Green Bay is celebrating its 1923 season (the year the team became publicly owned) with a full throwback uniform, including the NFL’s first faux-leather painted helmet. Similarly, the Pittsburgh Steelers will launch throwbacks paying tribute to the team’s 1933 season. These designs are part of a popular trend in sports as teams introduce retro looks to honor their history, boost merchandise sales, and energize the fanbase.
Let’s talk a little more about throwbacks and how it relates to the business of sports.
Click here to read the story at sports.yahoo.com.
Classroom Discussion:
Branding
- What is a brand?
- Why is 1923 such an important year for the Packers’ brand?
- How does revisiting the team’s origin represent the idea of branding?
Licensed Merchandise
- Why are merchandise sales important to sports teams like the Packers and Steelers?
- How do throwback uniforms help drive merchandise sales?
Publicity & PR Buzz
- Why do you think the Packers’ introduction of “leather helmets” got so much media attention?
- What made this uniform reveal stand out from typical alternate jersey announcements?
- Do you think the team benefits from all that media attention and social media conversation, even if some of it is negative? Why or why not?
Fandom
- What is fandom?
- Why do you think fans get excited about old-school uniforms?
- What does that have to do with marketing?
Role Play
- Who is your favorite sports team?
- Imagine you are a marketing professional working for that team, and management has decided they want to introduce throwback uniforms. What era would you choose and why?
- How would you promote the release? Would you tease the design on social media, host a special event, create a hype video, or host an unboxing on YouTube and/or the team’s app?
- Would you launch a merchandise collection along with the jerseys? If so, what kinds of products (hats, hoodies, posters, etc.) would you include?