BRAND FANS Lessons from the World’S Greatest Sporting Brands Brand Fans Aaron C.T
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AARON C.T. SMITH CONSTANTINO STAVROS KATE WESTBERG BRAND FANS Lessons from the World’s Greatest Sporting Brands Brand Fans Aaron C.T. Smith • Constantino Stavros • Kate Westberg Brand Fans Lessons from the World’s Greatest Sporting Brands Aaron C.T. Smith Kate Westberg RMIT University RMIT University Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Constantino Stavros RMIT University Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ISBN 978-3-319-48853-0 ISBN 978-3-319-48854-7 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-48854-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930175 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and trans- mission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover illustration: Dmytro Aksyonov Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland To James and Sophie—Kate Westberg With love to my best fans, my family—Constantino Stavros To Bob, who taught me that branding is the mind’s sport—Aaron Smith Contents 1 Introduction: Crowdsourcing Brand Equity 1 Introduction: Celebrate the Brand Fanatic 1 Sport Means Winning 4 Work in Symbols 7 Meet the Greats 11 Find the Lessons 15 Conclusion: Move from Emotion to Engagement 18 References 19 2 Pitch Partners: Customers as Players and Collaborators 25 Introduction: Move Closer 25 Step Up to the Plate 27 Clarify the Brand Image 32 Focus on Value Co-creation 34 Make the Customer Part of the Brand Team 40 Design Compelling Value Propositions 43 Extend Brand Reach 45 Facilitate Brand Fan Communities 48 Leverage the Value Network 51 Conclusion: Entangle Customers 53 References 54 vii viii Contents 3 Unlimited Users: The Rise of Consumer- Generated Content 57 Introduction: Unleashing the Consumer 57 Encourage Customer Contributions to the Brand Experience 59 Recruit and Reward 63 Provide a Space 66 Create and Curate 71 Share Brand Stories 76 Entrust Brand Fans 79 Leverage the Fan Voice 82 Conclusion: Co-creation to Co-branding 84 References 85 4 Connected Communities: Icons and Tribalism 89 Introduction: Cradle to Grave 89 Build Resilient Brands 91 Use New Communities and Old Thinking (or Old Communities and New Thinking) 96 Turn Advocacy into Action 101 Cede Control 105 Untangle the Gridlock 108 Make Everyone a Winner 111 Create Tribal Teamwork 115 Make Tribes Louder 118 Conclusion: Find the New Disneyland 122 References 123 5 Passionate Partisans: Lifelong Loyalty 125 Introduction: Get Ahead of the Curve 125 Make Passionate Partisans 129 Ride the Bumps with a Grin 133 Do Not Hide 137 Segment for Growth 139 Make Everyone a VIP 145 Multiply Media and Saturate Sponsors 148 Contents ix Locate the Connection, Influence, and Persuasion Trinity 152 Conclusion: Give and You Shall Be Given 158 References 159 6 Dynamic Data: Branding the Digital Drive 161 Introduction: Start with a New Normal 161 Embrace the Digital Dynamic 163 Transform Consumers into Directors 165 Make Content Experiential 167 Use Superdata to Find the Digital Consumer 169 Measure and Escalate Relevance 171 Accept Real-Time Branding 173 Package the Virtual for Real (Branding) 177 Practice Failing Forward 179 Locate the Brand Fan 181 Work on Who They Think They Are 183 Make Old Fans Part of New Media 184 Conclusion: Make the Brand a Digital Destination 187 References 188 7 Enhanced Experiences: Enlisting the Fanatic 191 Introduction: Engage and Enhance 191 Convert Loyalty into Fanaticism 194 Augment Experiences 195 Modularise Branding 197 Access the Mobile Mind 199 Pull, Do Not Push 202 Find a Platform 203 Create a Social Network 207 Make Strategic Social Choices 209 Leverage the Links 211 Find a Social Media Identity 214 Engage the Social Conscience 215 Conclusion: The Augmented Brand Fan 219 References 219 x Contents 8 Conclusion: Future Brand Fans 223 Introduction: The Sporting Touch 223 Virtual Brand Fans 226 Branding in a Cloudy Future: The Digital Mesh 228 Wearable and Comparable 229 Contingent Consumption Experiences 231 Advanced AI and Autonomous Behaviour 233 Lessons in Anticipating Sport’s Branding Future 234 Conclusion: A Brand Fan’s Future 238 References 239 Index 241 1 Introduction: Crowdsourcing Brand Equity Introduction: Celebrate the Brand Fanatic Upon the birth of Prince George, the son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the third in line to the British throne, English Premier League (EPL) Club Aston Villa sent the parents a baby sized team shirt. The newborn future king would be a “Villa” fan, reasoned the club, on the basis that he would surely inherit his father’s fandom (telegraph.co.uk 2013). Just a few seasons later, the club was relegated to the Championship, one league level beneath the EPL. That disappointing turn of events did not, however, bend the Duke’s uncompromising allegiance or his desire for young George to follow in his father’s fan footsteps. The branding business is a high-stakes game. We use the term “game” purposefully and carefully in this competitive context. There are rules, competitors, and a carefully crafted game plan. And, there are winners and losers. Each and every organisation must kick goals to beat its com- petition, be it by a sale or in speed to market, to grab the glory and poten- tial riches that come from forming a valued connection to a customer. When professional athletes and teams compete, the resulting contest has a dynamism that is unpredictable at its core. The exact way in which © The Author(s) 2017 1 A.C.T. Smith et al., Brand Fans, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-48854-7_1 2 Brand Fans a contest unfolds (regardless of sport) is impossible to anticipate or con- trol. Yet, from the chaos on the field emerge some of the most exhilarat- ing moments of human experience. These passages of aesthetic wonder are fleeting glimpses of effortless perfection. They represent spontane- ous improvisations, founded upon countless hours of preparation, but realised in one string of critical activities that run together like a scripted performance. From the uncertainty of the contest arises a certain winner: the team or individual capable of converting complexity to innovation, chaos to control, choice to opportunity, and indecision to leadership. Great sporting brands have evolved to become great businesses by learning to navigate a highly charged and competitive world, where win- ning is all that matters. To succeed, they are driven both on and off the field by an insatiable desire to not only get ahead, but to stay ahead, despite the increased pace of modern competition. This race to the top is relentless; as seasons come and go, new challenges and challengers appear and rules change. Conducted publicly, with constant scrutiny and criti- cism, the race and chase have forged behaviours and strategies that can be distilled into elite practices with implications for all brands operating in a competitive environment. In this book, we reveal the cutting edge branding, value co-creation, and customer engagement techniques professional sport employs to cultivate insatiable fans and lifelong brand advocates. We explain how the great- est sport organisations have become champions of co-creation by build- ing value through persistent and purposeful engagement. To do this, we consider a myriad of cases combined with the latest research to provide practical branding lessons. Our approach utilises elite, professional sport as a context for highlighting contemporary marketing methods, including the use of emerging technologies and communication channels. Our objective is to provide insight into how to turn passive consumers into passionate players, or as we have dubbed them in the title of this book, brand fans. While many brands from a range of product categories command impressive levels of consumer loyalty, we believe that some of the most potent examples are located in sport. In fact, the world’s best sport enterprises offer a unique lens for critically examining branding, value co-creation, and customer engagement. No other product in the world commands such fervent lifelong loyalty despite unpredictable quality 1 Introduction: Crowdsourcing Brand Equity 3 and variable success. Sport’s greatest organisations set the benchmark for “passion” branding because they ruthlessly pursue competitive advantage, incessantly drive value, and resolutely prioritise consumer engagement. Firms need to work hard to ensure that the brand experiences they cre- ate for their customers are superior to those of competitors or substitutable products. Technology is often seen as a panacea for engaging with cus- tomers, but it can also have the unfortunate potential to convert products or customer experiences into commodities. To fortify the consumption experience, firms must understand how customers bond with brands and become powerful advocates. Digital marketing and social media platforms demand a new kind of mind-set, where the conventional distance between properties, their marketing representatives, and consumers is blurred, and where success requires constant adaptation.