The common criticism of “branding” is that’s corporate speak for soulless soccer. It’s the general feeling that branding indicates plastic, polished, disconnected and commercialized, rather than building an image that exhibits a sincere connection to the fanbase, the players on the field, the history of the club, or the local demographics. Most commonly, this happens because clubs hire consultants from outside the area, which leads to a mismatch of focus from the local populace. Granted in the grassroots space, this is less common due to budgetary constrictions.

Generally in this space, we see the opposite. We see clubs with so little budget or training that they settle for the cheapest, most generic options. Kits are off the rack from sporting goods store or ordered in bulk from online distributors to reduce costs. Oftentimes, little thought is put into crest creation, so youth logos are just recycled. Let’s be honest, youth logos can be a little boring and sophomoric. How many pixilated soccer balls do we need to see? We get it, you play soccer.

But in the last few years, we’ve seen a rise in great branding in lower league soccer. Kit designers and manufacturing have adjusted their business models in such a way that clubs can afford unique and attractive looks without going broke. Even local leagues have become hotspots of slick design, thanks to businesses like Icarus and Custom SC. And that shift is moving into other merchandise. Clubs are building inventory that’s well-designed and interesting. It’s a good time to buy merchandise if you’re a grassroots fan.

But branding is bigger than just merchandise, it’s also about consistency of message and style, particularly in social media. Use of hashtags and appropriate language (even if the social media manager is a volunteer!) is so important in conveying permanence and professionalism. And when I say appropriate language, I’m not saying language that doesn’t offend. Consider Northern Guard, DCFC’s supporter group, who regularly curses and uses aggressive language in their social media posts. It’s appropriate for their brand. It’s on point and what their supporters expect. It’s part of the club’s identity.

So for a short series of articles, I set out to talk to clubs who are embracing the goal of being well-branded, either in merchandise, social media, outreach, or a combination of all of those things. Yes, it’s a series about branding, but it’s more about reflecting the values of your fans, your club, and your city in everything that sees the light of day. Some get it, some don’t. I spoke to some that definitely get it.

Legacy brands are ones that don’t require an introduction. They’ve been around for years and have made enough of an impact that they are recognizable to anyone in the field. Barcelona, Manchester United, Bayern - you know them because they have defined soccer for 100 years. Soccer in the United States has no such history, at least not an unbroken history. While soccer has had moments of great impact, the vast majority of the last 100 years have progressed without soccer being in the top 4 sports in the country. Aside from the US Open Cup, there is very little connections between the modern game and the great leagues that dominated the American soccer landscape in the 20’s and 30’s. But that doesn’t mean the names are dead and buried, some still linger on the fringes of public awareness - names like Bethlehem Steel and Fall River Marksmen.

Andre’ Ruette knew the name Fall River Marksmen. Though he has lived in other parts of the country, his own origins and many of his family members live in the New York City/North Jersey area. That personal connection, combined with soccer history made the idea of reigniting the Fall River brand a task he was willing to take on. “The footballing history and legacies from this city are remarkable. For a city that could claim itself as the home of U.S. club soccer and along with having family in the area, the choice to revive the Marksmen and the city's footballing pulse was an all too easy choice to make.”

We asked Andre’ to discuss the difficulties in rebuilding the Fall River Marksmen brand and how he’s approached that task with respect for the history.

Reviving a brand is complicated - how do you walk the line on being authentic?

There's certainly a lot of variables to take into account but the simplest explanation is to represent the club in the way I as a football supporter would want to see & experience. Running a club certainly puts you in a position of having to make business decisions but you have to put the game first, it's the essence and soul of what any club is about. At the end of the day, for me at least, I always want to ensure our club is seen as a footballing brand and custodian of the game first with the commercial aspects hopefully being the back end of one's perspective of our organization. All in all, you have to allow the game and all of it's wonderful nuances to tell the story, you can't be authentic if you're forcing the story or flogging your brand & merchandise all the time. Embrace your players and those closest to the club & allow for their stories to be told. Humans love connecting or identifying with something, let your club talk, give it the ability to allow for connections & bonds. If you can convince a true fan of the sport that you're doing right by the game, they'll in return not only respect the club but hopefully also sell others into becoming a fan of the club.

How much do you lean on history in your branding?

Typical branding or marketing ideas/campaigns that could work with your normal club don't always apply to ourselves as we always have to be mindful of the past and ensure we are honoring it and not overlooking or tarnishing anything. Although trying to be true to our clubs original roots can be difficult at times, especially given the years that have lapsed since the club folded, we're lucky to have an ace up our sleeve thanks to our club historian Derek Gonsalves. When the initial plans to roll out this revival were drawn up, one of the key parts was ensuring we had a respected club historian. Fortunately for ourselves we were lucky enough to bring Derek into the position and he's been brilliant thus far. Having Derek around to help ensure the tales of yesteryear remain fresh and honored today in 2020 has been a true blessing and wonderful crutch to lean on.

