Project - Power Brand Queensland School Sport

Today’s BIG THREE concepts Today’s presentation intention is for comprehension and understanding of the following three concepts towards building bright, sustainable future and powerful school sport brand: 1.School Sport – if branded and marketed correctly school sport can be a power brand, BUT it is going to take unified “Global” thinking and action 2.Respected Authority – we need to position ourselves as the authority on school sport, not just an administration - i.e. cultural change in unified thinking and action (no extra workload) 3.Brand Separation Strategy – by separating our administration and team brands we can consistently articulate our purpose and embed our key messages - i.e. this is not about simply changing logos, it is about taking a position as an authority in school sport and everyone teaming towards achieving a shared vision.

The WHY?? Maximising our value and appeal to internal stakeholders and prospective external partners. Ultimately everyone should be the beneficiaries.

The Vision By 2020 it will be accepted that participation in school sport is vital to achieving better outcomes for students.

The Mission To build a powerful QSS brand that unifies stakeholders’ efforts towards building a positive profile for school sport.

What is a power brand? Some of the notable elements of a power brands include: Becoming the respected authority in their space Charismatic and compelling to the point where people want/ need to take notice Renowned for best practice operating principles Are positively referenced ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ of their core business sector Are innovators and the market leader – survive trend shifts and change Live values that are meaningful and unique Enlighten, encourage and empower key stakeholders Instil stakeholder unity behind a singular vision Are always one step ahead of the game (competition) Successful and sustainable.

More than just a logo

The Aspiration By 2020 the membership of Queensland School Sport will be the noted authority on school sport. Especially with the following key stakeholders:  Sport specific committee executive  Regional school sport councils  Regional school sport officers  Queensland School Sports Unit  QSSMG  QSSC

The Paradigm This means that by 2020 Queensland School Sport should be recognised as the thought leader for school sport in the world By the way of:  Unifying our thinking and actions towards achieving our vision  Quality research methodology  Models for developing sporting success  Criteria that we use to monitor progress and milestones

The Goals – by 2020 By 2020 we are aiming for the following goals: To achieve 90%+ of Queensland School Principals opt-in to active involvement in school sport long term To articulate and embed the short to long term virtues of school sport (backed by reliable research) To motivate teachers and energise their continued fight for sport to hold a position of importance in Queensland schools (armed with the best information available on sport) To ensure parents and students positively influence their schools to participate in school sport activity

The Goals – by 2020 By 2020 we are aiming for the following goals continued: To engage government in endorsing the positive roll of school sport within the fabric of school communities and society as a whole To tell a compelling story consistently – i.e. great news told on a regular basis To create a product / service that corporate Australia believes in and may wish to partner with.

The Paradigm Shifts 1.The benefits of school sport - the positive role it plays in student outcomes is articulated and embedded 2.The positioning of the Queensland School Sports Unit and Regional School Sport Councils – i.e. reputation for Authoritative Leadership and Professional Administration 3.The notion of brand separation – the Administrative Unit V the Team brands as singular valuable brands in their own rights 4. The importance of segmenting our market and using research to build a powerful school sport proposition – for buy-in from everyone 5.The introduction of appropriate measurement criteria and quantitative and qualitative results are essential - to rationalise the “why” for every strategic decision made going forward 6.The involvement of corporate Australia to partner with School Sport Queensland long term.

Critical Question What do we want people saying about QSS in five years time? Administrators who manage OR Authoritative Leaders who influence and administer

Thinking & Acting Strategically The starting point

Keys to strategy Thinking and acting strategically is based on the following five key questions: 1.What’s important to us? 2.What seems to be happening? 3.What opportunities exist? 4.What are we going to do about it all? 5.How are we going to monitor progress and measure success? (We are at the strategy stage of the project)

The State of Play

What is important to us? Strategic Question 1

The QSS Brand Key questions in relation to the School Sport Queensland brand: Can QSS stand alone as a powerful brand in its own right? How do we build a valued, effective and highly respected brand? Why does there seem to be a lack of attention for the great work that we do? Can we better articulate: who we are and what we stand for – the leaders of all facets of school sport? our achievements - why our work should be valued? that we are an authority on school sport? Is our level of service delivery of a consistently high standard? What is the ‘risk’ of standing still? i.e. If we keep doing what we are doing now?

