If you look at the Surf Affiliate site (
http://affiliates.surfsoccer.com/) promoting the reasons to become a Surf Affiliate, they hold up Surf Hawaii as a poster child ... over a 3 year period:
925% Increase in Total Team (4 to 40)
800% Increase in Total Players
988% Increase in Revenue
The biggest selling point is the brand. "Surf" and the "Surf Cup" are national brands "Downey FC" or "Santa Monica United" or whatever else the club name ... not so much. Many don't know that Murrieta Surf is not the same as SD Surf,
just look at the responses in this thread of all the people that are supposed to be knowledgeable that have no idea what the difference between an affiliate v. corporate regional operator is. Its confusing and the affiliates benefit by this fact.
This brand has value, especially for clubs looking for a competitive advantage in an already crowded market. How important is a brand in the eyes of a consumer, just ask yourself how many times you went through a drive through and when asked what your drink preference was you answered "Coke" or "Dr. Pepper" or "Sprite" instead of "RC Cola" or "Mr. Pibb" or "Sierra Mist."