In regards to an example of our branding that ties in the past, I'd say our home kit is a good start. It was important to me to present a home kit that tied our two worlds together and Icarus kit designs helped out a lot in bringing my ideas to reality.

Another avenue for our branding that pulls in the past is our initiative to rekindle former bonds that the original Marksmen had with various clubs from across America and Europe. We've had some really interesting discussions recently with some clubs both home & abroad and we're working on a few items that we hope further ties the stories of yesteryear to today. We've also been fortunate enough to have some private conversations with relatives of former players and seek out their stories and approval of how we present & handle their loved one's legacy. It's important to me and to all of us that we place earning the respect of the family and fellow historians well before earning a buck.

Claiming the record of the past time (Open Cups and such) seems problematic. I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.

Short answer, we'll forever happily stand in the original Marksmen's shadows.

We're here to ensure their legacy lives on and stories told and untold, continue to be brought into conversations about domestic & international football. How the carrying of the torch is perceived is up to the footballing God's, the family members of those who are associated with the original Marksmen and of course the public's perspective and in time we hope to earn their collective trust and respect.

If you want to start getting technical about carrying on a lineage, then a lot of other clubs would be in line well before ourselves. A great example is the large number of clubs that lay across the domestic levels which have some sort of brandishing to the effect of "Since XXXX" or "Est XXXX" and how it's presented.The reality of the matter is how many of these clubs are presenting their lineage is false (going dormant, changing names/identity, relocating,etc..) yet publicly they are accepted as the truth or in the very least an acceptable alteration of the truth. Largely those who are successful in navigating those waters are financially strong enough to provide an assortment of other variables that make up their identity and the altered aspect of their history is buffered or downed out. Then there's another small group of clubs, which I hope we fall into, who handle their history/story with enough transparency and care that the story of yesteryear is allowed to form a unique bond with the here and now.

If it were all about the potential of cashing in on the name and using it for personal gains then that train would have departed the station by now. Most don't know outside of those I share my dinner table with, that not long after the club's revival was made public there were two separate offers from sources that wanted to finance & place the team in a national league. If it were about the coin and/or my own arrogance, I would have signed away. To delve even deeper, I grew up as a seriously passionate Hartford Whalers and Metrostars fan, I know all too well what it's like to have an identity taken away or altered, I'd never ever want to be a part of something like that.

Without question though, we have a long way to go until we can prove we're worthy of holding the name, let alone the memories and accolades that come along with it. There's a certain way to take care of and respect this game, it's not always the same parts and pieces for each club but if you take the time to respect the game of football and all of it's wonderful components, such as our history, in time it will all take care of itself and that's my philosophy with this club and it's accompanying history.

Did that type of thinking influence your kit design?

I wanted to find a balance of yesterday and today with our match day kits. I decided that our home kits would be a link between the 1931 Marksmen (when they folded) and today, bring that hooped kit forward and give it a slight modern twist of today. The black drawstring collar and sponsor-less design hearkens to the days of yesteryear and compliments the vibrant red & white hooped design. The numbers on the back are simple black font a close look to the very few teams in that era that did wear uniform numbers. The original Marksmen to the best of our knowledge never adorned uniform numbers throughout their history.

All in all, I was after a classic look that would stand out on the pitch and give us a unique look that matched our club's unique history. The red and white hoops really stand out, especially from the perspective of seeing these kits in action as a fan. To me a great kit is all about finding that aesthetic that provides a unique look from both close up and from afar while also being easily identifiable & respected. I can understand our home kit not being everyone's favorite cup of tea but I'm really pleased with how it looks. Having Robert w/IcarusFC around to help w/the process was also a great blessing too.

For the away kit, my vision was to give it a modern approach along with a salute to our city & community. The faded brick design that is present throughout the kit is an homage to the many brick lined buildings that are all too present in the Fall River & South Coast community. The city was once home to a quarry and many of the older buildings that remain standing today in Fall River & the South Coast are made from the very stones that were pulled from the Fall River quarry, so a bit of a nod to that as well. The red sash across running across the front and back, plus the one shoulder is one part visual and one part story. The red sash flowing into the shoulder and over the back breaks the norm of the usual front shoulder to waist sash designs, with the all red shoulder helping to give the jersey an overall bite to it's visual aesthetics. The story aspect to the sash depicts our bond with the community and that we as a club & community can't be divided. The uniform numbers are also unique as well, a collaboration of myself and Robert w/IcarusFC. All in all, I'm really proud of how each kit looks and how it represents our club.

