Pictured: Club York CEO Rocky Massaria ACCM,
and Board Members at official launch.
Club Rebrand Strategy Ticks
all the Boxes
In mid-June, 99 on York unveiled
their new name and logo, Club
York. Located in the heart of
the Sydney CBD, 99 on York
faced a lot of challenges that
suburban or regional clubs don’t
encounter.
The club also recognised it had a lot
of underutilised opportunities, and
after nearly two years of research,
development and strategic planning
the new identity was unveiled
- Club York.
The rebrand was designed to
better align the club name with
the business and the services they
supply to their members and guests.
Retaining, much less growing
membership was also a challenge
due to their location.
While the club has been trading
better than ever, converting those
visitors who work in the city but live
outside of the CBD into becoming
members, has not always been easy.
The street frontage is dominated
by an open balcony that flows on
from a sports lounge and is heavily
male dominated.
IQ 34
They recognised they were missing
out on engaging with at least half
of their potential market by not
appealing to females. Part of the rebrand is the new look
Zabou Bar and Grill where patrons
can grab a taste of New York in
Sydney’s CBD.
There were a number of crucial
things the club considered when
they looked at a rebrand including: Research showed that current
patrons liked the name, but not the
food, so the brand was completely
revitalised and aligned with a
quirky but relevant and cost-
effective menu that suits the target
market perfectly.
Why rebrand in the first place?
The club felt they weren’t
connecting with their audience and/
or the potential audience. Research
showed that people outside of
regular members did not recognise
the venue as a club.
Most regarded it as an address of
an adjoining office building and
many other York Street locations
were also using their street number
in their branding, so it became
confusing.
What is the story you are telling
with the new brand?
The rebrand is more than just a
name change. The club spent the
past 12 months developing and
refining their food and beverage
offerings which they knew was a
major traffic driver.
The design and construction of
the new Zabou Bar and Grill was
undertaken by Paynter Dixon
Constructions and the total cost
including building work, furniture
and equipment was around $1.5
million. The adjacent outdoor
balcony was also increased in size
as part of the project.
The club will unveil more food
offerings later in the year as it
continues to develop this side
of the business.
They also wanted the look and feel
of the brand to reflect their city
location and business.