OVERVIEW.

 

The Superbrands Organisation

 

Superbrands is the independent authority and arbiter on branding. The organisation promotes the discipline of branding and pays tribute to exceptional brands through programmes in 43 countries across four continents.

 

The organisation grants Superbrand and/or BrandLeader status to brands considered to warrant those awards by our independent and voluntary councils of experts. Only those brands highly rated by the council qualify for inclusion within an individual programme.

 

The organisation has earned the right to trade under ‘The Brand Council’ name within the UK following approval from the Secretary of State at the Department of Trade & Industry and fulfils its remit through:

 

* Publishing highly respected books that have been accepted as branding bibles.

* Dealing with national and international broadcast and press media on a daily basis re: branding issues.

* Managing www.superbrands.org

* Producing branding events throughout the year.

* Commissioning research on branding on an ongoing basis.

 

The Sport BrandLeaders programme

 

Sport can inspire us, unite us or bring us to tear but whatever sport you play or watch it is not just the players and teams touching our lives but also the brands that dominate the sporting world.

 

To help understand the achievements of our greatest sport brand icons the Superbrands organisation has launched the Sport BrandLeaders programme.

 

In the past the Superbrands organisation has paid tribute to Superbrands, Business Superbrands, Cool BrandLeaders and eBrandLeaders in the UK. It is not surprising that as our scope widens we turn our attention to sport brand icons. Sport and branding have a long chartered history.

 

The sporting world has been used as a channel to build brand awareness and values at both a multi-national and local level.

 

In addition sport personalities have been, and are increasingly, a common feature within marketing campaigns of brands as diverse as McDonalds to Shell and from Siemens Mobile to Persil.

 

Yet whilst the sporting arena is cluttered with all manor of brands vying for attention exceptional sport brands, i.e. sports products, venues and tournaments, which command the title Sport BrandLeader are less common.

 

The brands that have attained Sport BrandLeader status have been selected from brands highly rated by the independent and voluntary Sport BrandLeaders Council. Only a minority of an initial shortlist of over 600 brands qualify. This shortlist is drawn from tens of thousands of brands that are initially considered.

 

Council members score each brand on the list from 1-10 based on their opinion of the brand strength. We then tabulate the scores the council members have allocated to each brand, only those highly rated by the council qualifying for the status.

 

Whilst scoring the brands the council members consider that a Sport BrandLeader should offer tangible and emotional benefits to the consumer above other brands that (consciously or subconsciously) consumers want and recognise.

 

Keep in mind that the council is primarily concerned with each brand's status within the UK. Council members do not score any brand that they are currently involved with or which is a direct competitor.

 

The programme is endorsed by the Chartered Institute of Marketing, the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, the British Brands Group and Sport England. This is the first ever Sport BrandLeaders programme.

 

This site provides a comprehensive insight into all 40 brands granted Sport BrandLeader status this year; it also features expert opinions from the Sport BrandLeader Council and information on the organisations’ Sport BrandLeaders Tribute Event.