Nike & England- A match in Marketing Heaven?

This week has seen the announcement of the FA signing up with Nike as official kit supplier of England. The deal, which runs to 2018, will also cover the 150th anniversary of the association. Initially excitement was high for the launch, with many fans taking to Twitter to make up their own interpretations of the kit .

The kit realise, which will certainly raise a huge profit for the FA and further raise the English brand across the world, particularly in North America, where Nike is certainly considered the biggest consumer sports brand. Last February the Oragon based brand delivered sales of over $560 million, which was a 7.1% raise on figures from the previous year.

It’s safe to say the arrangement is also set to benefit the FA, as Nike has also signed up as a supporter of England’s brand new St Georges National football centre. Providing equipment for the countries youth teams. Charlie Denson, Nike brand said on the deal: “We look forward to supporting England teams at every level with innovative product technology and playing our part to help develop the future of English football through our support of St George’s Park.”

Despite on the goodwill of Nike and all concerns there also seems to be a real risk of damage to “Brand England” with this impending kit change. Despite being an active part of the Nike brand since 2008, Umbro has always seen to be the “traditional” element of the team. The Manchester based brand has always supported the national team (aside from 8 years when Admiral took control from 1974-82) even creating the mythical 66 winning shirts.

The simple diamond shape celebrates the reasons that England is seen as throughout the football world, that of passion, pride and even strength. After all The Three Lions are still seen, somewhat bizarrely as guardians of the beautiful game, with the roots firmly placed in England.

Realistically Nike has been moving away from the Umbro brand for a number of years. Manchester City are set to be kitted out in Nike by 2013, having announced the switch in the summer (link to site). Deciding to consolidate and focus on the Nike brand, in recent years they have signed up the likes of Everton, France & Werder Bremen whilst also maintaining long term alliances with Barcelona, Arsenal, Brazil & Holland.

One case in point could be indeed the French football team, who were associated with Adidas for over 40 years. The German based brand had supplied the teams kits over the  time in which the nation won a major trophies in 1984, 1988 & 2000. Although not a homegrown brand such Le Coq Sportif, Adidas had a long-term association with the country, so when the reported €42million a year deal was signed many fans of Les Blues where apprehensive of the deal. The jury is still out on the deal, with the French side set to kick of their bid to reach Brazil 2014 tonight away against Finland.

Branding wise I think we should expect strong themes of pride, passion, and energy along with nods to England past. You only have to look at previous material on Nike star Wayne Rooney, and the imagery of revolution for the French kit release to see these devices being used.

The deal will also have implications for a host of the squad’s current stars, which are sponsored by Nike. Expect Arsenal stars Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott and Jack Wiltshire should bar catastrophic dip in form be a part of the marketing drive for the product.

England are set to kick off against Moldova tonight, uniquely in a position in which they will start and end a qualifications campaign with two different kit suppliers. The deal is set to benefit the English set up from grass roots, right to the elite squads. Perhaps Nike could be the brand that could end nearly 50 years of hurt for the three lions.