Toronto Maple Leafs vs Football Club Barcelona: how two legendary sports teams built their brand equity

Abstract

This paper looks at how two sports teams, hockey club the Toronto Maple Leafs and Football Club Barcelona, have each built and leveraged their brand equity. The main differences between the two clubs lie in how they position their brands. For TML, the affective and experiential sides of the product are emphasised to make the brand grow; for Barcelona, the cognitive and affective dimensions of the product are prioritised to nurture the brand. Differences between hockey and soccer also contribute to branding discrepancies in terms of exposure and global influences.

Citation

Richelieu, A. and Pons, F. (2006), "Toronto Maple Leafs vs Football Club Barcelona: how two legendary sports teams built their brand equity", International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. 79-98. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSMS-07-03-2006-B009