We have a third jersey coming out towards the end of the summer as well. It's something different that speaks to the modern approach of our club and our desire to celebrate the artistic side of this sport and our community. Football, fashion and art all go hand in hand and I'm really excited to unveil this look later on in the year.

How much research do you do on your branding decisions?

In regards to researching, there's certainly numerous avenue's to watch after or study, be it from the football world or outside of it. When I feel the need to lean on an outside influence, I've found myself gravitating to a few successful branding and marketers from Japan and have tried to incorporate their wisdom into my decision making. The Japanese marketing world to me in many ways represents the aura of our club image, a vibrant and fresh world with an understanding and respect for traditions and history. Kashiwa Sato would be one that I often look to for advice and clarity when mulling over a branding/marketing idea or strategy, he really understands the importance of branding & marketing like not many other's I've been fortunate to come across.

Essentially, if our current branding of the club had to be boiled down to a sentence or two, it would be, not forgetting that our limitations are tradition and common sense.

Tradition is something you see all too often with club's from the highest to the lowest levels getting wrong. You have to sell the sport and the stories that come along with it and allow for the story and atmosphere to grow and play itself out. Be aware of what your goals are, who your audience and community are and adjust accordingly. Too often clubs try to push a vibe or an atmosphere that isn't conducive to the sport or their community. Demographics and analytics are a great guide for showing how the particular parts of your club are growing and how the public are reacting to your initiatives but it shouldn't be the first go to when trying to market your club. Sell the sport, the passion, the history, the intimacy of being a small club and give it plenty of time and air to grow. Be true to the game and it will be true to you.

As to the common sense part, you could say the above breakdown also covers this part. Not everyone is going to buy into your branding and some of your initiatives will fall flat but if you're allowing yourself just enough room to fall and get back up without losing a step, you're going to eventually find yourself on a path that lays itself out before you. It can't all be about making a dollar or moving items off your sales rack because before you know it that's going to overshadow your actual football and your players. To me personally, what's the point of running a club if it's main purpose is to sell merchandise and results in a vibe that overshadows the players and the game itself. Your aura turns from pitch to plastic and I just don't see the point. Sell the sport, your community and allow it some space to grow.

Do you see your club as a tribute to the past?

I think the culmination of the answers above answers that question fairly clearly. For the sake of clarity and transparency though, the answer is yes.

One aspect to add into this conversation in how we honor and tribute the past would be the very man himself, founder/owner,Sam Mark. I think it gets lost in the conversation sometimes that Sam wasn't a football man, he was a businessman and certainly painted with a broader stroke than most other clubs owners.I'd like to think that taking the name and bringing it back to life is a very Sam'esque part of our club, along with our pro/rel structure and being vocally disenchanted with today's domestic club structure or lack there of it.

Why is it important to keep the memory of the old club alive?

It's a wonderful reminder of the excellence that our sport in this country was able to produce, as well as a testament to the power of what our community can accomplish. The accomplishments of those who came before us should never be looked at with having an expiration date and I hope our club can continue honoring the achievements of those who once stood before us, community and club.

What are your long term goals with the club?

We want to be here in ten years enthusiastically talking about the next ten coming up.

With our club being run in the traditional fashion of honoring promotion and relegation, it's our goal to eventually get the club into the professional ranks, whichever league that may be at the given time. We're here to earn our promotion out of the amateur & semi-pro levels and not just pick a league from a pamphlet and cut a check. We have a very long journey ahead of us but I hope in time we're seen as an example of not only how a club can & should operate in this country but also worthy of one day earning our forefathers nickname & reputation of being the American Menace.

He ended the interview with one of my favorite quotes, one that shows his heart and character. “Wherever you happen to find yourself calling home at the moment, go find the closest FC and support the daylights out them, especially if they are a semi-pro or amateur club. Your attention, opinion and dollars truly matter, go make a positive difference.”

Branding is part of building a successful club. But it isn’t the only thing. It gives fans a connection, an impression, a preliminary welcome, but then builds beyond to deepen the tie and strengthen the relationship. Eventually is helps sustain the excitement and passion, reminding the supporters why they support, showing them what they love about their club. For Fall River, that means tying their club to a history that was almost forgotten. It’s a thread that goes back to their roots, what they are built on, their core identity. They are a textbook example that branding can be just as passionate and dedicated as the rest of grassroots soccer.

- Dan Vaughn