The power of public relations to guide the rebranding of a sports team

Kaizer Chiefs is getting it Right

What pops in your mind when these two words are mentioned: Kaizer Chiefs? If you quickly reckoned soccer,  well you relatively are correct but we have seen over the years that there is whole lot more to this brand than soccer. Kaizer Chiefs is a South African soccer team established in 1970, playing in the Premier Soccer League which is the top division of our soccer in the country. Kaizer Chiefs has won the PSL five times already since its reform in 1996 as it was known as National Soccer League(NSL)  before then. However, this is not a Kaizer Chiefs biography or anything of that nature. We will be looking at Kaizer Chiefs as a brand, and how they have achieved this much success that they are enjoying at this stage. We will draw the light on their PR and Marketing strategies for the most part of this piece. http://goo.gl/nPKViG

Image by Google: Kaizer Chiefs Rugby Sevens team with club Marketing Manager Jessica Motaung

Kaizer Chiefs resonates with other sporting codes these days, as we have witnessed their launch of a rugby 7’s team in 2011. The first registered and recognised black-owned rugby team to come out of South Africa. This endeavor alone changed the face of rugby and soccer, as the two sports never met before but Kaizer broke the boundaries and continues doing so. As a result, in 2010 they launched their life insurance in partnership with their sole sponsor Hollard. They opened a retail store for their fans to access their merchandise and artifacts at low prices; they integrated their store with their online store to accommodate the digital citizens. That shows the level of innovation involved in this brand and their community relation is excellent (in this case their supporters).

Kaizer Chiefs sponsors like; Nike, Vodacom, Hollard and Carling Black Label to mention but a few, are huge brands with a clean fabrics and reputations in their own respect, hence their relationship with Amakhosi is the one that many soccer teams in this country need to acquaint themselves with. For example, Nike has been sponsoring Amakhosi (as they are affectionately known) for more than a decade and we see their relationship going stronger every season as they unveil their new kits to their  devoted fans. 

In essence, a lot of teams in this country need to learn from teams like Chiefs the techniques and PR strategies to rebrand their teams as lucrative businesses conglomerates. Rebranding of soccer teams is important in this fast-paced digital world.  We see teams changing sponsors every season, and it’s not hard to tell that teams are obviously being dropped by sponsors because they lack the skills to maintain business relationships that can sustain through time. Basically, South African soccer teams lack good Public Relations practitioners.