CARDIFF CITY F.C. BRANDING

Based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, Cardiff City FC is a professional football club that has participated in the English football league system since the early 20th century. The team started as Riverside A.F.C. in 1899 its highlights include winning the FA Cup in 1927, the only club from outside England to do so.

For over 100 years, since 1908, the club has worn blue and white jerseys as its home colors, have been known as the “Bluebirds” with a bluebird on its team crest. However, from 2012 to 2015, following the acquisition of the club by the Malaysian Vincent Tan, the club was re-branded from a predominantly blue color to red, with the bluebird replaced by a Welsh dragon as the main emblem, in order to generate more appeal in overseas, particularly Asian, markets. The reasoning behind the change was that the dragon is considered lucky in many Asian countries and, making use of the dragon from the Welsh national flag, an apparent local touch point, seemed a convenient link.

However, the change did not sit well with the club’s supporters, who protested strongly against the change, and in 2015 the club bowed to pressure from the fans and changed the badge back to its original blue color, with the bluebird regaining its central position, while the dragon was retained, but relegated, to a smaller section. The rebranding and subsequent shift back overall cost the club approximately 100 million pounds.