Branding Passion

Over the last few years we’ve been lucky enough to work with two professional sports clubs, both of whom have a great deal of passion toward their work. It’s not often opportunities like the ones we have encountered arise, so we feel very fortunate to have had the privilege of working on them. Every project we are briefed on has its own challenges, otherwise what would our value to clients be? But it is certainly true that clubs have their own very unique set of challenges when it comes to their sports branding.

 

The main reason for this is that their ‘customer’ base are some of the most passionate people on the planet. Rain or shine, win or lose sports fans will make huge sacrifices to be on the terraces, week in, week out. It’s also not uncommon for them to have the crest of their favourite club tattooed on themselves, raising the stakes even higher! With this commitment comes huge passion and with passion comes significant opinion and resistance to change. Used effectively this can be of huge benefit to the clubs but if not managed can be considerably detrimental.

 

The key therefore is stakeholder management and communication.

 

Throughout all of the projects we have been involved in with both sports clubs we have invested a great deal of time and effort in ensuring the fans are on the journey with us from the very beginning. Whether it be listening to their opinions at the consultation stage or involving them through as much of the creative process as possible, making sure they are engaged is fundamental to making any transitions as smooth as possible.

 

This is something we work hard to ensure with all of our clients but it has been particularly important with the sports clubs due to the passion and opinionated nature of sports fans. By doing so we have gleaned a great deal of quality insight that has helped shape the sports brand, define the story and improve the marketing thereafter. All of which delights fans as it shows the club is listening and truly has their interests at heart.

 

Another key focus of our work has been to give fans something they can truly grab hold of. The modern era of sport has had a tendency to dilute the heritage and history of our great sporting organisations. This is something that, in our experience, all sports fans are keen to hold on to and celebrate. While there is a desire to ensure clubs are forward thinking and ever developing, it is equally important to respect and acknowledge where they have come from. The key here is balance!

 

Without doubt, all branding projects have their unique demands and challenges that require effective stakeholder management, in our experience with sports clubs the tightrope is even narrower! We seem to have succeeded in navigating the tightrope and managing these expectations and delivering strong solutions for both clubs.

 

If you would like to work with the Opportunus team, get in touch.