As the Premier League club launches new kit celebrating African supporters, we catch up with marketing director Adam Gardiner to learn more about his transformation strategy. Arsenal away kit 24/25 launch film / Arsenal YouTube kit launch film For the past four years, Arsenal have been rebuilding. In 2019, sitting 10th in the Premier League having conceded 14 consecutive games, its manager, Unai Emery, was sacked and Mikel Arteta brought in to turn the fortunes of the club around.
Arteta’s work has paid off, with Arsenal finishing second in the league for the 2023/2024 season. But it’s not just on the pitch where Arsenal have been rebuilding. In 2020, Arsenal sat down to map out their first brand strategy – a hefty project that involved everything from redefining the club values, updating the brand guidelines and new fonts to audience segmentation, brand tracking and building a data warehouse.
As part of this business overhaul, Arsenal hired ex-Nike brand marketer Adam Gardiner to execute its new brand strategy. After a 12-year stint at the sports giant, Gardiner now serves as Arsenal’s marketing director. Sitting down with The Drum in the grounds of Emirates Stadium, Gardiner says he came with a “blank canvas” to build a modern football club.
“As we move into this modern context and the globalization of football accelerates, we asked, 'What is it that Arsenal truly stands for? What’s its mission? What’s its purpose, its reason for being?'” he says. Advert.