find other clubs, and the fan is left without a team.
- Are there clubs in Russia that can exist without sponsorship?
According to Evgeny Lennorovich Giner, this football club CSKA. But, in fact, there is no such club where everything would be transparent, and you could say with full confidence that, yes, this club provides for itself.
In other countries clubs really earn. The Chelsea football club, for example, has been in profit for the last two years: from a turnover of 320 million pounds, 20 million is profit. Abramovich has invested money in the club, and now he brings some profit, at least pays for itself.
- You do not have a recipe for how to reach self-sufficiency?
This is what we are working on. You need to understand that self-sufficiency in a year is fantastic, but in three to five years you can come to something. Here another question arises: are the clubs ready to live and plan five years ahead? From year to year they plan exclusively for the year: so much is needed for the sports part, so much for the salary, so much for the players. Are they ready to see five years ahead and set goals for five years ahead, including in marketing?
“It WOULD BE MORE SMART TO TRANSFER SOME TEAM FROM KAZAN
TO THE REGIONS OF TATARSTAN"
- And in Tatarstan, clubs exist thanks to political will ...
- It all started with Mintimer Shaimiev. In my opinion, investing in sports is a far-sighted move. Kazan has rightfully become sports capital Russia. But again, how were these funds used all these years? You need to go in the right direction, this path still needs to be found, because you can make a mistake and go the wrong way for the whole season.
There is no feeling that if, for example, the leadership of the republic changes and a person comes in who is indifferent to sports, then many clubs will cease to exist?
Theoretically, this is exactly the case - at any moment everything can burst like a soap bubble. But on the other hand, there is hardly a daredevil who dares to take such actions, because by doing so he will obviously create serious anti-advertising for himself. Ak Bars and Rubin have a lot of fans in Kazan. What wave of indignation will cause such a move?
Some sports in Kazan are not popular among fans. Take basketball, for example. In Kazan strong team, but for some reason UNICS is not popular with viewers ...
"WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS «
SPORT »
AND «
SPORTOMATA »
? THEY CLONE AND TRY ON
FOR ANY REGION AND CITY»
- You created a sports portal of Tatarstan « Sports environment » . Something went wrong? You rarely update it.
- "Sportsreda.ru" will still remind of itself, but in a different format. We are narrowing down the scope of activities: this is sports marketing, not sports press. Initially, Sportsreda.ru was planned as a publication that would write about sports, but now it has grown into something else, into a site about mass children's sports"SportRT.ru" . This is such an encyclopedia about sports in Kazan and in the future in Tatarstan, where there is information about all sports facilities republics, sports, sections where you can send your child, there aremaster classes. For example, there is master class from Yana Martynova how to learn to swim. This is what Sportsreda.ru has become. Over time, blogs of student and school teams will appear on the site so that they can talk about themselves.
We are developing two directions: one of them is an automated system for working with fans for clubs, and the second is the development of mass sports.
As for mass sports, one of the projects that we have implemented is the Sportomat Internet service for selecting a sport, which determines which sport to send the child to. This test we presented Rustam Minnikhanov, he appreciated it and gave the task to involve the state in the development. We developed the Sportomat together with athletes, a professor of genetics and the administration of the Kirov and Moscow districts represented by their head Damir Fattakhov, who helped us a lot. It was in these areas that the pilot version of the project was implemented.
"Sportomat"
The child passes the test, and it turns out, for example, what suits him Athletics. And the tested person immediately receives information about the nearest section athletics. What are the advantages of these models, SportRT.ru and Sportomat? They are universal and can be tried on in any region and city of Russia.
- Don't have time for them yet?
Not so much time as finances. These are large, socially significant projects, we are currently working with government agencies on joint development, but the process is difficult.
- How are you going to monetize "Sport" and "Sportomat"?
