Nation branding via Sri Lanka Cricket

Around two weeks back when I was invited to address the business chambers of Pakistan in Karachi, I realised that the bond between the people of Pakistan and Sri Lanka was not due to business or commerce but the game of cricket.

Whenever I mentioned cricket in my addresses, there was a round of applause that made feel that one way out to build up Sri Lanka’s image to the world was via cricket but the issue is that nation branding must be earned across the spectrum with actions, rather than trying to build an image via one vehicle like sports.

Mexico

Last weekend on CNN, there was a programme on Mexico and even though through the current imagery, the country was touted as the kidnapping capital of the world with drug warlords ruling the day to day lives of the people of Mexico, the unique culture of Mexicans linked to dancing was one way that the country showcases the positives for tourists to come into the country.

 In fact, Simon Anholt, the global nation branding expert was also featured on the programme where he clearly advocated that a country must earn the respect with actions rather than trying to construct an imagery.  

Sri Lanka and cricket

Given that Sri Lanka is on the threshold of winning the first Test in Galle versus Pakistan, my mind went back to the famous ‘MCC Cowdrey Lecture’ at the Nursery Pavillion at the Lords Cricket ground last year,  by the man who scored  199 runs over the weekend.

Though it raised many an eyebrow, I felt that the real architecture explained by Sangakkara could be linked to the works of Siman Anhold.  Let me capture its essence.

Brand Sri Lanka Cricket

The essence of the brand cricket is the excitement that is strongly connected to a Sri Lankan that hinges on patriotism that every Sri Lankan cherishes. This emotion is evoked not only in Sri Lanka but also when the audience is Sri Lankan be it in Dubai, UK or Australia, wherever the Sri Lankan team plays.  

The second element that has made this brand usable for nation branding is the advertising expenditure around it after winning the World Cup in 1996. This includes not only the sponsorship money that the team attracts but also player endorsements on private sector brands.

If all this is valued, the brand Sri Lanka Cricket will be way above the IPL brand value of four billion dollars at the peak of its popularity in my view, but sadly no one had valued this most valuable asset of Sri Lanka.

But a point that needs to be understood is that the brand Sri Lanka Cricket has been created by the fans it attracts and the events that it has been associated with. Hence, most of the success must be attributed to the fans that we hardly hear about in any analysis.

This means that this brand belongs to the people of the country, a point missed by the administrators. This also calls for governance issues like accountability and responsibility which was the ethos of the speech that was made at the Cowdrey lecture.

Challenge

If we are to use Sri Lanka Cricket as an element of nation branding, the challenge is for the brand Sri Lanka Cricket to get a brand custodian who will calculate the brand value and understand the propositions that the brand has to offer.

Thereafter, a clear brand development plan must be developed that will include the promotional side as well sharpening the identity as it evolves in the changing fashion of the game, be it the five day game, one day or the 20 overs format which will unfold in the latter part of the year in Sri Lanka.

Whilst doing so, it is also important to safeguard the brand from any activity that will devalue the brand, be it financial scandals or contractual disagreements which I have seen in newspapers as of late.

If I am to share a best practice from my experience of brand marketing, if one does a brand equity study on a brand like Dettol, you will understand the detailed architecture behind the brand and what activities added value to the core proposition of being a disinfectant.

The study will also identify what activities hurt the brand values that it possesses. This is the type of management science that the brand Sri Lanka Cricket requires which is my key take from the Cowdrey Lecture delivered on 4 July. But sadly the gulf that exists as of now in reality in terms of Sri Lanka Cricket makes such theories a wish list rather than a definitive action.     

How brand building begins

An important point to note is that if we take a typical brand like Signal toothpaste for instance, the brand custodian can clearly mark out the values that the brand must be wrapped with, like for instance caring, aggressive but protective personality just like that of a father in a home. This is the same exercise that is required if one is serious about building brand of cricket for nation branding.

But the reality of brand Sri Lanka Cricket is different, given that the situation around it that has unfolded has resulted in a diffused image of the brand and this affects the macro nation brand. This may have been due to uncontrollable reasons but the reality is that the brand needs a strong game plan if it is to contribute the nation’s branding agenda.

However, it must be understood that with careful planning, a damaged reputation can be built up even if it’s a complex brand like Sri Lanka Cricket. It requires a careful management of the communication and essentially the PR element that is now viral due to the development of the social media like YouTube, Twitter, Foursquare and lately, Google Plus.

Sangakkara’s Cowdrey oration

Based on the technical reality of the brand Sri Lanka Cricket is up against and the requirements of these elements if we are to build the nation brand Sri Lanka that is currently under attack with S&P ratings and the Stock Exchange fiasco, let me use the extracts of the Cowdrey Lecture of 4 July which was brilliantly articulated by the former cricket captain.

The thoughts were very clearly given and I am going to use the works of brand theorist Keller in the Customer Based Brand Equity Pyramid so that we can understand how the science of brand building must take place. This same architecture can be used by Sri Lanka Tourism, Ceylon Tea, Ceylon Cinnamon and maybe even in building linkages with diaspora.

Source: Keller 2003

1. Brand salience: Sangakkara expressed how cricket has become virtually a religion in the country. If I may quote: “Cricket in Sri Lanka is no longer just a sport: it is a shared passion that is a source of fun and a force for unity. It is a treasured sport that occupies a celebrated place in our society. It is remarkable that in a very short period an alien game has become our national obsession, played and followed with almost fanatical passion and love.”

 

2. Performance: The speaker brought out the performance of the brand in its life cycle which is exactly the route the tea, tourism and Ceylon cinnamon industries must take for a typical nation branding programme.

