The document discusses branding and typologies of football clubs in Liga 1 Romania. It examines the key components of a sports brand, including history, values, symbols, and fan base. It then profiles each of the 14 clubs in Liga 1, analyzing their brand elements, history, strengths, weaknesses, and community. While the brands of some clubs are well defined, others struggle from a lack of updated online presence and marketing, and most Romanian clubs have yet to fully realize the business and marketing potential of their brands.

1. LIGA 1 ROMANIA
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF FOOTBALL CLUBS

2. Brand Components (Esteve Calzada, 2013)
APPLICATION
STRATEGY
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one
product or service over another. (Seth Godin) It is the sum of the all tangible and intangible characteristics that individualize and differentiate a
product/ company and makes them unique in the market place.
What about a sports brand?
It is the complete set of images and associations held in the mind of the supporter.
2017 finds the Romanian football in a critical and alarming situation. Poor infrastructure, lack of transparency, minimum of investments or nothing
invested at all in the grassroots, financial impossibility, high number of litigations regarding the brands and the records of the clubs, are just a few of
the major factors that lead to this unacceptable situation. The risen that has been noticed in the press, as far as that goes in the statistics of the
litigations mentioned above, has a damaging impact on the football clubs involved in the process, leading to a lack of their identity and in the same
time affecting their brands, fact that allows multiple bad consequences and a debasement of the Romanian football .
The distincitve elements of a brand can be classified like this:
1. Iconography (badge, graphic elements)
2. Text (name & slogans)
3. Sound elements (songs & athems)
4. Informal elements (nicknames, mascots, celebrations, rituals)
(Esteve Calzada, 2013)
Understanding the importance of the
brand represents the key of the success
and for the clubs, no matter what is their
size, it is necessary to recognize the value.
The identity of a team’s brand or its personality is important for applying the management & marketing strategies successfully by taking into
consideration the position of the club and depending on the values they promote and how the fans perceive it. On most of the cases, a team is
recognised for its history, tradition, victories, tactics and fans behaviour.
History and positioning, results, commercial operations and management strategies create the intangible image of
a sports property. Day-to-day activities will also have a big impact on this image. Moreover, on-the-pitch
circumstances, the bad/ good results of the matches, the activities of the managers in their business and private lives,
are eloquent examples of situations that depending on their exposure in the media, may influence more or less this
intangible image (the brand). All these elements along with other characteristics like: records, number of winnings,
personality of a player/ coach/ sport director give personality to the team and make the brand to stand out.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

3. BRAND IS NOT
A LOGO
CORPORATE
IDENTITY
ADVERTISING
MARKETING
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

4. BRAND MANAGEMENT
1. Designing the iconography of the brand
2. Identifying new ideas and finding different elements in order to be adopted
3. Legal registration to avoid potential offenders
4. Delivering legitimacy of the brand- encouraging its use, especially by the whole team
members of the club
5. Using publicity to maximise the connotation of the brand
6. Protecting it by keeping an eye on its application (checking who has the right to use it and
how – sponsors, licenses, etc.) and suing those that use it illegally.
IDENTITY
POSITIONING
MARKETING ACTIVITIES
BRAND EQUITY
The majority of the international football clubs overlook the brand as an opportunity to maximise their revenues. Harnessing
your brand in the correct way can be hugely beneficial in terms of generating added revenue that can be invested into playing
staff or infrastructure.
When it comes to sell something intangible, branding is even harder. Because of this, most of the foreign teams use
sponsorships as a support, in this way, establishing through them a bigger fan base. By carefully selecting them, you can easily
target the right customer segment.
Also, the big stars of sports have a big impact on the brand image. For example, when Real Madrid signed Cristiano Ronaldo
from Manchester United, the club jumped up to no. 2 from no. 5 on the media brand list of advertisers.
EXAMPLES OF IMPORTANT INTERNATIONAL BRANDS
Manchester United – the most valuable football club brand for 3 years in a row (almost $1 billion dollars)
Real Madrid – the strongest football club brand in the world
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

5. BRAND IS
CONFIDENCE
PASSION
BELONGING
ACTION
SECURITY
A SET OF UNIQUE VALUES
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

