TANK agency to rebrand AFL Players Association

A complete brand audit was undertaken, including extensive interviews held with management, staff, stakeholders and each player. In addition, a competitor audit was undertaken to establish differentiating brand elements.

From the brand audit, came insights that identified some inspiring brand values implicit in the Association such as; united, courageous, supportive, respectful and a sense of brotherhood.  

TANK immediately identified that the key attributes of the organisation came from the players themselves, who the stakeholders and community wanted to relate with on a personal level.  The brand strategy was to create a sense of belonging with all the players and consequently leverage the loyalty each player feels for their club. This laid the foundation for the core brand idea being; “For the players. By the players.”

The rebrand was designed to achieve some key business outcomes including increasing the commercial benefits of the AFL Players Association as well as providing opportunities for its partners.

The brand was identified as needing to embrace a more contemporary look and feel, along with and more contemporary business model.

Says Christine Finnegan general manager marketing, AFL Players Association: “What impressed us the most with TANK, was the agency’s capacity to look at the overall brand as well as the individual players themselves. Their team recognised and advised us that the key to our success was inspiring our own players to live and breathe the brand internally as well as communicating to stakeholders in such a way that they would connect and believe in the organisation, on a human level.”