Regional Participation and Buy-in Key questions in relation to wide spread Regional participation and buy-in: Why aren’t all of the regions involved in all sports offered by the Queensland School Sports Unit? How big an issue is remote location and cost for some of our schools and their families? With such diversity among the 12 sport regions how can we consistently support individual schools that participate regularly in district school sport programs? (i.e. the HUB of school sport) Could more be done to build equity (value) into the regional sports brands? Is representation in regional sport teams as valued / more valued than similar rep club teams? (Should this be a marker anyway?) Why is it that we receive very little major outlet media coverage when so much good news is produced each year ?

The Principals – the gate-keeper Key questions in relation to Principals – the gate keepers: Why are some Principals withdrawing from school sport? And why are fewer staff volunteering to coach teams? Why is there a range of buy-in from Principals i.e. some are right on board and some aren’t How do we get Principals to take notice of our key messages when they have so much on their plate? What are the best communication tools for sending considered, effective and consistent messages to our Principals about the positive virtues of school sport? How sustainable is District School Sport and the current school sport structures in general?

Use of School Sports Research Key questions in relation to research: What positive school sport research outcomes should be performed, referenced and how can it be used most effectively? How can we better utilise research to promote the ‘cause ‘ of sport for kids and school sport in particular? Why is it that school sport programs have not changed in the past 20 years, except for the inclusion and removal of small number of sport specific committees? Why is it that schools and the outcomes they are seeking have not been clearly defined? Can or should schools consider becoming more outcomes based when it comes to assessing the effectiveness of school sport?

Strategic Partnerships Key questions in relation to strategic partnerships: Are there any major benefits in aligning with club sporting organisations? i.e. local and state What can we do to keep ‘firing up’ our teachers that take sport and motivate them to keep going? How can we best leverage from the support that school sport enjoys at the DDG and ADG level? How can we benefit from working with cross government departments? i.e. Health, Sport and Recreations, Communities, Local Government Councils etc. Would corporate Australia be interested in aligning / partnering with Queensland School Sport and if so how restrictive might this be given the barriers associated in dealing within the government sector? Can we leverage further from the alignment of the three educational systems? Can we partner more strongly with independent bodies such as Future State Greats to ensure that all students have the opportunity to play their preferred sport?

Communication and Promotional Tactics What are the key questions in relation to communication and promotional tactics? What are the best communication tools for reaching our primary, secondary and tertiary markets? (Principals, internal stakeholders, families and the general population) How do we cut through the clutter and be understood and heard? If we do invest resources promoting the virtues of school sport, what are the key messages and how do we measure success to see if it is making a difference (cut through)? Why do we seem to keep great news silent?

Sustainability & Measurement Key questions in relation to sustainability: What role can we collectively play in embedding the benefits of school sport into the wider community so that it gains traction back into our schools? How do we measure the outcomes of the good news stories and their potential to build value (equity) in the Queensland School Sport’s brand? How do we tell if we are on the right track and achieving the right results both for the student and the school sport cause? What are our markers for assessing continuous improvement and success? How do we know if we have the right selection of sport programs?

QSS Unit & Regional Resourcing / Restructure Key questions in relation to resourcing new direction, ideas, concepts and activities: How important to our future is building a powerful Queensland School Sport brand? It is one thing to have great ideas and possible solutions but how are these going to be resourced? Are our current resources adequate or do we need to consider additional resources/ skill sets / restructure of the unit and regions to achieve our outcomes? Where ultimately does the responsibility for developing strategy and implementing tactics lie?

The Playing Field

Strategic Question 2 What seems to be happening?

The Red Team What paradigms are restraining the position of QSS? Data is king! School sport just doesn’t fit in when academia should be the priority e.g. NAPLAN is the focus Departmental priorities do not include school sport which can lead for an easy opt-out for school Principals Why do we even need school sport when Club sport is an option? There is too much time spent out of the classroom! Taking sport is to risky, costly, etc. Not enough teachers want to take school sport anymore Representative sport only appeals to kids that are good at it School sport appears to run a poor second to data from a government priority perspective.

The Green Team What paradigms are driving forward the position of QSS? School sport can improve self confidence Promotes pride in the school Often school sport is the only sport a child might experience Offers variety where student can see what they like and are good at Offers balance to support the notion of the holistic child In many cases sport is the reason that many kids like coming to school School sport is the best and most memorable sport most people ever play School sport offers a release from the grind (for teachers and the child) Sports success is often good marketing for the school Sports success is often aligned to improvements in behaviour, building resistance, discipline, respect for self and others, operating within structures etc.