6. BRAND POSITIONING
Marketing Foundation - Mary de Gendre (2013)
1. DOMAIN
2. HERITAGE
3. VALUES
4. ASSETS
5. PERSONALITY
6. REFLECTION
1. The target market of the brand – its position in the marketplace
2. Its history and culture – the way it has achieved success/ failure
over its life.
3. The essential values and characteristics of the brand
4. What makes the brand to stand out in the marketplace?
(symbols, relations, characteristics)
5. The character of the brand described in terms of other entities
such as people, animals or objects.
6. How the customer perceives him/herself as a result of
buying/using the brand.
How does a sport brand differ to a conventional brand?
THE SIZEABLE PRESENCE OF A BRAND FANATIC
- - - - - - - -
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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PRODUCT
LOW
GENERIC STRONG
HIGH
INVOLVEMENT
OF THE USER
VALUES OF
THE BRAND
BRAND
‘RELIGION’
Sport Brands encapsulate the phenomenon of the brand
‘religion’ where the value of the brand becomes so high in the
mind of the consumer that he/she will ALWAYS stay loyal to it.
What makes the true supporters remain loyal
even when results are not good?
It is the club’s PHILOSOPHY and VALUES.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

7. The world’s most valuable football clubs brands
(Brand Finance Study)
$1.7 Billion $1.4 Billion $1.34 Billion
$1.29 Billion $1.26 Billion $1 Billion
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

8. TEAM SALIENCE
TEAM
PERFORMANCE
TEAM
IMAGERY
FANS
JUDGEMENTS
FANS
FEELINGS
FANS – TEAM
RESONANCE
2. Meaning – What is the Team?
1. Identity – Who is the Team?
3. Responses – What about the Team?
4. Relationship – What about the Team and Fans?
Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001)
Brand Equity Pyramid created by Keller (2001)
represents the most realistic and modern framework
that shows the building process of the brand equity by
following a set of steps that should be applied and
coordinated by the management team of the clubs.
Thus, this department must have a clear vision and
understanding of the team salience and take into
consideration in their analysis the performance and
image of the team, the opinions of the fans and their
feelings regarding the club.
Not eventually, it must be evaluated the most
important characteristic - how the fans resonates with
the team – together with the CSR part (Corporate
Social Responsibility) and make it easier for their club
to leverage long-term loyalty with the supporters.
The very first step is to explore the reasons of the
team’s existence, followed by other decisive steps like
defining the identity of the team and its relation with
the fans. It must be mentioned that every single step is
complex and depends on the success of the previous
steps. The management sector should not jump to the
next step without defining the previous one.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

9. Fan Based Brand Equity Framework – Keller (2001)
HIERARCHY OF INTENT AND NEEDS SATISFACTION
TEAM RELIABILITY
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS
TEAM STYLE
TICKET PRICE
FAN DEMOGRAPHIS FACTORS
FAN PSGYCHOGRAPHIC FACTORS
MODE OF SPORT CONSUMPTION
PERSONALITY/ VALUES OF FANS
HISTORY/ PERFORMANCE OF TEAM
QUALITY
CREDIBILITY
SUPERIORITY
CONSIDERATION
WARMTH
FUN
EXCITEMENT
SECURITY
SOCIAL APPROVAL
SELF RESPECT
LOYALTY
ATTACHAMENT
COMMITMENT
ENGAGEMENT
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CONSEQUENCES
FAN LOYALTY
MERCHANDISE SALE
JERSEY RIGHTS
MEDIA EXPOSURE
TICKET SALES
This figure explains the a little bit more the framework
created in the previous one, offering a more detailed picture
and showing some of the consequences.
By understanding the reason why your club does exist, it may
be defined the hierarchy of intent. Thus, it is bringing in the
minds of the fans the category of the product, its logo, symbol,
name and possible nicknames. It will be considered the
easiness with which the fans recognise and identify the team, it
will be analysed its performance which depends not only on
the matches results but also on their reliability, consistency,
effectiveness and playing style. All of these contribute to
strengthening the brand loyalty and a growth in sales.
Then it will be analysed the market in order to target the
consumers correctly from a demographic (gender, race,
ethnicity, income, marital status) and psychographic (attitude
towards sports/ life, social issues, possessions, careers or
political interest) point of view and by not forgetting about the
mode of consumption of sports, fans personalities and their
values and finally the past history or performance of the team.
Moreover, it will be evaluated whether the team lives in the
mind or in the heart of the fans. The first ones tend to take
rational decisions and to appreciate the quality of the team,
the value of the players, the reliability of the team and its
superiority towards other teams. The other type of fans acts
impulsive but offer more emotions, warmth, joy, being
attracted by the fun found in the team, its social approval, self-
respect and patriotism.
Lastly, the top of the pyramid shows the existence or the lack
of strong psychological bond between the fans and the team.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

