Franchise Brand Universe

I came up with this model to illustrate the level of importance and primacy a franchise should place on attaining a Loss-Proof Brand. Click here for a closer view.

The central idea of the brand universe is that the brand benefit achieved by winning, while important, is ephemeral. Furthermore, it is largely an unknown quantity and even the strongest team brands (Boston Celtics and the San Francisco 49ers to name a couple) fall on hard times eventually.

So rather than being confined to the outlying tactical province of the marketing department, developing a Loss-Proof Brand should be at the center of the franchise's universe. From that position, it influences every aspect of the brand and ensures a consistency of both meaning and messaging across all brand operations.

Ultimately these universe models are meant to depict that relying on the sheer functionality of winning games to build a meaningful brand is a crapshoot. Winning for winning's sake can sometimes give a team brand the shot in the arm it needs - Chelsea FC's recent success in the English Premier League is a great example of this. But winning without fostering a deeper emotional connection with all stakeholders will ensure the euphoria of that success is short lived. It is only by articulating what a team should represent, then ensuring it influences all brand operations can a franchise hope to build a Loss-Proof Brand.

Building A Loss-Proof Brand

In most international sporting leagues today, governing bodies enforce salary caps on how much teams can pay their playing roster. Furthermore, teams who are performing badly often receive priority draft picks in order to help them rebuild for the future.

Each of these points is counterintuitive to how conventional businesses operate. By penalizing the best performing teams and providing concessions to the worst, administrative bodies are punishing success and rewarding mediocrity.

So any team hoping to build its brand as an unconquerable dynasty like the Boston Celtics in the sixties or the Chicago Bulls in the nineties is rolling the dice. Even if a team does win a championship with a certain set of players and coaches, management then faces the tough task of re-signing personnel whose individual stock has risen by association, not to mention giving other poorer performing teams a head start in talent renewal.

As such, appeal based on the mere functionality of winning games is a crapshoot. Instead, the key is to ensure a team remains popular even when they are losing - to in effect become "loss proof." This is a critical strategic consideration that franchise management must be aware of.

So rather than spout tired soundbites about aiming to win championships with their players acting as role models in the community, teams must become more creative in managing their reputation. Just as a conventional corporation fights commoditization to foster brand loyalty, sporting organizations must seek to engender non-functional, irrational loyalty amongst their fans and stakeholders alike. This loyalty is only achieved by gaining a clarity of purpose and direction that resonates regardless of on-field performance.

A team brand like the New York Yankees has been very consistent through its history. Love it or hate it, the Yankees' brand has always meant the same thing. Since Babe Ruth, the "Bronx Bombers" have been famous for unapologetically poaching the big name stars in their quest for more world series triumphs. In a sentence the Yankees' brand could be summed up as "the brazen, big city bullies". Like the Brazilian national soccer team, Manchester United or the LA Lakers, this bullish "win at all costs" brand message appeals to sports fans that love to celebrate triumphs.

In a different vein, some team brands have become just as strong as the above franchises for reasons other than a crowded trophy cabinet. The Chicago Cubs brand has become iconic by frequently promising a Disney-esque cinderella story then stumbling at the final hurdle. The Cubs' brand might be "Hope and heartbreak for the whole family". Similarly, the Green Bay Packers brand, as the only publicly owned franchise in the NFL, has resonated widely because the franchise is seen as remaining loyal to the spirit of the sport. In an era where cash flow and facilities are the only real ties to a home city, the Packers' brand might be "The unpretentious blue collar spirit of the midwest".

Having a consistency of meaning and certainty of purpose makes or breaks the brand of all sporting franchises. It is only by living and breathing a central guiding principle that any fan, sponsor or opposing fan can articulate what a team stands for with any real accuracy. Without a Loss-Proof Brand, a franchise's popularity will fluctuate year to year based on how they are performing on the field. And with administrative bodies seeking to curb financial inequity, this is a tactic fraught with danger.

A Loss-Proof Brand weeds out ambiguity and creates a franchise that win or lose, fans, players and sponsors can rally around.

Winning Games Is Not Tantamount To Building A Strong Team Brand

In today’s era where most sports governing bodies enforce regulations like salary caps and concessional draft picks designed to level the playing field, building a focused brand independent of team performance is more important than ever. Unlike the certainty of a McDonald’s Big Mac that tastes the same in Istanbul as it does in Seattle, a team’s performance will vary from year to year. So any franchise hoping to position its brand as a dynastic juggernaut like NBA teams the Boston Celtics of the sixties or the Chicago Bulls of the nineties will face an uphill battle.

As the Baseball season begins, this is a topical issue. The Chicago Cubs have proven that winning is not at all necessary in building a strong brand. Not having won a world series since 1907, the Cubs brand has been consistent throughout different eras – it is the uncomplicated formula of hope and disappointment, and more importantly, the repetition of this cycle to the point of comfort in the routine. This resonates so strongly with fans because it draws on the empathy inherent in humans that causes us to root for the underdog. Knowing this, the rumor mill has it that Cubs owners are secretly afraid of winning a world series because the brand is a star off-field performer largely because it is a mediocre on-field one.