Pearse Connolly/Ted Matthews: Meaning > Branding for Norway's national football team
The Norwegian FA are trying a potentially revolutionary idea at their national team games.
They have stopped merely branding their matches. Instead, using a sociological approach to service design, they have reimagined the entire experience, concentrating on the traditional symbols, rituals and stories of Norwegian football.
This podcast could be accused of going a bit “woo-woo” but stick with it. There is something in this approach, in fact, it may be the way to attract younger generations off their screens and into the stadium.
We’ll discuss the process they went through in theoretical and practical terms as well as finding a narrative, what we can take from Star Wars and superhero tales, the smell of football (!), emotional decision-making and mass participation lessons.
I spoke to Pearse Connolly (Norwegian FA, left) and Ted Matthews (Oslo School of Art and Design) about this unique sporting project.
TOPICS
3.00 The concept of adopting sacred theory in service design
5.12. The sociological approach and the ‘sullied’ nature of modern football
8.28 Making it practical
11.41 Finding the ‘Grand Narrative’
12.34 The crucial ‘frictionless’ matchday experience
14.35 Making the players’ bus arrival a meaningful moment
17.06 Appealing to the senses
18.40 The call-up box
21.20 Rolling out the fanzone to the clubs.
23.12 How do you prove success?
25.01 The concept of a winning team, can its importance be minimised?
25.45 Understanding why Gen Z and Millennials gather in crowds.
27.20 Can or should this be commercialised?
29.45 Do you get push back from fans because they feel this is ‘their’ role?
33.34 The cost breakdown
35.30 How to work out financial success
37.50 The lessons for major clubs looking to develop a fanbase overseas
47.13 How stories are celebrated through rituals
50.40 The applicability to clubs
53.20 Ownership of culture and whether it can be transferred
55.23 Application to mass participation level
55.52 The possibility of having to deconstruct a story
57.34 The future for this model
1.01.15 The uniqueness of this approach
1.04.35 The problems of a lone approach
1.06.00 ‘Hard data only backs up your emotional decision’
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