Tottenham Hotspur's Legacy Numbers: Managing a Sports' Brand Properly...
Hi!
Tottenham Hotspur came out with an idea yesterday that was so simple and brilliant, I’m surprised it hadn’t been done before.
Legacy Numbers as a way to honor every player that has represented the senior team.
Why am I so keen on this idea?
As a brand management teacher and consultant, a few things really stick out:
The deft tying of the past and the present. The founding of your brand is one of your most powerful brand attributes.
The way that a program like this connects the past and the present by putting the current team in the context of a history of players and accomplishments.
The way that something like this updates the brand to keep it relevant.
Let me show a two things here to pay attention to as you think about your own brand.
Your history:
The founding story of your brand or team has a powerful impact on who you become.
Just as all of the notable players along the way can also stick with you no matter how far removed you are from the start of your club.
In Tottenham’s case, the original starting 11 are differentiated by alphabetical order making Stanley Briggs the #1 player in Tottenham history.
Going further, growing up as a Dolphins’ fan in South Florida, Joe Robbie’s influence on the team and importance to the history of the team was everywhere.
Hard Rock Stadium will always be Joe Robbie Stadium to me.
If you are a newer fan, you can connect your favorite player to a lineage of players you might only know by reputation like Son is 805, but my favorite player is Dele and he is 804.
But I can put context around names that I know, but don’t have the emotional connection to like:
Ledley King
Gareth Bale
Bill Nicholson
Jimmy Greaves
And, more.
Or, you can look at Walter Tull, the first black outfield player in the Football League.
The point is that history matters and not using it is bad brand management.
Brand Codes:
Brand Codes are the symbols, images, sounds, shapes, colors, etc. that represent your brand or team to the world.
In the case of Tottenham Hotspur, we have:
The lillywhite shirt
The cockerel
White Hart Lane
The font the team uses
These are all on display in the announcement, but more importantly, by putting them in a lineage, the codes and brand are updated to modern times, making the brand fresh and vibrant.
All while reinforcing these things that are symbols of Tottenham.
The only thing missing, “To Dare is to Do.”
The key point about Brand Codes, you can’t use them enough.
I mean that…it can never be enough.
Now to You:
How can you use this in your organization?
Know and use your history.
Have you ever visited the Melbourne Cricket Ground? No visit is complete without touring the Parade of Champions.
The ivy covered walls at Wrigley Field? The hand operated scoreboard at Fenway?
Visit Anfield and see all of the touches that are introduced into the stadium.
Just so I don’t leave the theatre and arts folks out:
The Sydney Opera House works the design of the building and the location on the Sydney Harbor into every aspect of the experience.
Look at how the Roundabout Theatre and how they’ve used Studio 54 over the years.
When you go to the West End, you have to see the outside of the Sondheim Theatre or my favorite, the Lyceum.
Look at how Wicked is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Use Your Brand Codes:
Your logo goes on everything. Look at all the places you see the Manchester United badge.
Have a sound or tagline: use it. I’d put, “Just Win Baby!” on everything, not just t-shirts.
Have a mask like the Phantom? I’d use that sucker just like the producers of the musical and the movie…on everything!!!
We can go on, but here are the important lessons from Tottenham:
Your history is powerful.
You can use your history to bring your brand into the present.
Brand Codes help you show up and remind people what you are all about.
I mean…use your Brand Codes on everything.
What issues are you concerned with heading into 2024?
Let me know. So I can give you the best ideas and thinking on issues that will help you sell more tickets, get more fans, and have a stronger organization in 2024.
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