The Referees GRETA GETTABLE Not into school sport – BUT can appreciate its benefits BARRY BELIEVER Into school sport and truly believes its value IMA IMPOSSIBLE Not into school sport and believes that data is king and school sport just gets in the road BILL BUCKLE Into school sport but is feeling the pressure to perform

Primary Targets – Our Principals Advocate Barry Believer Likely Greta Gettable Bill Buckle Unlikely Ima Impossible Barry – Advocate Ima -Unlikely Greta - Likely Bill - Likely

Secondary Targets The following groups would be considered internal educational stakeholders and the secondary target market: Minister’s Office Office of the Director General and associated officers School staff – teaching and non-teaching Students Parents Community partners Other

Tertiary Targets The following groups would be considered to be the tertiary markets: Community and the general public Universities National school sport bodies International school sport bodies

The Main Game

What opportunities exist? & What are we going to do about it all? Strategic Question 3 & 4

Four core strategic priorities 1.The Principals (the Referees) – the principle of “Thought Leadership” 2. The Brand Refresh (separation strategy) - Administration V Teams 3. The Participation and Buy-in (from all stakeholder) - Ensuring people want to and can 4. The Strategic Partnerships – internal and external

1. The Principals’ Strategy The following projects should give us greater insight into the motivating and responding to the imperatives of school principals: A.Value of Sport Research project B.Principals’ Conferences agendas C.Principal Communication protocols D.“Thought Leadership” Campaign E.Minister and DG Buy-in F.Contemporary Communication tools A.Social media B.Queensland School Sports App C.Variations to the websites D.Dedicated limited access portal E.Etc G.Sport Successes and Excesses weekly and monthly blogs

Paradigm Shifts 1 & 2 The benefits of school sport - the positive role it plays in student outcomes is articulated and embedded The positioning of the Queensland School Sports Unit and Regional School Sport Councils – reputation for Authoritative Leadership and Professional Administration

2. Brand re-fresh / re-birth strategy The importance of brand separation to clearly delineate what makes QSS V Representative Teams unique and valuable in their own right: Charter and mandate of each brand defined Functional benefits Emotional benefits Symbols Values Personality Uniqueness of the entity

“Using the corporate image management process as a catalyst to drive change often results in a opportunity for the entire organisation to rally around the new identity and for all the organisation's stakeholder’s to develop a sense of belonging and engagement with the new entity.” (Howard, 1998, Corporate Image Management)

The 70s/80s/90s

The Beer Coaster Logo

A new direction in 2001

A Paradigm shift of major proportions

Both Unity & Strength

New Reds Team logo

QRU Brand Separation QRU AdministrationQLD Teams and Ground

Nickname & Heritage

QSS Brand re-birth projects The following projects are necessary to develop this brand re-birth project: QSS Brand wheel – to define the major elements of the brand Separation of brands – to build equity in both Defined Identity – articulate each brands story and do so consistently New logo design brief – to review and refresh QSS brand architecture and style guide – the rules for design State and Regional Sport team Nicknames – for the kids and to add personality (remember this should come from the teams) Mission “THE MAROONS” for school sport state teams – shared with the SOO team and symbolically presented to QSS by the FOGS / QRL New nickname designations - for regional sport teams

Think Global

SSA Brand Architecture – QSS This means that the School Sport Australia brand architecture could look like this to represent the national leadership and administrative arm of the organisation.

QSS Brand Architecture SSQ brand architecture could look like this:

SSQ Brand Architecture OR for consistency the QSS brand architecture 12 administrations could look like this:

QSS Team Architecture This would be designated by sport.

SSQ Admin & State Team Each state team would be designated with MAROOONS nickname and sit beside the administrative logo as per the case study presented.

QSS Regional Team logo Each regional team would be designated with its own nickname and sit beside the administrative logo as per the case study presented.

Separation Strategy Benefits Some of the benefits of doing this include: Gives the QSS unit and regions their own unique identity – thought leader Clear distinction between the administration and the teams so that a position and value proposition can be defined and articulated for both Visually refreshes the image of the brands Engages kids in fun ways and defines the personality of the region Strategy aligns with major sporting organisations Greater chance of appealing to corporate Queensland and Australia from a partnership perspective Represents a unified, strong, powerful organisation.