10. Branding benefits (for organizations):
• Provides value to the company (clubs) - brand equity - is used to measure brand power on the
market; an increased equity of the brand generates intangible value to the firm, in terms of
sales and profit
• Ensures consumer (fan) loyalty - strong brands have positive effects on consumer perceptions
and preferences
• Apply a barrier to competition - it is difficult for new brands to compete with the strong and
positive perceptions owned by buyers on top brands
• Higher profits (eg improving the performance of merchandising and ticketing departments)
• Media exposure
Branding benefits (for consumers):
• Effective communication of features and benefits - at first instance - brands are a source of
product information. They communicate about the product and its benefits. Brand features
make it easier for consumers to identify their products
• Trust - Branding builds trust and reduces the risk of socially embarrassing situations
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

11. LIGA 1
The Professional League of Football (LPF) is a sporting structure of all the professional football clubs in
Romania which are competing in the first football echelon – evolving under the name of ‘LIGA 1’ since 1993.
The idea of establishing this federation is old and determined by the necessity of organizing the supreme
competition of football in any country, which is the national championship. Romania has made no exception to
this basic rule of international football and acted accordingly. At present, the competition is made up of only 14
teams.
• 1934/35 – the first championship with one group – 12 teams
• 1946/68 - period with year-to-year fluctuations – between 12 and 14 teams
• 1968/69 – 16 teams
• 19733/74 – 18 teams (constant number till 1999)
• 1999/2000 – 16 teams
• 2006/20015 – 18 teams
Since 2015, League 1 is made up of 14 teams, playing in the play - off and play - out system.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

12. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
1. FCSB
2. DINAMO
3. F.C. VOLUNTARI
4. CONCORDIA CHIAJNA
5. JUVENTUS BUCUREȘTI
6. F.C. BOTOȘANI
7. CSM IAȘI
8. VIITORUL CONSTANȚA
9. ASTRA GIURGIU
10. CS UNIVERSITATEA CRAIOVA
11. ACS POLI TIMIȘOARA
12. CFR CLUJ
13. GAZ METAN MEDIAȘ
14. SEPSI OSK
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

13. This study’s focus is on finding the relevant characteristics of every single football club in Liga 1 and to see what kind of brand
they have. Even with a significant number of international academic literature about sport branding, it was hard to apply it
because Romania has a lack of information, documents and reports regarding this topic and its situation and there is so much
research to be done here as a fact that this subject wasn’t approach at a professional high level. Above all, this paper is based
on secondary data documented by academic international literature which highlights the importance of branding in sport and
sport articles, official websites of the football clubs and pages created by supporters which are critical in order to find the right
characteristics of the teams. All of these can help to create a big picture about the current situation and to figure out some of
the solutions.
The teams were analysed and compared with each other by checking and investigating all of their online official pages (13
websites, 14 Facebook pages, 11 Instagram accounts, 6 Twitter pages and 5 YouTube channels), 21 pages created by
supporters, 896 press articles (sport.ro, prosport.ro, gsp.ro) and mostly based on the study cases of Couvelaere & Ricehelieu
(2005). It was taken into consideration the quantity and quality of the available information about history, best/ worst results,
continuity, community, strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, it was tried to find out relevant symbols for each club, badges and
popularity.
For example, at very first sight, it is observed the presence of the football ball on 64% of the badges, for the rest of 36%
(Viitorul Constanța, Dinamo, Universitatea Craiova, Juventus București, FCSB) being missed. Other noted elements: stars (FCSB,
Dinamo, Concordia Chiajna, Astra Giurgiu), the year of establishment –for more than half of the clubs and the shield. If the
football ball determines what kind of sport is played by these clubs, distinguishing them from the others, the stars, a symbol of
masculinity, suggest brilliance, excellence, victory, the year of its foundation allows anchoring in history, and the shield conveys
the idea of a fighter spirit.
For most of the clubs, the analysis has been hampered by lack of information: outdated websites with little content. One of
the most relevant example is Sepsi OSK which does not even have a website and their Facebook page is predominantly written
in Hungarian.
Taking as an example the study by Couvelaere and Richelieu (2005), it was noted that when talking about Lille Olympique SC,
the world thinks of a spirit of fighter, solidarity and modernity, and in the case of Olympique Marseille, there is the emotional
warmth and sympathy. Thus, this model has been taken into account to help examine the characteristics of Liga1 clubs.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

14. TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
FCSB
STEAUA
red-blue
Gheorghe Becali
‘Trup si suflet pentru culori!’
(everything for the team)
Excellence, dynamism, tradition
The most titled football club in
Romania
Winner of the UEFA Champions
League (1986)
international reputation/
national brand
a division of the supporters
support
a fierce drive to win
popularity
glorious past
identity issues
pressure on coaches
financial interest is ahead of
football
DINAMO
‘cainii rosii’ –red dogs
Haldan
white-red
family, unity, tradition
CSR
the second most prestigious football
club in Romania
present in international
competitions
accepted and supported by the
community
show in the stands
diehard and devoted fans
glorious past
the stadium
conflicts between supporters
and patronage
lack of international
performance
CONCORDIA
CHIAJNA
the ‘eagles’
yellow-green
vitality It is not perceived as a historic club
local brand
supported by the community
desire to fight
friendship
uncertainty at the technical
bank level
difficulty staying in Liga 1
JUVENTUS
BUCURESTI
symbolic features
similar to those of the
Juventus Torino team
investment in the grassroots
respect
historic promotion in Liga1
local brand
integrate only at the
'neighborhood‘ level
devotion
motivation
it s considered a
neighborhood club
FC
VOLUNTARI
anchor
borrows from the spirit of Rapid
(acquiring the former glories from
Giulesti)
-young club (founded in 2010) local brand
hardworking, desire to
build a strong club
‘Mircea Rădulescu’
Academy
it does not have a clear
identity
ASTRA
GIURGIU
Sumudica tenacity It is not perceived as a historic club
international level performance
it is not a club accepted by the
community yet
it is perceived from the
sporting point of view as a
valuable team
it does not yet have a clear
position
lack of strategy on the part of
children and juniors
VIITORUL
CONSTANTA
‘V’
Gheorghe Hagi
‘Hagi’ Academy
trust for the future
young people
value
It is not perceived as a historic club
local brand
it is not accepted as a
community team
from the level of children,
translated at national level by
winning the title in Liga 1
perseverance; fighter
spirit
tenacity
not identifying with the
community
lack of tradition or historical
past
*It was considered the UEFA’s statement regarding the position of FCSB. Although FCSB has international prestige with notable results and is a national brand, it can not move on to the next level of international brand because it
has not expanded its marketing activities and did not enter the other countries market from the football point of view. Example: Real Madrid / Juventus / Manchester United - have broadcasted matches across Europe, Asia and
much of America, spread academies around the globe, and an international marketing campaign.
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
October – November 2017

15. TEAM SYMBOL VALUES HISTORY COMMUNITY STRENGHTS WEAKNESSES
CS U
CRAIOVA
‘leii din Banie’
‘Eterna Terra Nova’
Balaci
nationalist spirit
Energy, vitality
‘abonati la istorie’ (‘subscribers to
history’)
internationally known team
dividing fans because of
multiple identities
through the new arena,
the union of the
supporters in one group
will be achieved
disputes with the ex - former
team from Liga 1
division of supporters
ACS POLI
TIMISOARA
‘Recas’
adaptability
growth
the violet phenomenon
regional brand
it was not accepted as a
continuation of the history of
Poli Timişoara
a catalyst for local
energies
financial problems
CFR CLUJ
white – burgundy
the champions from
Transilvania
more than a club, more than a
team, a phenomenon ‘
fighting to be accepted as a
traditional brand
regional brand
ambition
seriousness
history
the lack of fidelity of
supporters over the years
GAZ METAN
MEDIAS
‘Gazul’ resistance It is not perceived as a historic club
local brand
the community does not hold it
as a relevant brand
the mathematician coach:
Cristian Puştai (he has
released great players
such as Eric de Oliveira
and Tha’er Bawab)
financial uncertainty
lack of strategy at a junior
level
SEPSI OSK secuimea unity It is not perceived as a historic club
local brand
the community is represented
by the team
trying to unite the nations
through football
Hungarian-Romanian conflict
the predominant use of
Hungarian on all
communication platforms
CSM POLI
IASI
it does not identify
with a symbol
'part of the city, part of your heart‘
'United we will win'
the longest-running professional club
in Moldova
still fails to become a national
brand but aims to achieve the
goal
community support
fans' dissatisfaction with the
leaders
FC BOTOSANI
it does not identify
with a symbol
‘a love of life over the years’
-stability, balance
2013 – 1st promotion in Liga 1
local brand
the community is represented
by the team
professionalism, fairness
European values; fair play
club with local resonance
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
October – November 2017

