Cheerleading and successful brand development, what do they have in common? As it turns out, a lot! At least for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC), one of the largest and most influential cheerleading organisations in the United States.
I’d never given much thought to cheerleading before (it’s a very American tradition) but the grand thing about life is sometimes you can glean wisdom and insight from the most unexpected places. Cheerleading included.
I recently watched “America’s Sweethearts”, Netflix’s reality show about the DCC that follows the 2023 DCC graduates on their journey, from first audition to first live performance. Aside from the emotional journey you embark on with these young women, I found myself fascinated by the DCC organisation – a universally recognised enterprise that people dedicate their lives to join!
There are inherent, valuable branding lessons that we, as leaders, can learn from the DCC. There’s far more to it than parading and pom poms. Behind the glamour lies a well-oiled machine that relies on impeccable brand management.
When you think about it, cheerleading is a fantastic example of branding done right. The whole purpose of a cheerleading squad is to keep a crowd excited and supportive of their team, even when that team is losing or performing poorly.
They aim to draw crowds in, inspire them, and keep the positivity and excitement palpable. They exist to draw crowds to fields and viewers to televisions, again and again. The colours, the choreography, the cheers, the smiles, the synchronicity all exist to draw you in, functioning as a living, breathing brand.
The DCC have, in essence, perfected and paved the way for modern-day cheerleading and they achieved this through excellent, strategic rebranding. Until 1972, the DCC was essentially an informal, after-school cheerleading programme that ran as an obligatory sideline event to the main attraction – the Dallas Cowboys Football team.
All of this changed in 1972 when new management decided to relaunch the DCC as an official squad that only hired adult women who made the cut in terms of physical fitness and agility. The new uniform launch, consisting of the now iconic blue star representing the DCC brand, cemented this paradigm shift in how the cheerleaders were perceived – and crowds responded enthusiastically.
The DCC appeared on late-night television shows, performed with celebrities and engrained their new brand and status as entertainers into the heart of American culture.
While this branding relaunch propelled public interest in the DCC and made them as recognisable as the Dallas Cowboys themselves, all of the investment in this rebranding still wasn’t turning a profit.
Kelli Finglass, the current DCC Director, was hired in 1990 to take the now-famous DCC brand and turn it into a profit source. Kelli is credited with the productization of the brand, launching an annual DCC calendar, a line of DCC dolls and producing the mega-successful reality show “Making the Team”.
Coupled with the now famous cheer routines that headline every DC football game, the DCC doesn’t just offer a masterclass in effective brand building, but also in brand maintenance and continuity. Within the official DCC guide book that each new squad member receives, there’s an ethos that governs how every cheerleader should conduct themselves:
I am a little thing with a big meaning. I help everybody. I unlock doors, open hearts, do away with prejudices—I create friendship and good will. I inspire respect and confidence. Everybody loves me. I bore nobody. I violate no law. I cost nothing. Many have praised me, none have condemned me. I am pleasing to everyone. I am useful every moment of the day. –
It might not be everyone’s cup of tea to have a brand ethos governing your behaviour, but it works for the DCC. It acts as the anchor that guides all cheerleaders in being successful brand ambassadors both on and off the field. At its core, this ethos is what draws people in and creates the lore behind the iconic blue stars and white boots.
All of the cheerleaders buy into the mission. They all want the same thing – to perform to the best of their abilities within their roles. Because they all buy into the mission, they effortlessly operate as a team, whether together or apart.
The DCC don’t just abide by their brand – they live it, every day.
Through this, every cheerleader is part of a shared identity, one that’s reinforced through branding ceremonies. The DCC organisation regularly hosts gala dinners to celebrate group and individual team achievements. Then there are rituals embedded into the DCC lore, like the official handover of the new uniform to the year’s team, the first costumed photoshoot, etc.
From a branding perspective, all of these events help to create the collective identity that every cheerleader shares, helping them to work together and to resolve conflicts and challenges more easily. This unified front under the blue star is as important for the cheerleaders as it is for fans. After all, if you don’t buy into your brand, why should anyone else?
The DCC continues to prove that aesthetics alone aren’t enough to carry a successful brand. A brand is made up of like dedicated people plugged into the same vision. One person who fails to tap into that vision will create a crack in an otherwise flawless brand image as surely as one cheerleader not properly supporting her teammates during a group kick will affect the entire team’s synchronicity.
Together, these pieces form the collective puzzle that has made DCC the iconic cheerleading organisation that it is – a team so renowned that women from all over the world audition for the chance to be part of it every year and legends like Dolly Parton and Queen’s Brian May perform with them at live events.
As business leaders, we’d be remiss not to take note of the lessons we can learn from the DCC about building – and maintaining – a brand identity and organisation mission that all our team members believe in and support.
*image credit: The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
© Donna Rachelson. All Rights Reserved
