As one example, Sunderland have over 70 branches of international supporters clubs.
www.safc.com
They even have an International Fans Day each year. We don't even acknowledge we have any and Gibson claims the next town from Middlesbrough is full of mackems.
Lots of other clubs have had sponsors around the world. Everton for example were heavily marketed in Thailand. They had Chang Beer as a sponsor. Before that they were heavily marketed in China with Kejian as their sponsor. They had some Chines players at the time as well. Lots of clubs have gone down that route. We tried and failed with Dong Gook Lee and South Korea but as usual with Gibson it was a try something once and then write it off as a failure as the rest of the league does it successfully.
Look at it via Social Media engagement. We are ranked 35th for social media. There are teams that are similar in stature to us that are way above us.