For a brand, it is very important to create new content in order to generate emotions and to gather people in a real community. For a football club, the fact that the supporters have a strong feeling of belonging is the best asset they can have. Thus, football club are becoming more supporter-oriented and we can see that they understand the importance of having a strong community behind their brand : not only the people who come to the football games, but also the people who buy the brand, who talk about it, who spread the word of its brand image.
The first and easiest way for a brand to generate emotions is to have some good communication tools. For example, an aimed advertising campaign is the perfect tool to create content, views and to gather a community.
The Paris Saint Germain had many partnerships for advertising campaigns. For example, Citroën is known as one of the biggest PSG’s sponsor. It had created many advertising around the football club.
This advertising has a figurative message to the PSG’s players, but also for the supporters behind the team, that offered good performance before this campaign.
For the Real Madrid, Audi is on of their most important sponsor. The fact of associating a high-ending, successful and trustworthy car brand to their football club brand image is a strong positive point. The community gathered behind the Real Madrid relies on a noble, trustful and successful football club.
But some partnership can lead to an uncertain future for the brand. Indeed, the community can misunderstand a shift in the brand philosophy, or in the brand image. For example, when the Real Madrid signed its partnership with the United Arabic Emirates, it had to remove the cross from its logo. Indeed, therefor, there was a cross overwhelming the crown on the Real Madrid logo, a Christian symbol. But since this partnership, as the Real Madrid is becoming a famous football club among an Arabic community, they had to remove every religious symbol of the logo, the cross for example.
Also, an error when signing a sponsorship contract can strongly affect negatively the brand image. For example, when the Paris Saint Germain signed its partnership with McDonald’s, the international fast food firm, it has significantly decreased its notoriety among the sport sector. Associating a football club known as the PSG with a fast food firm may present some dietetic issues.
This partnership also may show a too strong desire from the football club to find investments and overselling its brand. It may reveal an image of giving an advantage on the financial results rather than on the usual brand image of a sport club.
HB
Links :
http://news.autoplus.fr/news/1481670/Ligue-des-champions-PSG-Chelsea-Publicit%C3%A9-Citroen-C1
http://www.huffingtonpost.fr/thomas-philippe/sponsoring-psg-business_b_4254127.html
http://www.caradisiac.com/Les-joueurs-du-Real-Madrid-recoivent-leurs-Audi-Qui-a-la-RS6-90816.htm
PSG - Real Madrid 