To quote from the Cowdrey oration:  “In 1981, Sri Lanka’s cricket suffered from an identity crisis and there was far too little ‘Sri Lankan’ in the way we played our cricket. The leadership of Arjuna during this period was critical to our emergence as a global force.

“It was Arjuna who understood most clearly why we needed to break free from the shackles of our colonial past and forge a new identity, an identity forged exclusively from Sri Lankan values, an identity that fed from the passion, vibrancy and emotion of normal Sri Lankans.

“From Matara came Sanath, a man from a humble background with an immense talent that was raw and without direction or refinement. A talent under the guidance of Arjuna that was harnessed to become one of the most destructive batting forces the game has ever known. It was talent never seen before and now with his retirement never to be seen again.

“Murali came from the hills of Kandy from a more affluent background. Starting off as a fast bowler and later changing to spin, he was blessed with a natural deformity in his bowling arm allowing him to impart so much spin on the ball that it spun at unthinkable angles. He brought wrist spin to off spin.”

The speaker said after winning the world cup, “The impact of that World Cup victory was enormous, both broadening the game’s grassroots as well as connecting all Sri Lankans with one shared passion. For the first time, children from outstations and government schools were allowed to make cricket their own.”

The speaker said on the Lahore attack: “It is strange how clear your thinking is. I did not see my life flash by. There was no insane panic. ‘We are Sri Lankan,’ we thought to ourselves, and we are tough and we will get through hardship and we will overcome because our spirit is strong. This is what the world saw in our interviews immediately after the attack: we were calm, collected, and rational. Our emotions held true to our role as unofficial ambassadors.”

3. Feelings: The speaker beautifully brought out the cultural aspects of the brand by stating, “Our cricket embodied everything in our lives, our laughter and tears, our hospitality our generosity, our music our food and drink. It was normality and hope and inspiration in a war-ravaged island. In it was our culture and heritage, enriched by our myriad ethnicities and religions.”

On meeting a soldier after the attack the speaker said: “That soldier looked me in the eye and replied: “It is OK if I die because it is my job and I am ready for it. But you are a hero and if you were to die it would be a great loss for our country.”

This is exactly that must come out in a strong tourism campaign given that it’s the people that own Sri Lanka Tourism, just like with cricket. It is the feelings that make the difference when a tourist meets a typical villager in Sri Lanka. It is this moment that creates the magic for a tourist to encourage them to think “I need to write this on TripAdvisor.”

4. Resonance: Sangakkara stated: “A game that brings the nation to a standstill; a sport so powerful it is capable of transcending war and politics. This is the spirit of Sri Lanka’s cricket.”

5. Judgement: The speaker mentioned, “I will play my cricket for them. Their spirit is the true spirit of cricket. With me are all my people. I am Tamil, Sinhalese, Muslim and Burgher. I am a Buddhist, a Hindu, a follower of Islam and Christianity. I am today, and always, proudly Sri Lankan.”

This appeals to the diaspora and can be a strong proposition for peace and reconciliation in my view. Hence we see how cricket can be a powerful vehicle for nation branding.

6. Imagery: Sangakkara then cited the moment when Murali was no balled in Australia: “No matter what critics say, the manner in which Arjuna and team stood behind Murali made an entire nation proud. In that moment Sri Lanka adopted the cricketers simply as ‘our boys’ or ‘Ape Kollo.’ Gone was the earlier detachment of the Sri Lankan cricket fan and its place was a new found love for those 15 men. They became our sons, our brothers. Sri Lankans stood with them and shared their trials and tribulations.”

Brand hurt

Just like any other brand, be it tourism or tea, there are developments that can hurt a brand. For Sri Lanka Cricket he pointed out: “With the victory in 1996 came money and power to the board and players. Players from within the team itself became involved in power games within the board. Officials elected to power in this way in turn manipulated player loyalty to achieve their own ends. At times board politics would spill over in to the team causing rift, ill feeling and distrust.”

The speaker went to say that the administration needs to adopt the same values enshrined by the team over the years: integrity, transparency, commitment and discipline. Unless the administration is capable of becoming more professional, forward-thinking and transparent, we risk alienating the common man.



Product development

A good nation branding strategy must have a clear product development plan. In respect to this,  Sangakkara mentioned: “Although our school cricket structure is extremely strong, our club structure remains archaic. With players diluted among 20 clubs it does not enable the national coaching staff to easily identify and funnel talented players through for further development.

“The lack of competitiveness of the club tournament does not lend itself to producing hardened first class professionals. Various attempts to change this structure to condense and improve have been resisted by the administration and the clubs concerned, the main reason for this being that any elected cricket board that offended these clubs runs the risk of losing their votes come election time.”

Cricket for nation branding

Finally, the former captain talking about the importance of cricket for the country, said: “I pray we do because cricket has such an important role to play in our island’s future. In our cricket we display a unique spirit, a spirit enriched by lessons learned from a history spanning over two-and-a-half millennia. In our cricket you see the character of our people, our history, culture and tradition, our laughter, our joy, our tears and regrets. It is rich in emotion and talent.

“My responsibility as a Sri Lankan cricketer is to further enrich this beautiful sport, to add to it and enhance it and to leave a richer legacy for other cricketers to follow.”

Next steps

Just like how cricket can be used as a strategy for nation branding by using the works of Keller, tourism, tea and Ceylon cinnamon can also follow suit and thereby support the nation, especially when we are up against such issues like S&P’s adverse ratings and the global spotlight on Sri Lanka.

The author is an award winning marketer and business personality. The thoughts expressed are strictly his own and not the views any position he holds in Sri Lanka or internationally. Rohantha is an alumni of Harvard University, Boston