MELBOURNE STORM…THE BRAND!

In the 2004 second State of Origin game a young curly haired Queensland winger scored an amazing try from a one of a kind ‘chip and chase’. This try racked up the points for Queensland to win the game and the try scorer, Billy Slater, justifiably received man of the match. Ever since that try, I have been captivated by Billy Slater and the Melbourne Storm NRL team.

Being a fan of the Storm, I have seen over the past few years how they have shapedtheir distinguishable brand. Developing a brand is crucial in the sports world as nowadays sports teams and sports people are seen and promoted as a brand — a brand like any other that must be marketed, maintained and managed.

[caption id=”attachment_2693" align=”aligncenter” width=”300"]

Melbourne Storm 2012 Premiers[/caption]

A brand is a process by which a company or product name becomes synonymous with a set of values, aspirations or meaning. Coca Cola is synonymous with summer days, happiness and good times with friends. Nike is synonymous with fitness, athletes and inspiration. Apple is synonymous with innovation, superiority, minimalism and style. It is the intangible elements, the senses and emotions, described previously that make up a brand.

So what has changed over the years for football teams to now be seen and promoted as a brand? Sue Bridgewater, author of Football Brands, suggests three reasons.

1. Commercialisation. Despite the grumblings from hard core NRL fans at reading that word; the NRL and NRL teams are a commercial business and like any other business football teams need to raise revenue. This could be through obtaining sponsors, gaining greater attendance at games or increasing membership numbers. To do this, football teams need to advertise and in advertising, football teams need to put their brand forward.
2. The Media. In Australia and across the world, media and sport go hand in hand. With the internet, social media and 24 hour news cycle, football teams and players are always making a headline. Whether this is game results, injury updates, judiciary hearings, personal stories or scandals. The substantial presence of sport in the media has made football teams more aware of the brand they portray to the greater public and the need to uphold this brand.
3. The Fans. Ultimately consumers buy brands not the product. The same can be said for football teams. When choosing a team to support fans often think with their hearts rather than their heads. All NRL teams have players, coaches, a home stadium, an emblem, team colours and song. Likewise, a football team’s players and coach change over time but fans still remain loyal to the one team. It is the brand that differentiates the teams and it is the brand that gains supporters and consequent loyalty.

Besides the fact that I am a Melbourne Storm fan and would love nothing more than to write an article about my team; the Melbourne Storm has a unique brand and here’s why…

Melbourne Storm was founded in 1997, which makes it one of the youngest and newest teams in the NRL. The club doesn’t have the long rich history that the foundation and long serving clubs have. It is the only Victorian NRL club and situated in Victoria makes it located in AFL heartland. In 2010, Melbourne Storm was involved in a salary cap breach of at least $1.7 million over 5 years. The Storm was stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships, the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Minor Premierships, all competition points for the 2010 season, fined $500,000 and to return the $1.1 million in prize money. Since the establishment of the salary cap in 1998, there have been salary cap breaches by a multitude of clubs. However, the breach and consequent sentence given to the Storm was, regrettably, like no other.

A brand is never stable and Melbourne Storm is an example of that. Immediately after the outing of the salary cap breach Melbourne Storm was a brand with negative connotations. There’s no need to go into it, but I think the word going around at the time was ‘cheat’. During 2011 Melbourne Storm began to shake off those negative connotations and in 2012 once again became a brand with positive connotations. Namely due to the advertising campaign — kudos to the media and marketing team! To analyse the current Melbourne Storm brand you need to analyse the advertisements which have portrayed the brand. Let’s take a look at the 2012 campaign, which worked so well it was rereleased for 2013…

For the 2012 season Melbourne Storm launched the “No Ordinary Team” campaign. This television, print and online campaign featured personal insights from the coach, captain and players. The aim of the campaign was to create a closer connection between the team and the supporters.

• Coach Craig Bellamy’s ad focuses on the quality of the individual players stating “The player makes the jumper.”
• Captain Cam Smith’s ad shows appreciation and gives recognition to the supporters stating “We owe them everything we have.”
• Billy Slater’s ad showcases mateship and the notion of family stating “I expect myself to do my job for my team.”
• Cooper Cronk’s ad details their strong work ethic stating “Preparation is the key for every performance whether you play good or bad.”
• Ryan Hoffman’s ad defines the physical challenge they regularly face stating “You get straight back up, you give them a smile and move on again.”

The advertisements do not mention winning the 2011 Minor Premiership. The advertisements do not mention the high profile state and national representative players the club produces. The advertisements do not mention playing in the 2011 Preliminary Final. Instead the advertisements give the supporters an understanding of the intangible elements that make the Melbourne Storm who they are.

Their branding is a success and shows in the numbers. Melbourne Storm has approximately 892,000 supporters, only to be topped by the Brisbane Broncos. In 2013 Melbourne Storm passed the 15,000 mark in memberships and had an average home crowd of 16,300. Melbourne Storm also has backing from the corporate sector. In 2011, Crown inked a sponsorship deal with club and this year Crown Resorts resigned as a major sponsor.

So after that analysis and apparent success, what exactly is the Melbourne Storm brand? For me, Melbourne Storm is synonymous with character — a character that is modest and low key, humble yet proud, has camaraderie, is perseverant, dedicated and resilient to adversity. The Melbourne Storm brand is synonymous with a type of character that any person would want to get to know or have themselves.

Bridgewater, Sue. 2010. Football Brands. London: Palgrave Macmillan. Accessed May 5, 2014.

Gobe, Marc. 2009. “Introduction: Emotional Branding: Fuel for Success in the Twenty-First Century.” In Emotional Branding: The new paradigm for connecting brands to people, edited by Marc Gobe, xvii-xxxiv. New York: Allworth Press.

Vaid, Helen. 2003. “Chapter 1: Secrets of Branding Revealed.” In Branding, edited by Helen Vaid, 6–21. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.