”See the Bombers Fly Up, Up”… towards a greater vision

Many factors – culture, image, personality, heritage, heroes and performance influence the perception of stakeholders and fans about their tribal love of a sport brand.

This week, the Essendon Football Club brand was in the headlines because of the possible review of the club logo. When a story that raises the passions of sports fans gets out of control, it is hard to hear the strategic logic of the brand discussion.

Reviewing a brand that represents the values and heritage of a Club with a history that dates back to 1872, requires careful and expert assessment. Any consideration of the identity (logo, nickname and mascot ) has to be considered with the broader direction of the Club, because its more than the game.

In a game of football there are thousands of experts in the stands. Everyone is an umpire.

Pulling on the red striped jumper transforms the athletes into heroes held in high regard. They occupy an honoured position within the Club and the code.

The jumper, like the Baggy Green cap of Cricket Australia is the icon. The Essendon strip is worn by fans on game day and framed in homes and board rooms across the land.

It is the responsibility of any board to take a brand health check and measure this against the total Brand Equity of the brand’s COMMUNITY, INNOVATIVE, INTELLECTUAL, ECONOMIC and CULTURAL values. Combined, these make up the CAPITAL VALUE of a brand and influence connectivity, relevance, leadership and reputation. At Essendon success on and off the field is paramount.

Today, football clubs are an incredibly powerful influence in the community. For Essendon, the brand review would seem to be part of a much bigger strategic picture of reimagining purpose and ambition.

There is an opportunity to “fly up, up” towards a greater vision.

The logo represents memories of past glories, but the main thing about brand is to make history.

If the logo changes to reflect new aspirations, so what ? It doesn’t change the passions of fans, loyalty for the club, a sense of community spirit and dreams of triumphs and a bigger picture. You cannot clearly look to the future if your eyes are misty with the memories of history.

If there is a purposeful reimagined Essendon story to be told, tell it.

And then support it with an identity that inspires it.

For more on the debated Essendon rebrand watch the report at 7 News, Channel 9 or 10 News First.