The humiliation of a 4-1 hammering at the hands of the old enemy at the world’s premier football party was bad enough for most, but what are the implications for the carefully crafted (or should that be expensively created) Team England brand?
The news that Nationwide are looking to end their 11-year association with England team/FA will be a major blow. Many are drawing conclusions that the England team brand has been damaged beyond the point that a major company would want to be associated with.
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Certainly the dismal showing by Fabio’s team will not shift additional mortgages, but is that really down to being associated with a failed team? More likely is it not to do with current economic circumstances and (shock horror) a realisation that perhaps brand association could be better aligned?
As someone who has followed the team and been to countless England games, the on-field performance was still massively disappointing, despite the fact the I and many others identified beforehand that the team only has 2 really world-class players (one of whom failed to turn up!). The hyperbole that surrounds today’s top footballers, encouraged by an MTV age of broadcasters looking for soundbites and Sky montages, is verging on parody of itself. Indeed it has been refreshing in the past few weeks to see presenters describing games as dull in the half-time/full-time analysis (instead of the usual love-ins). But it was still extremely suprising just how badly the team failed to get even one 90 mins right.
So surely by associating yourself with such a failed ‘brand’ anyone would risk causing untold damage to their own brand, and most importantly bottom line? Not necessarily. The England brand will quickly recover once the first 25 mins of the friendly in August is out of the way and the boos for the failures have died out. Once the Premier League begins again and club loyalties kick-in you’ll see the very same players being lauded once again as ‘World Class’, ‘Legend’, ‘Phenominal’. And so the England team brand will recover its standing…at probably a lower premium.
One thing is for sure, there will be a long queue around Soho Square of companies willing to pay the huge sponsorship costs when the contract becomes available. Yes, in all likelihood the FA will not be in as strong a bargaining position and so there may be a smaller pot of cash on the table. But for some brands the association will still represent a fantastic opportunity to engage with a suitable high-profile brand. After all, the England brand is still one of the few sport brands that is recognised globally. In fact if a deal can be in place before the August friendly just think of the huge coverage that England’s first game back at Wembley will generate. It will probably be one of the most high-profile friendlies ever…and that is something any company would want to get a piece of.
So, what do we conclude? Is the England team brand damaged? Yes, we found out that things weren’t as rosy as we thought. Are they damaged goods? Individually many of the players will have to suffer for the next few weeks, but it won’t last (other than perhaps tone down the hyperbole), but collectively the England team brand is pretty much as many people considered it before – an established old brand capable of uniting a huge number of people that has just had a bad few weeks.
Incidentally, how good would it be to see our very own HAPPY plastered all over the 1st friendly – that may help lift a few moods don’t you think!!!
Happy Simon
Simon Brooke is Digital Director at Happy Creative, a full service marketing agency. To learn more or contact us please go to www.happy-creative.co.uk
