The CR7 brand, perfect and versatile for franchising

The experiment I would like to present to my readers is this: what if CR7 were a franchise, what format would it design? In which sector? What would it offer to its audience and its affiliates? How much does the character’s notoriety help in the development of a franchising network?

To introduce the discussion, let’s make some premises. In the world of arts and entertainment as much as in the world of sports, the social bond that is created between the public and characters, organized groups, teams, and squads inevitably creates preferences that often lead to identification and rivalry, so we tend to adhere to fan groups or factions, or simply to expressive currents closer to our thoughts and tastes, associating an inferior judgment to the rival or opponent simply because they are outside our preferred spectrum. Likewise, there are (and history is full of them) characters capable of making everyone agree on an absolute value that transcends all parochialism, making them a collective heritage and not just a banner of a party. The key element that allows us to overcome the barrier of personal belief is, in everyone, of an absolutely meritocratic matrix and linked to a series of constant extraordinary performances over time capable of tracing a permanent furrow on the path of contemporaries and future generations.

Cristiano Ronaldo, a character capable of rapidly transforming into an acronym that is a symbol of a real brand, CR7, has obtained a global following thanks to his sporting abilities but immediately managed to capitalize on media attention by creating business ideas and product lines linked to his star image in football. Attention, because this attempt is not new, over the years we have witnessed excellent commercial launch tests on brands linked to sports figures, such as Michael Jordan and Roger Federer. But all were united by one aspect: the brand always conveyed technical merchandise.

CR7, first among all (and in this case, it is precisely the case to say it, congratulations to the managers and the team of selected business consultants) applies a concept of expanded and international brand by proposing itself in diversified sectors and markets, from fashion to perfumes to the Pestana Hotel in Lisbon where I had the pleasure of going. The distinctive elements of its positioning solidly echo the distinctive factors of the success of the sports champion: determination, talent, discipline, and an insatiable desire to win. Well, at this point, let’s assume we receive a (very) welcome call from the staff of our champion for some advice on the transformation into franchising of active brands or, alternatively, for the creation of new business lines to be launched in the franchising formula.

Probably the reflections would be these:

• CR7 in the food sector. Here we begin to delve into a field that has not yet been explored, namely sectors on which the brand has not yet measured itself and which could be an interesting test bench for creating a franchising format. When we talk about Cristiano Ronaldo, the collective imagination is immediately projected onto a healthy, sculptural, and performing figure. Obviously, in this case, the dimensions of food and nutrition are conditioned towards elements of health – organic, high-quality natural products, considering both the healthy component and the completeness of the nutritional intake, just like in the shopping cart of a sports champion. In this case, the format could have a broader targeting, precisely because following the principle of simplicity, which makes the product accessible to everyone. An interesting experiment could be applied to the healthy fast-food sector, which is experiencing interesting development in this period both within the menus of renowned chains and as a new offering formula. Let’s imagine well-kept, technological stores with a decidedly trendy-sporty presence of wall meadows or green areas or characterized by greenery. A formula that could favor, in locations, major capitals and tourist cities, with central stores and large spaces for product consumption, perhaps with dedicated take-away markets in the full concept of healthy shopping. As for the proposal to the affiliate, precisely because the focus is shifted to the raw material, preparation, and administration to the customer, contractual constraints and a strong capacity for control, even physical, by the parent company would become more relevant.
• CR7 in the fashion sector. Today the brand operates in underwear and footwear, with a very identity-oriented proposal for men with high-quality materials, perfect fit, and eclectic and trendy style. Recently, collections of jeans, shirts, and denim garments for children have also appeared on the market, firmly anchored to the same characteristics. In this case, we could talk about a franchising line centered on the character, in which the brand becomes an umbrella that proposes different product categories. A horizontal offering linked to the concept of young beauty, comfort of garments with natural and/or technical fabrics, accessible but not cheap. In the franchising offer, it would be fundamental to define a comprehensive in-store formula to be proposed to affiliates as a highly structured package, to maintain a monolithic recognizability on a global scale. The affiliation formula could provide for a typical entry fee of famous franchise brands with zero royalty in virtue of the exclusive supply contract of products from the parent company, which would guarantee appreciable profit margins.
• CR7 in the fitness & wellness sector. This world is certainly the closest. Elements such as total quality, personalized training paths, and the use of the most modern technology and attached spa centers would definitely be the drivers of the franchise. Finally, one could think of lines of accessories for sports and leisure such as watches, audio systems, advanced performance measurement systems (sports performance measurement systems associated with apps, integrated parametric detectors for fitness integrated into smartwatches, Bluetooth accessories for sports such as headphones, heart rate monitors, etc.). Here, in addition to imagining important technological partnerships for the hardware component, we should work on the design component to not betray the high expectations that the brand brings with it. Let’s imagine a premium price for the public.

We can conclude, beyond our sectoral preferences in this open discussion and my personal dream of creating a franchising format for CR7, by saying that the realization of a franchise linked to the strength of a character is certainly inviting and powerful because it would benefit from the strength and notoriety of its founder from the start, with the effect of reducing marketing costs and triggering an exceptional booster for development.