Paradigm 3 The notion of brand separation – the administrative and team brands are singular brands in their own rights for which we can build equity (value) BUT This relies heavily on the notion of UNIFIED thought and actions

3. Participation & Buy-In The following projects would be explored in relation to participation and buy-in A.Market Segmentation Project And Communication Alignment B.Quality Client Product & Service Delivery C.Regions’ Websites Uniformity and Consistency D.Annual Sports’ Appreciation Day – launch 2017

Paradigm 4 & 5 The importance of segmenting our market and using research to build a powerful school sport proposition – i.e. for buy-in from everyone The introduction of appropriate measurement criteria and quantitative and qualitative results are essential - to rationalise the “why” for every strategic decision made going forward

4. Strategic Partnership strategy The following elements would be essential to the establishment of mutually beneficial partnerships: Sponsorship Audit Sponsorship Model Sponsorship Proposal Sponsorship Acquisition Plan School / Club Sport Alliance Future State Greats Partnership Funding Raising Events and Opportunities. FSG / Queensland Hall of Fame Memorabilia Items Health, Sport and Recreation Partnership Corporate Partnerships Internal and external stakeholder partnerships

Paradigm 6 The prospective involvement of corporate Australia partnering with school sport and a unified brand

The Grand Final

Recommendations The following is a summary of the major recommendations: 1.Build “Thought Leadership” Principals’ Strategy & Research Projects 2.Segment the market and use communication tools to effectively present our key messages – APP, website, blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 3.Focus on participation and buy-in 4.Build a model for positive strategic partnerships 5.Resource correctly – consider a dedicated resource to set up and manage this process. 6.Separate and build powerful brands starting with the visual representation 1.New designation – School Sport Queensland to unify with School Sport Australia architecture 2.Choose the Queensland MAROONS nickname for all Queensland teams (AFL exception?) 3.Develop a consistent Look and Feel for the regions’ administrations and align with School Sport Queensland 4.New nicknames and logo for the region representative teams by 2016 to add the personality and focus on kids

The Risk Do something now or risk a decline in the value of school sport.

The Vision By 2020 it will be accepted that participation in school sport is vital to achieving better outcomes to students.

The way forward – starting point

The Way Forward – 2014 / 2015 Where to start? - Timeline and Milestones 1.Thought Leadership – initiate the strategies in relation to School Principals in relation to: 1.School Sport Queensland – align with SSA, accept design and launch SSQ title change - term 1, Establishing Thought Leadership topics and execution tactics – Social Media inc. YouTube – term 1, MAROONS nickname – adopt the nickname for Queensland School Sport Representative teams and launch Maroons – term 1, Research on The benefits of School Sport project – existing and proactive research – commencing – term 1, Market segmentation model to determine the most appropriate communication strategies and tactics for each market segments, plus primary, secondary and tertiary targets – term 1, 2015 (School Sport Queensland APP to be considered) 6.Regional logo and nicknames – begin the decision making process 2014 and first half of 2015 for adoption in Core questions – isolate the core strategic questions and build projects around the short list – term 1, 2015

Today’s BIG THREE concepts Today’s presentation intention is for comprehension and understanding of the following three concepts towards building bright, sustainable future and powerful school sport brand: 1.School Sport – if branded and marketed correctly school sport can be a power brand, BUT it is going to take unified “Global” thinking and action 2.Respected Authority – we need to position ourselves as the authority on school sport, not just an administration - i.e. cultural change in unified thinking and action (no extra workload) 3.Brand Separation Strategy – by separating our administration and team brands we can consistently articulate our purpose and embed our key messages - i.e. this is not about simply changing logos, it is about taking a position as an authority in school sport and everyone teaming towards achieving a shared vision.

Questionnaire & Feedback The following questions have been asked in the questionnaire

Questionnaire 1.Do you agree with the 2020 vision for Queensland School Sport? Yes / No / Unsure - If no what do you think it should be. Please comment … (remember we are thinking “global.” To be or To achieve….) 2.Do you feel the value of school sport is in decline? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 3.Should the school Principals be the primary targets for a School Sport marketing / thought leadership campaign? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 4.Do you feel that the school Principals resistant to school sport may be open to a new strategic emphasis i.e. thought leadership? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 5.Do you feel that there is / should be sufficient evidence that school sport is vital to student well-being? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment

Questionnaire Continued 6.Do you agree with the separation of brands strategy? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 7.Do you like the notion of calling Queensland School Sport teams the MAROONS? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 8.Can you see the benefits of Queensland School Sport aligning with School Sport Australia, leading with the School Sport entity as the HERO of the brand? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 9.Can you see the benefits of the regions having a nickname to separate the administration from the representative teams, which may have greater appeal to kids? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment 10.Do you feel that if packaged and sold correctly that school sport could be offered as a valued sponsorship package? Yes / No / Unsure – Comment Other – Please comment further

Questions & Discussion

Project - Power Brand Queensland School Sport