Zenit F.C.

Commercialising the brand

Zenit St. Petersburg F.C. is one of the most successful football clubs in Russia.

Winning the UEFA cup brought the club into the limelight, and exposed European audiences to key players who have since become stars in the English Premier League. With Gazprom owning the majority stake and a new stadium planned, the club is well placed to take advantage of development opportunities.

Recently proposed regulation by UEFA, linking clubs’ expenditure to revenue, puts an increasing focus on an organisation’s ability to commercialise its brand. Retail, with margins reaching 40-50%, provides an important commercial opportunity, as well as being an effective tool to create an added dimension to the brand, develop its sponsor brands and broaden the overall target audience, both locally and internationally.

Our brief was to create a dynamic new retail concept that celebrated the history and achievements of the club and its ambitious plans for the future. We developed a distinctive brand strategy, expressed through the creation of high impact graphic images featuring players and images of St. Petersburg landmarks, together with emotive, inspirational messages. Feature displays on walls and mid-floor furniture are prioritised within the space. The design of the retail environment allows for flexibility. Stores can be fine tuned to various site locations and the format allows for product categories to move, expand or contract.

Working with Nike, the new club sponsor, we ensured brand compatibility within the overall store concept and also assisted with the development of product assortment including Nike sponsored kit, casual and training wear, souvenirs, match day items and VIP gifts.

Following the successful opening of the 250 sq m pilot store at Moskovskiy Prospect, the concept is now being rolled out in selected sites around St. Petersburg.

More Retail work >