background:
Football as a sport is considered to take over US in the coming years, prognoses to be bigger than NFL itself. Manchester City, a world leading FC is looking how to inject their brand values in the sport culture that is radically different than the one in UK.
Equipped with client pitching frameworks from Interbrand and Vayner Media, students of SVA’s Masters in Branding program had a unique opportunity to pitch to the City Football Group’s C-suite in their Manhattan office. Six different groups competed in an agency-style pitch environment, developing a US brand platform based off the same brief. The following case study is a winning pitch—a concept taken by the client that is being further developed into a brand platform.
brief:

Create a brand platform that will cultivate ultimate fandom and help Manchester City become the most loved football team in the US


challenge & insights:

Gen Z want to redefine everything—from the way we drink coffee to capitalism. Traditional community associations like churchgoing, office structures and sports are the least common interests for this audience. Their non-conforming character stands as both a challenge and an opportunity for Manchester City to create a loyal fanbase.
While the club has a long history, its most iconic moments are those that defied convention and revolutionized the sport and the world around it. In many ways, Gen Z is a lot like Manchester City; only they don’t know it yet.
solution:
Changemakers—a sound brand platform focused on major locations around US, through which Manchester City will help drive change on Gen Z terms.

Tactics that spawn out of this platform share the same ethos—change must be gradual (not tearing things down, rather evolving them), personal (change starts with them, not those in power), and exciting (they are not pessimists, they are optimists).
tactic 1:
Changemaker Starting XI
Starting XI is a heavily anticipated reveal in the culture of football at the beginning of each season. Building up on this organic momentum in parallel, each year, Man City will reveal the Changemaker XI, a curated team of Changemakers that Gen Z trusts, and with whom they identify. These ambasadors will be revolutionaries in different fields of art and entertainment—fields that resonate more emotionally with Gen Z than sports, and through which they cultivate true fandom.

The visual system draws inspiration from the football tactics board, a tribute to the strategies that transformed Manchester City and revolutionized the game itself.
The Changemaker XI will openly interact with the club and team members through social media, podcasts and interviews, inviting Gen Z to participate in the culture of the club and its intimacies.   
tactic 2:
Anime City
Due to the layerd stories and characters, anime is a genre that resonates with the consumers on a deeper emotional level. It cultivates ultimate fandom among Gen Z with its multifaceted experience that transcends just reading manga and watching anime—it is an experience that is inspiring the clothing and tattoo decisions, which stand as a testimony to the individual’s understanding of the themes and stories depicted.
By bringing anime and sports together, Manchester City is driving the change in how we consume sports culture in general, and makes the genre of sports much more digestable to the Gen Z audience. 
tactic 3:
City Block
With the increasing loss of third spaces, Gen Z is craving for in-person experiences and conncetions. With many unofficial fan clubs around US, Manchester City has an opportunity to bring all of them together and create permanent footholds where fans can connect after the final whistle. City Houses are community-centric third places that offer both social and professional fandom gatherings, while City Blocks break the confines of a closed space and invites the outer world to participate through block parties, immersive viewing events and the club's pop up events.
After our initial pitch to the City Football Group, we have seen the platform be actively pursued and realized in different instances.  
Team: Arturo Siguenza Kim, Jackson Dunn, John Lytle, Max Meighen, Vidan Ristović
Services: Brand Marketing Platform, Consumer & Cultural Strategy
My Role: Cultural Strategist, Brand Designer, Pitch Designer, Art Director 
Year: 2024
Anime Highlight Video Credits: @brknsergio @t_.man @i.neonic @xalalix
Block Party Photography Credits: City Football Group