What’s intriguing about brands like Wimbledon and Harrods is how they stay relevant even though, in terms of culture, they have hardly modernized – they stay committed to rules and guidelines that seem archaic in today’s day (the dress codes, the butlers, the elitism) – yet they’re the most sought after – everyone wants to be at the Wimbledon and every new tennis tournament wants to be Wimbledon (I recently worked on a branding project, where that was literally the brief – “We want to be like Wimbledon”)
A trip to the Wimbledon offices for my Brand Equity class in London brought some clarity about what keeps a brand from the 1800s relevant even today. Here’s what I would consider the most important ‘ingredients’:
Step 1: Serve heritage!
When it comes to brands like Wimbledon, heritage it everything. It’s the reason Wimbledon sells tickets six months in advance to people who buy it without even knowing which match they’re paying to watch. Because they’re not paying for the players – they’re paying to watch the Wimbledon!
Step 2: Ace the details
And by details, I mean the grass. The White clothes. The strawberries and cream. The grass. The champagne. The grass. Did I mention the grass? Maybe I did, but I can confirm that that is what we spent majority of our time today at the Wimbledon offices talking about – the GRASS! That’s because the grass is key to Wimbledon’s brand equity. The grass is always at 8mm exactly and there are always exactly 15 million blades of grass on the center court, counted by a grass specialist (it was news to me that this is an actual profession). The details seem so minute but the discipline and accuracy with which they are followed is, in my opinion, crucial to Wimbledon’s success.
Step 3: A match of exclusivity and accessibility
Wimbledon has struck an interesting balance between making the tournament accessible and not-so-accessible. Elite events like Wimbledon cann often seem intimidating and out of reach, which is why I was (in equal parts) confused and awed to learn that tickets start at 25 pounds (we had guessed 2000 pounds). But – here’s the catch – they’re selected through a lottery, so it isn’t attainable to everyone.
This makes the consumers feel special (if they do get selected and get to sit in the same premises as the royal family and beyonce!) but at the same time, it doesn’t make it easy.
Step 4: Stay classy
Unlike other tennis tournaments (cough, the US Open, cough) Wimbledon stays away from gossip, scandal and controversy (as much as is possible!). In terms of publicity, keeping the news about the brand is the best way to do it.