Sports teams as Brands beyond performance in the field

Sports have certain qualities which our daily life doesn’t have. First it is finite. Most of what we are encountering today began yesterday and will not be resolved till past tomorrow. In sports nearly every game have has a winner and a loser- and real heroes, sportsmen who have swea

ted it out to get the glory. Throughout the history sport has played a part more th

an just entertaining. During the Spanish civil war FC Barcelona was the symbol of right wing movement, the wins of the club were taken as win over the dictatorship by the common people. Mohan Bagan’s win over a British side in 1911 IFA shield boosted the fight against British rule.

The passion that surrounds the teams of the major leagues in any sport is very strong. Football clubs from English premier leaguer, Serie A, La Liga are followed everywhere as they have created a loyal fan base through out the world. Unlike any other market, where the customer of a brand is potentially open to change, a sports fan gives his or her unconditional and perpetual allegiance to a team. The fans stick to their team eve

n when the team is not performing on the field. The biggest yardstick for the measur

ement of strength of a team is its fan base. Fans are the most important asset of a team. They are never listed in the annual report of a company of a franchise but at the same time has a profound effect on how well that franchise does at the end of the financial year. The relentless emotional and physical investment the supporters make in their teams; give those teams the strength to survive. Examples are Chelsea and their fans, A C Milan and their fans, Washington Red -skins and their fans. In all these cases the fans have supported their teams through thick and thin, while winning or losing. Fans connect not only with the team but with their sponsors as well. The loyalties of years show up on caps and Tshirts bearing the team logo, in coffee mugs and key chains all of which communicate to the world that he or she is true supporter of the team. Manchester United the second richest soccer club after Real Madrid is going to make an annual turn over of £ 300 million of which £ 23 million will come from their sponsor Nike. Nike in turn got the right to put their logo on Manchester United jersey and has the right to sell Manchester United merchandise.

Support for a team is etched in stone, often passed down through generations. It can start with a father taking his son for a soccer game or listening together to a broadcast of cricket match over the radio on a hot summer night without power. Dedication towards a particular team often starts with an early exposure normally with parents, a brother or sister, or sometimes friends. Fans see their team as an extension of themselves, for them team success is personal success and team failure is personal failure. Sports may have started more simply as recreation mostly for those who participated, with spectators being an after thought, but that is history. Fans and their devotions have been the primary cause of this evolution, and an entire industry has been created because of them.

A team’s market share is linked to the actions of two categories of individuals: fans going to the stadium and fans following the broadcast of matches, and sympathizers who care only occasionally about the team’s fortunes. The former group shows enduring, life-long fidelity to the team’s brand. On the other hand, the latter group of supporters is more easily swayed by the acquisition of an international ace or success in a major international tournament. It is toward this segment that professional clubs orient most of their efforts. In this age of digital a

ge the followership of sports team has crossed all barriers, teams which once used to be city specific now has followers all over the world. An Indian wearing a Manchester united t-shirt or an Australian wearing a New York Yankee baseball cap is a common site. Teams are now trying to gain international fan base. Perugia in 1998 recruited Japanese footballer Hidetoshi Nakata to gain additional exposure and attract sponsors in Asian markets. Signing of fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza last year was an attempt by Kolkata knight riders to gain popularity in Bangladesh.

Every team have their own brand image. A variety of factors shapes the brand image of a team-- the city in which the team is based, the way they play the game, the culture in the team, the behaviour of the fans etc. Sports team like hockey clubs in ice hockey league have become one of the most important part of pop culture in Canada. Cricket is a big industry in India, Cricketers here are more popular than Bollywood actors and their image is avidly sought by advertisers. BCCI’s turnover of more than RS 700 crore proves that it is one industry which is recession proof. A major chunk or BCCI’s revenue comes from Indian Premier League. Indian Premier League teams within two years have created their own brands which have high recall value even among kids.

At present it is frequently said that success of a business is crucially determined by endowment in intangibles, sports team as brands are validating this statement.