There are opportunities for monetization - it can be a payment service directly on the site, and attracting partners. One of the tasks for "Sport" is our joint task with the management sports programs"Kazan" - to attract a third party, a commercial sponsor. It can be sports goods or something else. And after the Universiade, there is something to do, we worked not just here and now, but with an eye to the future. The Sport website will have some kind of internal mechanism that will help inform the residents of the republic and the city in a better and more targeted way. For example, there is a lot of information about Rubin and Ak Bars, but about short track or synchronized swimming she's almost gone. There will be an opportunity for targeted mailing, and this information will be sent to those who are interested.
“THE DIRECTORATE OF SPORTS PROGRAMS HAVE LESS GLOSS,
BUT THE EFFECT WILL NOT BE LESS»
- You are now cooperating with the directorate of sports programs. What is your role there?
We, together with several departments of the Directorate of Sports Programs, developed the marketing strategy for FINA-2015 and are partially engaged in its implementation: we made an image video clip, an augmented-reality showcase, have developed match packaging for TV commercials.
In addition, we helped promote the Russian Swimming Championship and the World Weightlifting Championship.
During the Universiade, we accumulated a database of Tatarstan sports fans, where people indicated the sports they were interested in, the clubs they supported. For example, in a CRM system ( customer relationship management system, from English. Customer Relationship Management - approx. ed.) we have 609 water polo fans. In principle, if 600 clearly interested people come, having received direct mail, they will fill half the stands of the event.
- Do you get the feeling that the administration of the Universiade times is a powerful team, but now they are not seen or heard?
The scale is different, and the budgets are different, there was a serious reduction in staff. The current administration does not always have the opportunities that they had in preparation for the Universiade. I wouldn't say they don't work well. Another thing is that there is less media attention so far, but again, closer to the point and the media will swing. I think that they create enough informational occasions: the ticket program has been launched, sales are going on. Maybe less gloss, but the effect will not be less, trust me. These are people with a lot of knowledge and experience.
"WE PREPARED THE MARKETING WORK FOR THE REVIVAL OF THE TRP PROGRAM"
- When did you start working with Russian clubs?
Many people know us, we work closely with the Russian football premier league, we advise them, and the initiative comes from the clubs themselves. We do not have a sales department that would travel and offer our services. While we are at the level that customers come to us themselves, we are not deprived of work. Another thing, I want to automate it and do something else.
For example, for FC "Ufa" we made a video, New Year's greetings. We served the Universiade, FINA-2015 is not even Russian, world level.
We had an interesting federal project with a program for the revival of the TRP, we ran the fizvosp.ru website, where voting for the name took place sports complex, his sign, types of exercises, their obligation and so on. We made a series of videos and completely ran the site, where, in my opinion, a quarter of a million people voted. Participated in filming Alexander Revva , Konstantin Khabensky , Maria Kiseleva, Dinara Safina. I believe that this project had good result- launched the GTO. Few people know about this, but we prepared the marketing study for the revival of the TRP.
fizvosp.ru
- And who was the customer of the project?
Vladimir Putin instructed the Governor of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Lev Kuznetsov, to implement the project at that time. He attracted Igor Sivov, and he, respectively, us, because Sivov and I successfully worked within the framework of the 2013 Universiade. The tasks set have been met and even exceeded.
"I CAN TELL A LOT ABOUT THE SPORTS CARD OF TATARSTAN"
- How many orders does your company have for Tatarstan?
About 50 percent.
- How do you assess the capacity of the Tatarstan sports marketing market?
Let's calculate the market of professional clubs. There is, for example, an interesting formula. They say that for the team a fan is an additional player. In football, the fan is the 12th player, in volleyball, the 7th player, and so on. If you want your fan to be at the same level as your team's top players, then the top player's annual salary should be the club's marketing budget.
Then, based on open sources on the salaries of the players, the marketing budget of Rubin should be 150 million rubles, Ak Bars - 100 million rubles, Neftekhimik and UNICS - 60 million rubles, Zenit-Kazan - 40 million rubles, volleyball "Dynamo-Kazan" - 30 million rubles, "Dynamo-Kazan" - in bandy, "Dynamo-Kazan" - in field hockey, "Synthesis", "KAMAZ" and "Kazanochka" - approximately 3 million rubles each. Of course, different coefficients must be applied to this formula - for the level of the league, the scale of the arena, the popularity of the sport, but the order of the sum is clear - about 450 million rubles a year.
