“Branding is much more designing logos and merchandising,” says Mudhafer al Sarmi, a branding expert in one of the top-selling Omani authors, in his book “Serotonin Brands” (2016).
He adds brilliantly that “Chemicals carry different feelings between our nerve cells and the rest of our body; while Dopamine carries rewards, Oxytocin facilitates us feeling loved, and Endorphin helps kill our pain, successful branding can release that mood stabilisation feeling.”
This was evident in the recent public conversations about the sponsorship and selected co-branding deal announcement between Oman Air and Chelsea Football Club of the English Premier League, for an undisclosed sum.
In our highly connected world, the public has become even more aware of the look and feel of successful branding.
Moreover, successful branding on such an international level inspires all and signals that the level of strategic alignment between public and private sector leaders is world-class.
In reality, there are three different opinions about this deal; while the majority think it is a good deal, there are others that think it is bad, and a few even opined that it is an ugly deal.
The good deal argument
The good deal camp loves three aspects of it.
First, that our national airline will be Chelsea’s global travel partner offering brand visibility in airports where the team would play.
Second, a few players are likely to visit different parts of the Sultanate of Oman which would be a boost of tourism with the Club followers.
Last but not least, Oman Air’s air hostesses and air hosts will be present at relevant match events. What makes this argument even stronger is that Chelsea is a rising football star with fans in every corner of the world who root for the underdog. In addition, there is no such thing as a perfect deal and this was a quick global marketing win.
The bad deal argument
This camp focuses on one main argument; the greatest value in football club branding deals lies in what football sees the most; the t-shirts and stadiums and this deal doesn’t include either. We love associating with the brands we love from our clothing style to cars and even clubs we support.
Hence, it was a disappointment that a deal with an undisclosed sum couldn’t secure such a branding opportunity.
It’s worth mentioning that regional players struck successful branding deals; for example; Emirates with Arsenal, Manchester City with Etihad, Saudi with New Castle, and perhaps soon Qatar with Manchester United.
The ugly deal argument
A few deal followers argue that this is more than an airline sponsorship gone wrong, it’s a strategic branding failure.
They also argue that the recently announced of National Negotiations Team could have guaranteed a better deal with a better Return on Investment - RoI.
More significantly, good governance principles call for transparency, especially in a deal that is about one of the most followed topics by the public- sports, and football.
Even though the deal partners held a press conference a number of points are still unclear: What’s the RoI?
How will the players promote Oman as a brand? What is the visibility and significance of having staff present at the matches from a strategic perspective? And if other benefits were discussed can the deal be re-negotiated?
I am amazed at how much joy and excitement our new generations still feel about this global sport football. In every house in Oman and around the world, there’s at least one kid who not only enjoyed watching the world cup but also knows more about the players and data more than the sports channels.
I pray that such coming significant national deals will be more successful in gaining unified public support, enough to release our Serotonin and stabilise our positive mood.
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