There is no doubt that having a strong brand attracts success, and that successful brands have no problem attracting lucrative sponsorship; just take a look at Team GB.
While other Olympic teams are referred to by nation such as the Canadian Olympic Team, or Italian Olympic Team, Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Olympic team engaged with the British Olympic Association to create its simple brand, ‘Team GB’.
IMG Licensing, Team GB’s licensing partner, reports that since the success at the 2012 London Olympics, which saw Team GB achieve their record position of third in the medals table with 29 golds and 65 medals overall, the brand has begun to gain serious traction.
The ‘Team GB’ brand now carriers unrivalled memories of sporting history, and incorporates one of the most iconic sports logos in the world with instantaneous recognition, the Olympic Rings. Its brand awareness has also remained at 99% and boasts a social media following of 1.9million fans, making ‘Team GB’ the number four most popular sports brand on Facebook.
With such a strong and recognisable brand, it is easy to build up sponsorship with big names: Team GB is once again building its commercial profile with new sponsors Nissan, DHL, and Fitness First joining BP and Adidas, and living up to the British Olympic Association’s mission statement to produce ‘Our Greatest Team’.
A simple but unique brand creates revenue opportunities that will deliver new sponsorship for the long-term.