16. TEAM WEBSITE APP
FCSB yes 1.900.000 26.100 725 / /
Dinamo yes 432.835 17.000 929 17.000 da
Universitatea Craiova yes 161. 425 1.500 789 1.700 /
CFR Cluj yes 102. 071 1.200 / / /
FC Viitorul yes 92.000 143 / 4.600 da
ACS Poli Timișoara yes 28.494 983 441 / /
CSM Poli Iași yes 27.994 110 / 615 /
FC Botoșani yes 18.381 / 352 344 /
Astra Giurgiu yes 13.919 191 535 / /
ACS Sepsi OSK no 9.213 / / / /
Gaz Metan Mediaș yes 9.118 / / / /
FC Voluntari yes 8.365 571 / / /
Concordia Chiajna yes 5.000 196 / / /
Juventus București yes 123 106 / / /
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1
October – November 2017

17. Fans are marketing on steroids. They talk, they promote, they lead by example. Additionally to this, branding in football
is an important business nowadays that although it is about money, it is driven by emotional experience, passion and
constant victories.
Following the analysis of the Liga1 clubs, it was found that if most fans do not agree with the leaders of the clubs,
considering that their actions reflect interest in business and disintegrate football itself, so clubs lose their identity and ,
while decreasing the number of supporters. Decisions leadership should be in line with fans' wishes because they are the
ones who "hold" the brand.
The majority of the international football clubs identify themselves with a representative stadium (home ground of the
team/ 2nd home for the supporters) and it used to be like this in Romania too but it’s changed now because of the
litigations and it is no longer possible to apply this on a lot of the clubs in Liga 1. The poor infrastructure can be noticed
from the bottom to the top and it causes damages to the level of the Romanian football: lack of training grounds for
children, amateurs and even professionals, pitches in bad conditions, all of these leading to a low desire in practicing this
sport in term of kids, thus having a lack of national youth talents and in conclusion awful results not only for the teams
clubs but for the national team too.
Moreover, it was also observed the lack of transparency of the club's actions, the lack of a strategy that involves both
what happens on the field and outside it, as well as the lack of knowledge of club fan clubs, which prevents them from
identifying with the club and at the same time increasing and attracting them in a bigger number.
Last but not least, the financial shortfalls faced by most clubs over the past few years have favored weak results, limiting
their evolution and exposure, both internally and externally.
CONCLUSION
BRANDS AND TYPOLOGIES OF THE FOOTBALL CLUBS IN LIGA 1

18. CONTRIBUTORS
GAITAN CRISTIANA MARIA
7 years in the sports world had lead to developing a strong
passion for it and a deeper understanding of its power.
Being involved in various worldwide collaboration roles and
internships I gained practical experience within the sport
and events industry and working as part of an international
large team.
Glad to represent and be part of the BA (Hons) Sport
Management team at Coventry University.
E. cristianamariagaitan@gmail.com
sportsbusinessacademy.ro
Sports Business Academy is the first academy of sports business from Romania and East Europe dedicated to professionals and lovers within the
sport sector. Since 2015, Sports Business Academy has been organising workshops where sports representatives from Romania such as: Ana Maria
Branza (Olympic Champion - Fencing), Ciprian Marica (Captain of the National Football Team), Irina Begu (WTA TOP Tennis Player), Stefan Birtalan
(World Champion - Handball), Monica Rosu (Double Olympic Champion – Gymnastics) Camelia Potec (Olympic Champion - Swimming), Mihai Leu
(World Champion WBO) and other experts from sports industry were invited.
GHEORGHE CRISTIAN DRAGOS
For almost 6 years (2006-2012) - Executive Manager at
Sportul Studentesc, and since June 2012 - Country Sales
Manager at Sports Evolution Group (SEG), the leader in the
sports marketing industry in Romania. Initiator of the first
sports marketing school as part of the Academy of Studies
Economics (the first academy dedicated to sports
professionals and lovers) - Sports Business Academy and
co-author of the Sports Marketing Manual.
Proud for being included in "Introduction to Marketing" by
Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong.
E. cristian.gheorghe@sportexplore.com