These are only professional clubs - and in Tatarstan there are world-class competitions, mass sports, fitness clubs, children's and youth sports, and all these areas need sports marketing and promotion. So the market could be in the billions.
I can tell a lot about the sports map of Tatarstan. We conducted a study, largely for ourselves, for our projects, how sports are distributed, as presented in the RT.
- Interesting! What does it look like sports card Tatarstan?
- Most of all in Tatarstan there are schools and departments for the national wrestling "Koresh", hockey and football. The most medal-consuming among winter views sports are biathlon, skating, ski race, and among the summer - athletics, swimming and cycling.
I HAVE A TATTOO ON MY SHOULDER "ROCK AND ROLL - FOOTBALL",
THIS IS WHAT I LOVE THE MOST
- They say you have a tattoo with the emblem of "Ruby"...
No. I have a tattoo of "Rock and Roll - Football" in the name of football and rock and roll on my shoulder, but it has no logos. I love the Beatles, I play the guitar myself, I played football until I was 17. This tattoo is dedicated to what I love the most - football and rock and roll.
- How much time do you spend working?
Sometimes in a dream I see work, I get up, write down something or slander on the recorder so as not to forget. And if I’m burning with a project, then I just don’t part with a laptop. I am such an impulsive person, if there is a task, until I solve it, I will not calm down.
- And how do you spend your free time?
With a family. I have a loving wife and two daughters. On vacation we go to the sea. True, anyway, then I sit in the lobby bar with a laptop and a phone, it has already become a habit. Fishing distracts me, I really like fishing or go for mushrooms, I stock up. In autumn and summer, we fill the freezer with fish and porcini mushrooms, which we eat in winter. This is where fishing helps. You sit down in the morning, turn off the phone and sit for five hours.
- Well, our traditional question - the three secrets of a successful business.
Company business card
OOO"Sports Information Systems" (Sellout Sport System)
Field of activity - sports marketing.
The authorized capital is 10 thousand rubles.
The annual turnover for 2014 is 50 million rubles.
Number of employees - 35 people.
The average salary is 40,800 rubles.
Founders - Ivan Meshkov (50%), Ildar Rakhmatullin (50%).
Business card of the head
Ivan Meshkov
Education: Kazan State University of Culture and Arts, social and cultural activities.
Marital status: married, has two daughters aged 9 and 3.
Kazan became notorious in Russian Premier League the attitude of the local police to the fans - and not only to visitors. Does it make your job difficult? Not only in terms of attracting the public, but also in terms of commerce?
- People in uniform never evoke particularly warm feelings among the fans. Especially when additional difficulties are created when entering the stadium. It is much more pleasant when you are surrounded by people in bright steward suits at football. Like in Greece, where Rubin recently played. Everyone knows how ardent the Greek fans are and what is going on around football, but during the match there were about 300 police officers in the entire 70,000-seat stadium. And they were not visible - they all remained outside the arena. And only the stewards kept order in the stands. They promptly reacted to any emotional actions of the audience, reassured them. No physical strength however, they did not use it. It looked much more pleasant than the cordon of the stadium of people in oversized uniforms, including servicemen disguised as police. And all the police who have to work at the stadium are unhappy with this: most often they are pulled out on duty on weekends for this, and this causes nothing but negative attitude towards football and Rubin fans. It spoils both karma and the atmosphere. This affects everyone. And even if you need to ask something, it is better to bypass the police.
Is the situation getting better with time?
