#palace

House Celebren - Young Celeblasienne is attending an important family ball, wearing her new gown when her oldest brother Margo comes to torment her once more…one of the reason she always tries to avoid any family gathering. She hates her entire family for their viciousness, selfishness and tormenting nature, but sometimes she longs for a family and a part of her doesn’t want to give up on them completely.

Warsaw, Poland

A genius move.

“Man who invented the hamburger was smart; man who invented the cheeseburger was a genius.” Matthew McConaughey

As a Roma supporter, I’d rather be talking about another topic (carpenter bees, tropical birds, the noise of a Vespa engine, et al.), but, as a marketing professional, I have to admit that Juventus is doing a great job, in terms of branding and marketing; there are a few things we can learn from their massive operation of repositioning/rebranding. A few articles on the Interwebs talk about the recent collaboration between Juve, adidas and Palace — like this one on Highsnobiety: ‘Here’s What Palace & Juventus’ Spectacular Collab Really Means’ — but they mostly focus on the collab thing, without looking at the bigger picture, i.e. the whole strategy that Juve is implementing to target a new, streetwear and football obsessed, global, younger audience.

The Strategy.

Logo / First things first, AKA the basics — when you want to change the perception of your brand, you need to start from the basics: logos, imagery, colours, and whatever Kapferer defines as “physique” and Aaker as “brand as a symbol”. Juventus did it in a spectacular way, in 2017. Of course, the old school aficionados and fans were upset, but the image of the brand became fresher, more contemporary, more globally appealing.

“Make that logo bigger!” / The new logo was then applied to anything and everything, from football-related merch to apparel for men and women, kids and infants. With the aforementioned new logo, the clothes look like proper fashion, a million miles away from your average branded line from your average football team. Look at West Ham, for instance: their online shop features gear only a 50-something guy from Limehouse would wear. In a pub. On a Monday evening.

Experience Economy / According to B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore, we are living in the era of the Experience Economy, where people prefer to invest in experiences, rather than mere products. Juventus embraced the concept in a smart way, opening the J|hotel | Hotel Ufficiale della Juventus‎. There, you will be able to live the “Bianconera experience”, featuring visit to the J|village, the Allianz Stadium, and — of course — the Juve Megastore.

Influencer marketing / Just like make-up and fashion brands hire Kardashians/Jenners to represent their brand and attract armies of followers on digital channels, Juventus have their own celebrity/influencer/ambassador: Cristiano Ronaldo, AKA ‘the most marketable player in the world’, as the aforementioned article on Highsnobiety put it. There are many other players that could have helped Juve win trophies, younger and cheaper than Ronaldo, but none of them have the influence the Portuguese fellow has on billions of fans, on a global scale. Plus, the guy is a proper Instagram champ, and a marketing genius: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly makes more money being an influencer on Instagram than he does playing soccer for Juventus’, according to Business Insider.

The “Collab” / As we all know, nothing works wonders today on a brand’s image like a good collaboration, especially when it comes to fashion (feat. streetwear). One brand puts the fashion twist and credibility in the cocktail (Stella McCartney, Yohji, Rick Owens), the other helps with the technology and sports-related know-how (adidas). Supreme makes younger American streetwear-heads discover Stone Island, Stone Island helps Supreme create magnificent gear with their unparalleled level of technology and innovation. Everybody happy! The collaboration between Juve, adidas and Palace is GENIUS. That is the only way you can really call it. Finally, Juve is cool and hype, in the eyes of the “hypebeasts”, all around the world, everywhere in the universe, and beyond.

Sustainability / Last but not least, we have the green element: as every second brand on the planet is trying to become greener, and “sustainability” is every CEO’s new favourite (buzz)word, Juventus embraced the new trend, by having adidas make their kits using recycled materials.

Overcast