One sport: soccer. One city: Milan. Two teams: the “snake” and the “devil”. The first one has built its story and success on two colors, namely black and blue, and the other on two colors too, namely black and red. When it happens, blue and red are two different ways of thinking. According to the supporters, this matters.

But the supporters are your current customers, what about the potential customers? Japan, Indonesia, China and the whole Asia are huge markets: large populations, an increasing wealth and great enthusiasm are the ingredients of their attractiveness. But if we look at the flags, there might be a problem. Red. Red. Red.

Inter Milan, the ” Black-and-Blue Snake”, entered the Asian market through different tactics: it bought a Japanese player; it played two friendlies and launched a shop in Indonesia and…it designed a red away-jersey.
Red? It is the first time the jersey is totally red. Is it not like an insult to your supporters?

This is the “red snake”:

Let’s consider two aspects.

How much does a color matter for the Asian people?

I’ve read that the color of red means good luck, happiness, prosperity in China: it has a great value. And if a potential Chinese customer enters a shop, he could be more impressed by something red. This matters.

It could be risky?

The supporter have criticized the solution. The devil is red. The snake is not. It isn’t pleasant to see your team playing in red kit. But this jersey has something of eye-catching and new also for Italian supporters. Moreover, it is just the away-kit. Finally, the potential market is so large that this marketing tactic is worth the risk. Only the sales will tell us the truth.

But there is another huge reason…

The markets will be affected, but above all the choice of red seems to be a tribute to a consortium of Chinese investors which has offered to pay 55 million euros  for a 15 percent stake of the club and their help for the construction of the new stadium. So, this is marketing-to-investors.

Red is not just a color: it matters.