- We don't have many matches when a lot of fans come to visit - these are, first of all, games with Spartak, Zenit and CSKA. Also Dynamo and Wings of the Soviets, but to a lesser extent. Just at these matches, the police arrange the toughest inspection. And last year, on the eve of the Champions League match, we just played with Zenit, and I suggested to the director of the League match, representing UEFA, to see how the inspection is carried out. He became interested, asked for assistance from law enforcement agencies and, together with them, watched what was happening. And after this match, the fans thanked us for the fact that for the first time in Kazan they were treated like human beings: the screening was loyal, there was no rudeness, rudeness, lighters and change were not taken away from people. Unfortunately, not every match can be watched by UEFA representatives and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan. But since then there have definitely been positive changes, and it has become much easier for us to work. And the police began to understand that it was impossible to do as before, that it was necessary to change. But I think that in any case we should come to the conclusion that only stewards should work at the match.
The stadium in Kazan belongs to the city, and Rubin rents it. Does this also affect the work of your department?
– Definitely! With the placement and operation of retail outlets, everything is more or less established, since the club itself deals with paraphernalia and souvenirs. As for the provision of food and drinks, there are problems here, this is not given due attention. And one more not entirely logical moment: only the stadium itself is engaged in the ticketing program, having neither experience nor qualified specialists in order to develop modern ticketing programs, sell tickets and subscriptions on time. So I think we have some of the lowest season ticket sales in the country, even though a city of over a million people has the potential to fill an arena of 24,000.
How many subscriptions does Rubin sell?
- In 2008, 633 were sold, in 2009 - 774, and in 2010 - 1295.
Best of the day
Probably, you pin some hopes on the new 45,000-strong stadium, which should be opened in Kazan in two years and handed over to Rubin after the Universiade?
“We will prepare for this in every possible way and will do everything to new arena became one of the best in the country both in terms of infrastructure and occupancy. The project for working with fans at the new stadium is already ready and is on the tables of the club's leaders. Ideally, I would like to sell from 30 to 50 percent of the seats by season tickets. We have the potential, and the neighboring cities can also help the stadium - the capitals of Chuvashia and Mari El are an hour and a half drive from Kazan and do not have teams in big football. This is also a market for Rubin, both for the sale of subscriptions and for the sale of various products. But I think we can even do it on our own in Kazan, if conditions are created for this. After all, what is a football club competing with in our city, where there is no second club? With bowling alleys, theatres, cinemas, clubs, bars…
And you might think that you compete with hockey, basketball, volleyball ...
- Matches that take place at the same time, there are one or two matches per season. And it makes no sense to talk about competition with Ak Bars, and there can be no talk of rivalry with basketball and volleyball at all. Sometimes thousands of fans are not recruited there. Hockey is also not the best attendance. We still get more visits. So we compete with those places where people spend their leisure time, where the most comfortable conditions for staying are created. There are no police there, they don’t search you at the entrance, they make you come, stay, and then return. We have the same task before us.
As for the tasks, the majority of clubs in Russia, for example, do not even think about the fact that you can earn on merchandise, earn on the club name - not only begging for money from the governor. Is it easy for you to find a common language with the leadership of Rubin in these matters?
- In general, it’s easy for me to find a common language with the club’s management on any issues, because professional people work there, they have seen a lot, they have been in football for a long time. Another issue is that Rubin is a municipal enterprise, and its budget is approved by the Board of Trustees. The money is allocated by the republic and sponsors, and now the task is to convince them of the need to allocate additional funds marketing, production. Rather, for some commercial projects, it is more reasonable to use a preferential lending system. If sponsors on favorable terms allocate a loan for the development of this area for several years, this will already be a success. After all, we ask for money not in order to spend, but in order to earn later.
So far, there are no agreements on such loans?
- There are no specific ones, but this issue has already been accepted for discussion at the Board of Trustees. Our marketing department is now preparing all the necessary documentation for this. We draw up the most detailed business plan. We will try to explain the need for this work.
Does the income from the sale of merchandise and licensing rights make up any significant percentage of Rubin's income?
- On this moment- of course not. However, there has not yet been much investment in this sector.
However, is there any growth?
