Inter Milan’s branding aims for common threads

Italian club makes a bold move for global recognition with focus on lifestyle, fashion.

- By KEvIn BAXTER

CARLOS AUGUSTO (30) and his Inter Milan teammates rejoice after a goal.

(MARCO LUZZANI Getty Images)

MILAN — Milan's two first-division soccer teams share a stadium, the majestic San Siro, and the top two spots in the Serie A standings. They each have American owners and fanatically loyal supporters. And both are among the most iconic and successful teams in history.

But that’s where the similarities wane. Because while Inter Milan believes it has a story to tell, AC Milan has locked the doors, drawn the drapes and taken the phone off the hook.

I know this because ahead of last month's MilanCortina Winter Games I reached out to both clubs and asked if they might have some time to visit. AC Milan proved too busy to chat, but Inter Milan invited me to its training center, hidden among farm fields and quiet pastures 45 minutes from the city. Those humble surroundings proved to be at odds with the lofty global reach the team is trying to build.

“I would say it’s leveraging more around Italian history and then the history of the club,” Giorgio Ricci, Inter Milan’s chief revenue officer, said of the image the club is trying to market. “A city like Milano is now a real ambassador of that Italian culture, from lifestyle to design to food and whatever. But we [also] have the authentic history around the foundation of this club. It's a story not of globalization but of internationalization,

“So there is always this dualism between being very strong [ly] rooted in the city of Milan, in the real core, and having this international attitude. It’s quite a unique and winning combination.”

The Inter in Inter Milan, after all, is short for Internazionale, Italian for international.