Arsenal (winning Together: The Story Of The Arsenal Brand)

GREAT BRAND STORIES Great Brand Stories is a series that sets out to tell the inspiring stories of some of today’s top brands. Edited by brand expert John Simmons, the books focus on brands that have not only reaped huge profits for their owners, but also established themselves as icons of contemporary society. Arsenal is one of world football’s biggest brands. With a proud but sometimes dubious history, it has a wealth of stories that pass from generation to generation, building the Arsenal legend. And now the brand is big business but, like other football brands, operates in a very different way from a conventional commercial brand. Loyalty to a football club generally starts young and continues throughout life, involving a depth of allegiance that brands in other fields can only envy. What creates this brand loyalty? What can a football club do to use it positively? Is a brand just big business or does it have social responsibilities? Is fans’ loyalty taken for granted and stretched too thin by commercial exploitation? John Simmons and Matt Simmons focus on their favourite football brand to explore these questions. As lifelong Arsenal supporters, father and son, they analyse the past, present and future of the Arsenal brand through the expert views of fans, commentators, business analysts and iconic players. The book features exclusive interviews with Arsenal greats Frank McLintock and Pat Rice, analyses the values of Arsenal brand, compares Arsenal with national and international competitors and examines the business issues that are changing all our relationships with football. The result is a book that is fascinating for football fans and business people alike. Review "The first book to explain in a succinct and very readable way the relationship between the brand, the football club and the fans. Essential reading for marketing experts and football fans whatever their allegiances." Alex Fynn, former deputy chairman Saatchi & Saatchi and author of The Glorious Game About Author: S John Simmons is a writer and brand consultant, and the series editor for Great Brand Stories. He is director of training and brand language at The Writer, a former director of Interbrand and has worked at a senior level with companies like Unilever, 3 and Diageo. His books about language and brands (We, Me, Them & I, The Invisible Grail and Dark Angels) and his book on Starbucks (My Sister’s a Barista) have been translated into several languages including Chinese and Japanese. He is one of the founding directors of the writers’ collective, 26 (www.26.org.uk). Matt Simmons is a lifelong Arsenal fan, having first been taken to Highbury at the age of 8. Despite the game being a boring 0-0 draw, he came back, and has hardly missed a game since. Resident in North London, Matt currently works in management development at Pret A Manager. This is his first book.