How the Wests Tigers are Using Digital to Lead the Change

What’s happening on the Wests Tigers Instagram right now is a case study in digital brand transformation. It’s not just a visual glow-up; it’s a strategic shift that reflects, supports, and accelerates a broader club rebuild.

The digital uplift isn’t secondary to the on-field strategy (almost a year into their three-year plan), it’s moving in parallel. The shift is obvious if you compare 2024 to 2025 content. But more importantly, it tells us something bigger about how clubs should think about digital during rebuilds, not after.

My thoughts on what changed and why it matters:

✨From reactive to narrative-first. In 2024, content was transactional: team lists, game-day tiles, result graphics. In 2025, the feed has a clear editorial rhythm. It’s no longer documenting the product; it’s shaping the story.
🗣️Don’t wait for the ladder to shift. Set the tone early through consistent, values-led content. Identity can be built before results.

✨The 2024 feed felt generic, filtered photos, graphic templates, little variation. The 2025 aesthetic is distinctive: moody lighting, slow-motion sweat, sideline chaos, player banter, all wrapped in a consistent colour grade and style.
🗣️Cohesion signals credibility. Even low-res moments feel elevated when they’re part of a clear visual ecosystem.

✨From admin as narrator - to admin as host. The shift in voice is subtle, but game-changing. In 2025, the captions, comments, and Instagram community group chat have a human tone: emotionally intelligent, self-aware, warm. It’s not loud, it’s steady.
🗣️Voice isn’t just a nice-to-have. Admin is the club for many fans. Build trust through tone, not just information.

✨ From content as output to content as connection. This is the big one. In 2024, content was mostly output: “here’s what happened.” Now, it’s doing the emotional labour of the rebuild, giving fans something to believe in while the results are still coming.
🗣️ Content doesn’t sit downstream of performance. It carries the strategy, especially during rebuild phases. Don’t treat it as an afterthought. Treat it as the frontline.

The Tigers haven’t just invested in content production. They’ve invested in coherence. Everything - from visuals, to voice, to story - is aligned around a single message: “we’re not there yet, but we’re building something, and we want you to see it.” And that message is landing. Engagement is up, community chat is active & sentiment is shifting because fans feel included in the process.

Too many clubs treat content as something you do once the team is winning again. But that’s backwards. You don’t wait for success to start telling your story, you use content to bring people into the rebuild. Wests Tigers are doing that and doing it well.

This isn’t content ABOUT the rebuild. This is THE rebuild, in digital form👏🏼👏🏼