- Those amounts - small, insignificant against the general background - are turning around all this time, the sales market is expanding, the number of points of sale of branded goods is growing. Something is produced under a franchise, under a license. Let's say we signed an agreement with Panini for the production of stickers, an agreement with the publishers of the computer game Pro Evolution Soccer - this is an analogue of the FIFA game, which many consider more successful.
Are you counting on some kind of profit from sales, or are you just going to zero?
“Of course we do, otherwise what’s the point of doing it!” But all the profit at this stage goes into development. Invest 10 thousand dollars, earn 15 - and stop there? To invest the same 10 next year and get 15 again? It is better to invest 15 and get 25 - and so on. This is the essence of the market.
How many times has this segment - the sale of paraphernalia - grown at Rubin over the years of performances in the Premier League?
– Annual growth is more than 100 percent. The sale of merchandise is at least doubling every year.
How many items are in the catalog? How often is it updated? Is it in paper form or electronic?
- It is rather complementary. Those positions that have not justified themselves are removed, new ones are added. Those positions that have justified themselves as much as possible are put on the conveyor. Now there are about 150 products in the catalog, but I would like to bring them up to 500. There is also a catalog in the form of a booklet - we are now preparing the next issue for the new year - and there is an online store. There you can order any product for the same price as in a regular store, choose convenient way payment and delivery. About a month ago, we launched a new club website, which also has its own television channel Rubin-TV - we also count on it and have certain hopes. In the future, we expect to go first to the cable, and then to the satellite, and receive money from the subscription fee and, to a lesser extent, from advertising.
What products are in the most demand?
- It's no secret that in almost any club, the number one position is scarves.
Are all products ordered in China, or are some of the orders carried out by local craftsmen?
We have contractors Nizhny Novgorod region. They produce badges, magnets, key rings. In Udmurtia, since 2006, we have been ordering isolone seat covers that retain heat well. In Moscow we order something, in St. Petersburg we cooperate with a company that produces clothing collections. True, they, again, order products in China - they themselves only carry out design, develop technologies.
Are there local, Kazan manufacturers on your list?
– Yes, there is, we even produce something ourselves. Light scarves, pillows, hebash t-shirts, polos. In Kazan, it is convenient to make small runs - directly for a match or some other event - or for representative purposes, because you have to wait three months for goods from China. It is more convenient to make symbolic T-shirts or scarves, for example, for the game with Barcelona on the spot - in this case, we do not need print runs of 10,000 pieces. We make 300-400, sometimes from 500 to 1000.
How much do your goods cost compared to other Russian clubs - and European ones?
– Definitely, the prices are lower than in Europe. Below Zenit and even slightly below Moscow.
From an opponent home match or the status of the match the level of sales depends?
- It primarily depends on the number of spectators. If the game with Spartak or Zenit comes full stadium, then on Anji, Amkar or Siberia - a third. Moreover, these will be those six or seven thousand who always go to football, who have already provided for themselves. They have one scarf and they wear it for years. Sales are focused primarily on those people who came to the stadium for the first time or go only to iconic matches, but do not always carry the same scarf with them - it is easier for them to buy a new one every time. Scarf, flag, hat - or something new. It's like tourists who come and buy magnets. For example, at the match with Barcelona there were representatives of a large number of regions of Russia - and even from Kazakhstan there were fans. I know this for sure, because two hours before the game we warmed up the audience, arranged an interactive show and found out who came from where.
Are they all Barcelona fans?
- No, they came to cheer for us - from Samara, Cheboksary, Yoshkar-Ola, Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk ... They cheered for us, and - in the person of Rubin - for Russian football.
Are there big differences between sales at the matches of the Russian Championship and the Champions League?
- On average - 20 times. The absolute record, of course, was set at games with Barca, and the amounts last year and this year were exactly the same. Income from matches with Copenhagen and Panathinaikos will be less than five times - and closer to the top matches of the Russian championship.
Spartak is probably out of competition among Rubin's rivals - both in terms of public interest and income?
