Not that the Old Lady’s brand lacked charm, but to conquer global markets, something new was needed. The Juventus rebranding is another one of those stories that demonstrate how a new image is fundamental to keep up with the times and conquer new markets and new target audiences. Football is no exception, and the most important clubs in the world have understood the importance of a makeover.
To stay in Italy, Milan began a journey by entrusting DixonBaxi with the communication aspect, giving a new identity that strikes and involves its fans. But the most relevant case is that of Juventus: after the Calciopoli scandal, which overwhelmed the Bianconeri club in 2006, there was a collapse in image worldwide as the verdict decreed sporting misconduct and relegation to Serie B, the first in its history. The following year, they won the cadet championship, immediately returning to the top league, but results struggled to arrive, both on the pitch and in terms of marketing and economics.
Andrea Agnelli and the beginning of the rebranding
The revolution began on May 19, 2010, when Andrea Agnelli became president of Juventus. The Turin family has an indissoluble bond with the Bianconeri club, dating back to 1923, when Edoardo Agnelli, son of the founder of Fiat, was elected to the highest office. With the arrival of the new head, the rebranding process began, which helped the club achieve significant successes in all fields. The first practical step was the construction of the first proprietary stadium in Italy, inaugurated by Juventus in 2011, one of the tangible signs of the change in image, which acquired a modern and cutting-edge structure. In terms of marketing, two strategies were followed: “Less is more” and “Step by step.”
The first is based on a small selection of well-known companies as sponsors, which, thanks to the use of new communication channels such as social media, have increased the visibility of the Bianconeri club worldwide, leading to a doubling of the club’s revenues in three years.
In this case, we speak of “less” regarding the number of partnerships, trying to link with a small number of companies with strong notoriety, creating a sort of loyalty. All this leads to “more,” or higher revenues than those obtainable with a wider circle of smaller entities as sponsors. At the same time, Juventus chose to address a target of football-loving teenagers, and the return to winning the Italian championship became fundamental to attract the new generation of boys, those who use social media the most.
The return to victory was also due to a perfect economic management by the Bianconeri management, which tried to invest without ever exaggerating – taking one step at a time (“step by step”) – and trying to self-finance through the sales of the most important players to bring capital gains to the Bianconeri budget. The most profitable was the sale of Paul Pogba, a strong French midfielder, who arrived in Turin in 2012 on a free transfer and was resold four years later for more than 100 million to Manchester United.
Exporting the brand
The next step was to internationalize the brand, that is, to make it known abroad, especially in the Asian continent, which is the one with the greatest economic development. Therefore, in recent years, it has organized summer tours in Eastern countries to promote the brand and sign sponsorship agreements that yield significant revenues for the club.
The subsequent steps were fundamental to solidify the excellent work done up to that point by Agnelli in terms of changing style. In 2013, the club changed its sponsor from Nike to Adidas, and the three stars were added to the jersey for the first time. What for many may seem like a detail is actually an important matter of image, represented by the willingness to show without hesitation that the Scudetto revoked after the Calciopoli scandal had been regularly won on the field. Traditionally, in fact, for every ten league titles won, a club can “sew” a star on its jersey. In 2013, when Juventus won what was officially its 29th Scudetto, the desire to put the third star on its chest was such that the Turin club prematurely broke its collaboration with Nike, which had refused to make the jersey in the absence of the official conferment of the title. Hence the switch to Adidas, which produced and began selling jerseys with three stars worldwide.
A new image for global markets
When talking about rebranding, the turning point was the change of the club’s logo, which definitively marked the new cycle of Juventus in 2017. A minimalist form was chosen, changing the font and going from eight graphic elements to just three that symbolize the stripes of the jersey, the Scudetto of victory, and the J in the name. It was decided to eliminate all historical references to Turin and the Savoy crown because the intention was to get closer to millennials who are not very interested in the history of a club. The logo was created by Interbrand, the agency responsible for the Juventus restyling, which was inspired by a phrase from lawyer Gianni Agnelli: “I get emotional every time I see a word starting with J in the newspapers.” From here came the idea of stylizing only the initial letter of the Bianconeri club so that it is recognizable internationally, echoing the brands of large global companies such as the M of McDonald’s and the G of Google.
This video is the business card of Juventus’s new change in style with the launch of the new slogan “Black and white and more!”. The title and the English voiceover already testify to the change of identity, with a good international reach to increasingly look towards global markets. In fact, the presentation itself confirms the direction taken by the rebranding: trying not to maintain territorial ties with the city but opening up to the world, approaching those who are discovering Italian football – and especially Juventus – for the first time.
There are few references to the past, as if identity no longer passes through a story made of emotions that binds the old supporters of the team but through the commercialization of the brand, where the main intention is to make itself known beyond its own borders. The commercial is closer to the reality of shoe brands like Adidas or Nike than a football club, as the sporting aspect is practically non-existent with some images of great champions like Zidane, Platini, and Del Piero. This advertising marks, in terms of marketing, the definitive transition from Juventus that only talks about football to a complete company, capable of carving out its own space in the international market.
The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo
The following year saw the most important investment at a footballing and economic level: the arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese phenomenon is the icing on the cake of the work done by President Agnelli and the entire Juventus club since 2010. Sportingly, the numbers speak for themselves: five Ballon d’Or awards, five Champions League titles, and many national championships. He was bought to aim for the Champions League but was fundamental for marketing to give a new face to this Juventus. His arrival led to an increase of 13 million new followers on social media in six months, 40 million views in a week, and 520,000 jerseys sold in 24 hours.
A real economic boom that was exploited to continue the famous internationalization process towards the East with the Juventus brand having a new image-figure, thus increasing its notoriety.
The rebranding-victories combination has led to significant successes, with the club now in fourth place among the most followed football clubs on social media and the Italian brand with the most followers on Instagram, having just surpassed Gucci. Turnover in these ten years has increased from 172 million to 621 million, and revenues from merchandising and stadium season tickets have increased. These numbers testify to the great commitment made by the club to rise from its ashes like the phoenix after the Calciopoli affair.
Drawing conclusions
In hindsight, all the choices made along this path were rightly intuited. However, along the way, many fans turned up their noses at some choices. Initially, the change of logo was heavily criticized by fans because it has a minimalist intent, not appreciated by those who have followed Juventus for decades. Furthermore, the Asian tours are not very functional from a sporting point of view, as they block the preparation for the season by putting the players under stress with intercontinental trips and matches played when they should be training. Despite the fact that it was not easy to find a compromise between marketing and sporting needs, the results of recent years are proving Agnelli right. And the purchase of Cristiano Ronaldo is another step to continue expanding its brand and winning in all fields. Because that is the only thing that matters.
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