Go … ah, watch the game

When Tom Brady and the Patriots take the field tomorrow for (yet another) Super Bowl, they may not be playing the most watched game in sports. They will, however, be playing in what Forbes calls the “richest sports event brand.”

Now, this will come as a shock to some, but we here in the US tend to be very egocentric when it comes to our sports brands, not always without reason. The US has done a lot to turn plain old team loyalty into a marketing and revenue producing machine. That said, a look at the top brands shows that whatever branding skills international teams may once have lacked, they’ve caught on to branding in a big way. Of course, with the storied history of many of these teams, they had a strong basis, but there’s no question branding is an international phenomenon. That’s why Manchester United is the top team brand, largely based on the support of Asian Manchester United fans. That’s why the list of top athletes includes athletes from the US, UK, Russia, and Brazil.

So, when (or if) you watch the Patriots and Giants take the field, consider how those brands have built their international presence.

image from stagefronttickets