Our Future

Presented on 4 October 2024, the following content forms part of the club’s rebranding critique and proposal.

The following evaluation was conducted by the Board after the 2024 rugby season. The findings presented are based on feedback from a diverse group, including club members, management, supporters, and players.

 

Brand Assessment

• Brand Core Identity
• Verbal Identity
• Visual Identity
• Brand Evaluation

 

Brand Core Identity

Assessment to determine our brand’s current effectiveness in the sporting community.

What’s your club’s name?
Spotswood United Rugby and Sports Club INC.

Why is it named that?
Name that was agreed upon when two former rugby clubs merged back in 1990. Spotswood being one of the former names and united combining the two clubs amalgamating

What should your club’s name suggest for existing or potential members?
A socially, welcoming club formed from a united history and a visual conscious club that is providing a positive sporting difference.

As an club, who are you?
We are a sports club whose primary goal is to provide sporting activities for our community.

What is your club’s purpose?
Our purpose is to be a sustainable and viable sports club that welcomes all walks of life into our sporting and social family.

What do you do as a club?
We provide rugby, netball, and bowls sporting services to New Plymouth.

What are your clubs’ values?
Teamwork, Innovation, Excellence, Respect, Honor and Passion, One Club

Who are your members?
Our members come from all cultural backgrounds.

Where are your members located?
Throughout New Plymouth, but the vast majority are in the western side of New Plymouth.

Ideally, how do you want to be perceived in the sporting community?
As a welcoming, passionate and viable sports club achieving goals and providing an enjoying environment to our members and community.

How would you describe your club’s personality?
We strive for the best with limited recourses, we work hard and play hard, but historically seem to be chasing our tail (excuse the pun) yet we are easygoing. We are driven primarily by everyone wanting the club to succeed.

What do you hope to achieve with your brand?
We would like the brand to make people proud to be a member of either playing or social wise.

What’s the primary image you want your brand to convey?
Unity……. This could be a multiple answer here.

How can your brand help you achieve your goals?
I would like to instil a sense of professionalism, a link to our community and be known in the sporting community as a respected brand and club.

Who is your “target audience”?

• Juniors: 4-13 years
• Senior players: 18-to-36-year-old
• Supporters / Sponsors: 18-80+

How do you think your brand can help reinforce your club’s offerings?
Become a recognisable brand that people know they can be proud of and want to be a part of.

Who are your competitors?
Local town teams: NPOB, Tukapa

What distinguishes you from your competitors?
Playing on Yarrows Number 1 ground, easier pathway for players to play premier rugby

What is it that makes you better than your competitors?
Willingness to adapt and try different approaches.

How can your brand help you best your competitors?
Become a recognisable, viable brand with the willingness to adopt for the current sports market.

Overall, on a scale of 1–10 (“1” being “not very effective” and “10” being “highly effective”), how would you rate the effectiveness of your brand’s core offerings?
6 – 7.

What do you believe needs to change (if anything) to make your brand’s core identity more effective?
The think the “look” of our brand (logo, etc.) could be updated and a new image replaced. Remove the “Dog” image that has similarities to a gang image.

 

Verbal Identity

Answer the following questions about the verbal qualities of our brand to help us assess whether improvements need to be made to our brand’s messaging.

How would you describe your brand’s tone?
A sense of a positive outlook, fun, friendliness. A club that cares about our diverse culture and is willing to go above and beyond to make a positive impact to our members.

What is your brand’s tagline?

 

• “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
• “Spotty Proud!”
• “Spotty Dogs”
• “Doggies”

 

Does your tagline work? Is it effective? Why or why not?
It could be updated – we want something not so harsh (e.g., “Who Let the Dogs Out”).

The dogs has a little bit of negative aspect to it in the public eye.

How would you sum up your brand’s “elevator pitch”?
Undetermined.

What other “key messaging” does your brand offer?
Various marketing collateral, including web information, great merchandise available through website and within club.

What is your brand’s value proposition? 

Inspire, connect, and unite. “Vision Statement” is new. .

What are your brand’s main selling points?
Our marketing and visual footprint, our level to reach playing premier rugby easier than some other clubs, our openness to help and support anyone with the hope of new members, individuals within the club who are a draw card either playing with or being coached by.

What unique value do your members receive from your products/services?
Doggie treat cards, low-cost bar prices……… not sure if its unique?

Overall, on a scale of 1–10 (“1” being “not very effective” and “10” being “highly effective”), how would you rate the effectiveness of your brand’s verbal identity?
6-7.

What do you believe needs to change (if anything) to make your brand’s verbal identity more effective?
We need to work on the “why” of why we’re a club. (As they say, people do not buy “what” you do or “how” you do it – they buy because of a clubs “why” / reason.) I think ours needs some thought and work.

Visual Identity

What imagery and verbiage is/isn’t working in your logo? Why?
The dog logo is similar to a national gang’s logo and that is an association not wanted by the club. We need to a have a “positive” image for positive change. Both the other logos of SU and the shield are fine, The SU represent a modern image which a number of our members like.

