After months of debate and intrigue, the AFL’s nineteenth and youngest team, the Tasmania Devils, have finally launched their sweater, logo and colours in Devonport this week.
The Devils will wear green, yellow and red and their guernsey will feature a map of Tasmania with a red “T” in the middle. The club’s logo features the profile of a Tasmanian devil, which chairman Grant O’Brien said represents the state’s “proud, tough and determined” figures.
Were there any surprises in the branding? Nothing. Perfectly according to the brand and what has largely been seen in Tasmania’s junior state teams.
The difference, nonetheless, was that it was the official AFL premiere. There is not any turning back. And it cleared some pretty big obstacles like reaching an agreement with global entertainment giant Warner Bros over the use of the name, colours and logo.
But why was today so essential?
Building a (sports) brand.
Sports have at all times been the original crowdfunding model. Without fans, there really is not any band. So it was great to see that the Devils were being saintly of their marketing to their base – namely, a $10 foundation membership.
Within two hours of launch, Devils sold to over 40,000 foundation members for $10 each. By comparison, the AFL’s newest expansion clubs, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney, had 23,359 and 33,036 members respectively at the end of 2023.
Selling low-cost foundation memberships just a few years before the team’s first game was a sensible move since it allowed for rather a lot of money until match day and sponsorship revenues showed up.
They then gain access to a big database, which is crucial in dividing members into different segments after which tailoring the offer to every of them.
And of course there’s the commitment aspect, which is especially essential to the Devils as each the stadium and team are just a few years away from AFL competition – with the club scheduled to enter the national competition in 2028.
They must retain these foundation members, these key supporters, involved to take care of a high level of word-of-mouth. And these members aren’t just in Tasmania – they could be found all over the place. The team will only play half of its games at home, and that is how it should be will need fans at games played outside the state. The AFL needs this too.
It helps that these supporters can call themselves members of the foundation ceaselessly. Strong word of mouth and nice branding. And over 50,000 in just a few short hours say the market agrees.
However, the Devils need to pay attention retaining these initial members on the long journey before they play their first match at Macquarie Point.
Why is branding so essential for sports teams?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are role models in global sports and show why details matter in sports marketing. Think “CR7” and also you only think of one person. And what child would refuse Messi’s number 10 shirt?
They each introduce tens of tens of millions a 12 months for its franchise in merchandise and ticket sales.
The world’s biggest sports brands, comparable to Barcelona FC, manage every detail of your brand image down to the actual color shade across all brand offerings.
AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, file
The same goes for the devils, not just for Warner Bros sake but additionally to avoid Port Adelaide v Collingwood shirt issue.
The Devils’ offering needed to be unique to each other brand in the AFL, but additionally incorporate colours in the logo and character that might deepen resonance between the team, fans and community.
The coloration myrtle green, primrose yellow and rose red just do that. All this mixture and variations are theirs. They are representative of Tasmania’s colours and have been used extensively by many other sports teams from the state. Consistency is incredibly essential in sports marketing and it was great to see that.
These colours will help evoke deeper emotional responses to the brand and keep followers engaged at the highest level, thereby helping to draw sponsors.
When it involves brand logo, there was no other alternative than the Tasmanian Devil and it’s magnificent. Almost every other AFL team builds a major part of their brand around their character and that is something the Devils must do sooner fairly than later.
Initial public response was almost overwhelmingly positive, allowing the Devils to construct a core fan base that may fill 23,000 seats at each home game.
Challenges and next steps for the ‘Tasmania brand’
There can be challenges that the brand cannot control, e.g growing concerns about concussion and the development of competitors comparable to basketball, e-sports and soccer. These may have an effect on the brand but generally speaking they can be handled by the AFL itself.
Locally, the brand must give attention to providing as many touchpoints as possible, comparable to meet and greets and merchandise days. Tangibility adds value to sports brands in a way that the majority other brands envy.
This will help keep the brand community lively and vocal, which can help ward off any political challenges to the indoor stadium, but may even attract other fans, sponsors and the community to the team as the launch date gets closer.
With the Devil out of the bag, the challenge for the club will now be to make sure it doesn’t stray too removed from its territory and lose sight of how long and hard it should must wait before its real sacrifice: that day in September at the MCG.
