With a renewed look and approach to branding, SSC Napoli have quietly become one of the sleekest football clubs in the world.
Creative direction in football is very much in its infancy, with few clubs acknowledging the importance of creativity and content in the modern game. Arsenal are a standout club who do things right as they seem to have a dedicated brand department that nearly functions as a creative agency, and it was their London counterparts Crystal Palace who became the first club to appoint a creative director. Southampton have just appointed a creative team and Newcastle have been building out their own, too.
On the continent, Como 1907 recently appointed vaunted designer Rhuigi Villaseñor as their chief brand officer, and teams like Venezia, Athens Kallithea, FC Versailles, and Red Star FC continue to write the blueprint on how to creatively present themselves.
But one club that has really changed its approach and is slowly becoming one of my favorites in terms of creativity and brand, is Napoli.
In recent years, Napoli have developed a reputation for kits, but not always in the best way. The club released 10-plus kits in back-to-back seasons to mixed reviews. From Halloween to Valentine’s Day and beyond, the club churned out kit after kit after kit — a weird approach that divided opinions for sure.
This season, though, they’ve refined their release calendar. There were no holiday-themed kits, and instead, we had the standard amount. A calmer front, that’s certain.
The shift to quality over quantity is no coincidence. In 2023, Napoli appointed a new creative director to steady the ship and deliver a creative strategy to add to their commercial prospects and ambitions. This has started shining through in their output and showcases that a clear plan is in place.
In pre-season, they made changes to their brand including a more minimalist monochrome logo to fit into the contemporary world, and introduced new typography — a bespoke font titled “Be Napoli,” which is said to tap into the heritage and culture of the city.
Gradually throughout this season, we’ve seen that real shift in their approach. Creative match photography is prominent throughout the club’s social media platforms, and sets the scene for their visual identity and the direction they’re choosing off the pitch.
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The dramatic black-and-white photography they’re putting out consistently is some of my favorite work from a football club in a long time. It is atmospheric and visually spectacular. They are also producing more creative videos from the sidelines of goals and their fans, some of which have been spectacular viewing. These two additions to the creative output provide us an insight into where they want to be creatively.
This fits into a handful of decisions that showcase what can happen if football clubs learn to harness creativity properly and channel that into not only further connecting to their existing fanbase, but also broadening their horizons and attracting new eyes to the club.
Football is slowly starting to wake up to the importance of this in the game, moving away from archaic stances on marketing and branding. It’s good to see. The challenges now lie in doing it correctly and not alienating what makes clubs tick: communities. Finding that balance is key, but Napoli — so far at least — are doing a good job since realigning their creative approach and focusing more on their brand strategy.