What is your club’s logo’s “colour palette”? Is it as contemporary as you would like it to be?
Black, Scarlet, Red – primary colours.

Yes, the colours are appropriate representing the two amalgamating clubs.

What typography do you use in your brand? Why?
Various over the different sectors

How well does your visual identity reflect your brand’s personality?
Multiple logos and designs all differentiating as above. The official logo is the shield.

How well is your brand reflected visually in the sporting community? How might it be improved? 
Fairly well. I think we have two options, go with one logo instead of the three we have, or a whole new fresh image.

How well does your brand differentiate you from other sports clubs?
It is not unique compared to some other sports club, but visually we want our brand to be recognisable in a positive manner.

Ideally, what would you like your visual identity to communicate?
Unity, Fun, Passion, and a positive perception from our sports community. .

Brand Evaluation

The following questions about our brand’s visual identity to help us assess whether improvements need to be made to our brand’s visual presence in the sporting community.

Overall, from what you’ve reflected on in this assessment process, how effective do you consider your brand to be? Why?
Somewhat effective, but an inconsistent one with due the many images and styles. This is mainly due to progression and evolution of the clubs brand and imagery.

colour palettes are good, and other visuals. But a new tagline could be created?

What opportunities do you think would help you improve your brand?
One image/logo or creation of a fresh positive image.

How will you track your brand’s effectiveness in the sporting community? In other words, What are KPIs that you’ll use to measure your brand’s effectiveness?)
We will use marketing KPIs and members-satisfaction KPIs

How will you measure brand awareness in the sporting community?
Through marketing KPIs (particularly the sponsors/business partners and community surveys scores). Social and web stats. Participation.

How will you measure brand-related referral traffic?
Stats from social media and website traffic

How will you track your brand-related earned media value?
Undetermined

How will you compare that earned media value to your competitors’?
By comparing to previous years sponsorship uptake and increased sponsors engagement as well as player numbers club wide.

How will you measure your brand-related social media effectiveness?
Stats. Post likes and viewership.

What are the key takeaways from this brand assessment?
Reflecting on this assessment: The brand is a little bit confused with so many diverse types of logos and images.

Due to the multiple images/logos, the core character and value of the club/brand has lost some direction that may be the cause of some of the current identify and image problems.

Identified two options,

1.Decide on one current logo and drop the subsidiaries.

2.Create a whole new fresh image.

What is your first action item to improve your brand?
Discuss new brand directions (visual and verbal) with key personnel within the club.

 

Brand Assessment Critique

Primary Image to Convey – Possible adjectives

• Inspire
• Connect
• Unite
• United … We are One (possible tag line)

Primary Values to Convey

• Teamwork
• Innovation
• Excellence
• Respect
• Honour and Passion
• One Club

Why Rebrand

• Modernisation – appealing to the target playing age group
• Shift in focus.
• Expansion of Sports Club
• Increase engagement
• Attract new members
• Create More teams
• Widen club use
• Negate past stigmas that the public may portray towards our club
• Enhance funding and sponsorship opportunities with new branding
• Community engagement
• Manage public perception
• Faze out the ‘Dog’ imagery with gang related connotations
• Traditional aspects – Good to keep
• Colours to remain for brand continuity: Scarlet, Gold and Black.
• Incorporate lion and star to show tradition, or fazed out if completely new approach

 

What distinguishes you from your competitors

• Multi-sports club
• Proven pathway to Super Rugby / Higher honours
• Excellent location and grounds (rugby)
• Club facilities and amenities
• Past event organisation
• Recent Super rugby and NPC player as a coach
• Loyal sponsors – Often little change unlike other clubs major sponsors
• Proactive involved board and sub committees

 

Target Audience

• Various target ages in different club sectors and should be treated like that via marketing. eg. Juniors/Parents, Players, Supporters and Sponsors.
• Change to make more effective brand
• Clarity, transparency and consistency
• Systems in place too measure to make sure going forward this is a true procedure for a successful club
• Emotional Connection. Past members to participate more in the club with a purposeful change

 

Branding typography

This will be determined on the approach the club are looking for the new brand.

Modern: San serif font face that is clean, modern, but also more casual.

Traditional: Serif font face. More ornate feel to convey history. Serif font is more historical associated and has a more formal appearance.

 

Brand Success / Measurement

• Public reaction and measuring interaction via social media promotion
• Increased club numbers
• Conduct an internal and public survey
• Member engagement
• Member acceptance
• Sponsor input, uptake and engagement

 

Multi-Logo within the club

• Consolidation of brands club-wide to be ‘United’.
• However, Pups name and branding is very attractive to younger members. Could use cubs
• None of the current major brands deviate from the overall club look with   
• Incorporation of the traditional shield logo

Current Brands

• Club / Rugby: Traditional Shield
• Netball: Still includes the traditional shield, but has own identity surround.
• This is only used in marketing. Uniforms have just the traditional shield.
• Junior Rugby: Merchandise purposes to appeal to a younger target market
• Who Let The Dogs Out: Separate marketing brand
• Spotty Proud: This was a tagline, but incorporated the dog