{"id":17020,"date":"2022-05-25T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/?p=17020"},"modified":"2023-10-02T18:19:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T17:19:29","slug":"city-brands-football-club-brands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brandfinance.com\/insights\/city-brands-football-club-brands","title":{"rendered":"City Brands as Part of Football Club Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was originally published in the Brand Finance Football 50 2022<\/a> report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Teresa de Lemus,
Director Gerente, Brand Finance Espa\u00f1a<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Football brands are not just entertainment brands. They are also local brands or country brands. And as such, they are part of an industry that contributes greatly to the countries' GDP and sense of meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The link between the city brand and the club brand is highly relevant and a powerful marketing tool. Both have the capacity to attract tourism, to give international visibility, and to impact one on the other. According to Brand Finance<\/a>\u2019s latest Soft Power<\/a> study, the perception of entertainment or sports in a country or city weighs on the mind of the citizen and in their overall perception of that country or city. The perceptions of a country's qualities contribute to a nation\u2019s Soft Power Index, which reflects the ability of the place to influence the behaviours of stakeholders in a positive way \u2013 this can be in terms of investment, trade, qualified employees and greater tourism. In short, better political and economic outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Entertainment and sports\u2019 is one of the 10 pillars that make up the Soft Power index of a country. Brand Finance, thanks to the study carried out worldwide on more than 100,000 respondents, can identify which parameters influence the perception of a place brand. This data is of special relevance in football, whose brands arise from the town where they were born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, football teams have many more tools to develop their brands like the style of play, the communication style or the sponsors they take on. But in a certain way, the city brand is core and constant in this compendium of elements and that can be used as a brand tool of the clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at two of the most valuable football brands, we see two great historical ambassadors of the Spain brand and the city brand. Both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have been a bright window into Spanish culture for millions of followers around the world. The former began its international journey in the 1920s. The latter, even earlier, won its first international title in the \"Pyrenees Cup\" before 1913. Both clubs have not only carried the Spanish brand wherever they played, but also they put on the map the cities that saw them born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The relationship between the city brand and the Football team brand is clear, but not all teams take advantage of this component of their brands, nor do all cities take advantage of the brands of their Football teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having clear synergies, common attributes could be identified, those that contribute most to the brand and are used almost as a natural sponsorship. The analysis would therefore lead us to 3 points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n