– Yes, definitely. In terms of sales - and I have been in charge of this issue since 2006 - they are in the lead every year.
But for now, we are only talking about sales on matchdays. How are things outside the stadium? Are there many points of sale at Rubin? And what is the percentage distribution of income on game days and the rest of the time?
– Revenue on matchdays is only about ten percent of the total. And daily sales are carried out at many points, in large shopping centers. Quite a lot of products go in small wholesale. In total, our products in Kazan are presented in 37 stores and a large kiosk network, which has 190 points. Plus, there is a fan shop at the Rubin stadium and a department at the Mega-Kazan shopping mall. In other cities - nine points of sale.
To what extent are the characteristics of the local market taken into account? What target groups are you targeting? Are there different approaches to them?
- As you have already understood, we do not count on regular fans. There are tourists who buy souvenirs - magnets, plates, mugs, badges. All this is sold in the city's favorite places for tourists. We also work with large supermarkets of the Bekhetle chain - "Happiness" in Tatar. Our products are available in all their stores in Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Naberezhnye Chelny, Almetyevsk. Five stores of this network have already opened in Moscow, and stands of our paraphernalia will be presented there in the near future. Clothing, T-shirts, scarves, balls are in the main demand, and sales are going quite well.
In what direction do you plan to develop?
– We plan to release a collection of casual clothes that will not be so colorful, bright and flashy - and that can be worn every day, but which will have the symbols of your favorite team. In this regard, we can take an example from Zenit, which has a good assortment, a good fashion line. And the prices pleasantly surprised me. But "Zenith" has the ability to order large print runs and thereby reduce prices. I think we will also get to this, maybe not immediately, but we will come.
Many Western clubs change their collections once or twice a year, change something in their design - they even go for rebranding to force fans to buy their products again...
- As a rule, English clubs regularly change their uniforms - colors, design - to increase sales. If they sell blue and yellow t-shirts, they sell a million each, they will release pink and purple ones.
Or instead of blue-yellow in a square, release it in stripes. And I have to buy again!
- Yes, and this is a normal marketing ploy. They know that by releasing a purple T-shirt instead of a blue one, they will sell a million of these T-shirts. Or maybe already a million two hundred thousand, because they are working to increase distance sales. But at this stage we have not yet reached such volumes.
And how many T-shirts does Rubin sell?
- Can not say. While the team dressed in Nike, she did not have a sponsorship contract with this company, so she herself was not involved in sales. Since this season, Umbro has become a full-fledged technical sponsor of Rubin for three years, and we found understanding on their part, they are interested in it. But the work has only just begun, only pre-orders have been made - they have not yet arrived - for the spring-summer-2011 collection. We will be selling Rubin equipment made by Umbro.
It seems that from next year it is necessary to switch to the collection "autumn-spring" ...
- Warm clothes in our range will also be sure. We are planning to open a store together with Umbro, where down jackets will be sold as well. On the other hand, we work with the St. Petersburg company Saga Trade, which designs and manufactures casual clothing. We already have the first samples of down jackets, warm sweatshirts, windbreakers. By March, we will be ready to offer all this.
03.09.1910 - 03.10.1943
Hero of the Soviet Union
| Decree dates | |
| 1. | 10.01.1944 |
M eshkov Ivan Andreevich - deputy commander of the rifle battalion of the 342nd rifle regiment of the 136th rifle division 38th Army of the Voronezh Front, senior lieutenant.
Born on September 3, 1910 in the city of Kursk in a working class family. Russian. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1939. Graduated from elementary school. He worked in the household, and when an artel was organized in the village, he joined the collective farm.
From 1931 to 1937, he served in active and extra-long service on the northwestern border of the USSR. During these years he was a Red Army soldier, then a foreman in the Sebezh border detachment (Karelia). Being in extra-long service, Ivan Meshkov married a teacher elementary school Kolatselga village, Pryazhinsky district, Karelian ASSR A.S. Fedorova.
At the end of the service, together with his family, he left for his homeland, in the city of Kursk.
