CO-BRANDING,

EXTENSIONS,
RETRO-MARKETING &
STORYTELLING
PROF. ANDRÉ RICHELIEU
ESG UQAM

MKG5316-65
FALL 2017
OUR AGENDA

• Key concepts and learnings

• Examples
• Synthesis of syntheses

André Richelieu 2017 2

CO-BRANDING

• Combine two or more brands

• Trigger synergies
• Generate positive image transfer from one brand to the other
• Solidify sports brand or convert it into lifestyle brand
• Roger Federer vs. Anna Kournikova (Genie Bouchard)
• Preserve both sports brand and lifestyle brand
• Maria Sharapova (Tennis & Sugarpova; before suspension)
• Usain Bolt
• Risks
• Brand dilution
• Cannibalization

André Richelieu 2017 3

EXTENSIONS

• Product and brand extensions

• Related to sports or lifestyle
• Adidas : “Intelligent” shoes vs.
• Perfume, candies, charitable foundation, etc.
• Opportunities
• Awareness (new or strengthened)
• Positive predisposition towards the brand (capital of sympathy)
• Additional sales and revenues
• Risks
• Illegitimate extension in the eyes of fans
• Rejection, boycott, protest, brand dilution, etc.

André Richelieu 2017 4

RETRO-MARKETING

• Turning back the clock!

• Old symbols and other brand associations
• Original or “modernized”
• Playing on nostalgia, lived in person or not
• Adidas Originals
• Also, connecting the glorious past to a promising future
• Toronto Blue Jays (video), AS Saint-Étienne (Super Télé jersey), etc.
• Leads to merchandising sales ($$$)!
• Opportunities in the short-term

André Richelieu 2017 5

STORYTELLING

• Building a story around the brand, players, coaches, fans, etc.

• Nurturing a myth around the sports brand
• Strengthening the emotional bond with fans
• Connecting generations (i.e. inter-generational influences)
• Credibility based on performance and success over time
• Efficient in the long run (more so than retro-marketing; yet, they are often combined)
• But product on the field, the essence of the brand promise
• Essential to perform, not live in the past!
• Balance between marketing, finance and on-field product (see first lectures)
• Video examples…

André Richelieu 2017 6

BUILDING A STRONG BRAND EQUITY

• Financial and consumer-based brand equity

• Financial-based
• Revenues, profits, Forbes’ ranking
• Maximizing financial performance
• Consumer-based (Keller, 1993)
• Awareness
• Brand image
• Brand attributes (identity & personality)
• Benefits derived from using the brand (perceived value: ceiling price)
• Attitudes towards the brand
• Consumption & loyalty

André Richelieu 2017 7

SYNTHESIS OF SYNTHESES

• Diverse brand strategies…

• Co-branding, extensions, retro-marketing, storytelling
• Beyond the “4Ps”!
• Strengthening the identity and positioning (USP) of the sports brand
• Authenticity and coherence are essential
• Dilution, rejection, cannibalization, etc.
• Strong brand equity
• Financial and consumer-based
• Examples to crystallize our learnings
• “Moodle” and others

André Richelieu 2017 8