Fivestar Frog Splash (Leeds Met) Logo
If you are looking for examples of strong branding the sports industry is the place to look. Teams rely on having strong brand identity to engage their fans and give them the opportunity to feel involved in their team, and ultimately support them financially. This is achieved through team colour, a strong logo and a team identity to which fans are able to relate. The passion that sports fans provide is magical, they are loyal to their teams and would fight to defend them.
What about small sports teams? If your team’s fan base consists of parents, friends or at most your university, is branding still important?
The single most important part of a team is the team. It is impossible to be successful if you cannot work together as a group to support and develop to reach your results, whether they are to win competition, or have a lot of fun trying! To gain this team spirit requires a strong brand identity, team members need to be able to relate with their team, feel involved with it and be able to engage with it.
While helping to run Leeds Met Ultimate Frisbee Team (Fivestar Frog Splash) this has become all the more apparent to me. The club is very new and facing many of the challenges which come in this early stage of life. What has been important however is that all the members feel that they own their club. They get a say in decisions, they understand what is going on and they have influence.
We are still trying to find our identity, but the foundations are there and in time the identity will grow stronger as the club continues to adapt and grow. What was important in the early days was establishing the initial image, this included naming the club and creating a logo. The whole team was given the opportunity to contribute to this ensuring that they were satisfied and involved in the decision.
We recently acquired sports kit and this is another important step in our development, playing in the team colours is a reminder that we are part of a team and we need to work together to achieve our aims. As the club grows undoubtedly the brand identity will continue to be important as we purchase merchandise, such as branded discs, host tournaments and get better known throughout the Ultimate world.
I have been able to see the importance of brand identity within my small sports club, and understand how these principles can relate to other clubs. Your team’s image needs to reflect your team members, this will ensure that as you develop you can ensure that you are growing in the right direction to achieve the most appropriate aims. It also helps attract future members who suit the culture of your club.
The world of sports branding is fascinating and offers brilliant case studies to show how branding can be effective.
Fivestar Frog Splash (Leeds Met Ultimate Frisbee team) demonstrate branding through kit