In April 1941, he was again drafted into the ranks of the Red Army by the Stalinist district military registration and enlistment office in the city of Kursk, and sent to the Air Force. After completing the courses of junior lieutenants of aviation, he became a fighter pilot.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War I.A. Meshkov served for a short time in an aviation unit in the North Caucasus, but after being seriously wounded, further service in the Air Force was contraindicated for him.
After retraining I.A. Meshkov becomes an infantry officer in a rifle unit. Participates in the battle for the Caucasus and in the battles on the Kursk Bulge.
Deputy battalion commander of the 342nd Infantry Regiment (136th Infantry Division, 38th Army, Voronezh Front), Senior Lieutenant Ivan Meshkov, near the village of Novye Petrovtsy (Vyshgorodsky District, Kiev Region), when crossing the Dnieper on October 2, 1943, replaced the commander who was out of action battalion. Under his command, the battalion repulsed 5 enemy counterattacks, captured 2 lines of enemy trenches and held the bridgehead until the main forces of the regiment approached. He was wounded twice, but remained in the ranks.
On October 3, 1943, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Meshkov died a hero's death... He was buried in a mass grave on the territory of the Boryspil district of the Kyiv region of Ukraine.
At By order of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 10, 1944, for the courage and bravery shown in the battles during the crossing of the Dnieper and holding the bridgehead on its right bank, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Andreevich Meshkov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Awarded the Order of Lenin.
Certificate of assignment to Meshkov I.A. the highest degree of distinction was transferred to his widow - Anastasia Semyonovna Meshkova, who lived in the post-war years in the Olonets region of Karelia.
Portrait of I.A. Meshkov, as well as all 27 Heroes of the Soviet Union, the sons and daughters of Karelia, is installed in a monumental portrait gallery, opened in 1977 in the capital of Karelia, the city of Petrozavodsk, near Antikainen and Krasnaya streets.
NEAR THE VILLAGE LYUTEZH
In the autumn of 1943, our units reached the Dnieper on a broad front. The Nazis tried to stop the rapid advance of the Soviet troops by creating a powerful defensive line here.
However, by September 28, formations of the 50th Rifle Corps of the 38th Army, after six days of fierce fighting, captured Darnitsa, Troyeshchina, Tsygurovshchina, Trukhanov Island, Bridge Svoboda, Pozdnyaki and Osokorki. At the same time, they inflicted great damage on the enemy in terms of manpower and equipment. The left bank of the Dnieper, south of Kyiv, was cleared of the Nazis. It was necessary to seize bridgeheads on the right bank as quickly as possible.
The 3rd Rifle Battalion of the 342nd Rifle Regiment of the 136th Rifle Division was tasked with capturing and holding a bridgehead on the right bank until the main forces crossed.
The deputy commander of the battalion, Senior Lieutenant Meshkov, led the group, which was ordered to provide crossing facilities. Unbeknownst to the Nazis, the soldiers brought in several fishing boats, one barge and quickly built rafts. On the night of October 1, units of the division began crossing the river near the village of Zhukov.
The soldiers of the 3rd battalion were among the first to sail. The Germans offered fierce resistance. The battalion commander Senior Lieutenant Shesternikov was killed in the battle. Then Ivan Meshkov took command. Our soldiers broke into the German trenches. The battle for the expansion of the bridgehead did not subside day or night. The Nazis counterattacked the positions of the battalion with superior forces, trying to throw the Soviet soldiers into the river. But as a result of the bold and decisive actions of the battalion personnel under the command of senior lieutenant Meshkov, the enemy rolled back every time. About two hundred Nazi soldiers and officers were destroyed. Ivan Meshkov also fought bravely in the Lyutezh bridgehead, where units of the 136th division were transferred.
On October 3, the enemy again launched a counterattack. The forces were unequal, the ranks of our warriors were greatly thinned, but everyone fought to the last breath. In that battle, the communist Ivan Meshkov died a hero's death.
