By Ken Rutherford | January 30, 2012 at 9:44 am | No comments | Blog
By Ken Rutherford
Vice President, Branding & IT
As the V.P. of Branding at the Gwinnett Chamber, it’s my job to make sure that the Chamber brand reflects the mission of the Gwinnett Chamber in a way that is visually effective, modern, and flexible in its use. Our “new” logo, introduced in late 2006, depicts the Chamber’s role as the “hub” of the community, connecting business with government, healthcare, and education. It also reflects our four-fold mission of 1.) Creating Jobs & Wealth, 2.) Strengthening the Community, 3.) Building Business, and 4.) Providing Valuable Return on Investment to our Members.
I want to share with you three short lessons on branding taken from the three NFL franchises in Florida.
1. We’ll start with the newest of the three franchises, the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Without properly researching other brands whose copyright might be infringed by its new logo, the owner of the new NFL franchise rolled out the new logo and helmet design in November, 1995.
The day after the NFL awarded the expansion team to Jacksonville, a triumphant Wayne Weaver held up the Jaguars’ proposed silver helmet and teal jersey at the NFL owners’ meeting in Chicago. The team’s colors were to be teal, gold, and silver with black accents. However, this jersey and helmet design, with a gold leaping jaguar, created controversy. Ford Motor Company, then-parent of the automaker Jaguar, believed that the Jaguars’ logo bore too much resemblance to the automaker’s logo. Though no lawsuit was brought to trial, lawyers from the team and the auto maker negotiated an ultimately amicable agreement whereby Jaguar would be named the official car of the Jaguars, and the Jaguars would redesign their uniforms.
The team redesigned the logo and has been using it ever since.
The lesson? The bigger you are, the bigger a target you make. An NFL franchise should have checked on brands as obvious as Jaguar. For smaller companies, the last thing you want people saying is “that logo looks like so-and-so.” The most effective brands are unique and new.
2.Next is my favorite team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Most NFL fans remember (and are treated to at least once per year on “Throwback Sunday”) the original “Creamsicle Orange” uniforms and the less-than-intimidating, winking, plume-hatted pirate logo. The people of the Tampa Bay area dubbed him, “Buccaneer Bruce” (affectionately pronounced “Brooth”).
Long-time Tampa Tribune cartoonist and Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla member Lamar Sparkman designed the first team logo.[29] Faced with the difficulty of designing a logo that did not closely resemble that of the other “pirates” in the league, the Oakland Raiders, Sparkman came up with a pirate in a plumed hat and a dagger in his mouth. The pirate appeared to be winking. He came to be known as “Bruce the Buccaneer” or “Buccaneer Bruce.” Sports writer and commentator Nick Bakay once said that Buccaneer Bruce was a pirate who “struck fear in the hearts of no one.”
It took 21 years for the franchise to get wise to the fact that their image was suffering from poor branding.
For the 1997 season, the Glazers worked with the NFL to develop a more marketable and intimidating look in order to improve the team’s image. The Buccaneers changed their team colors to red, pewter, black and orange. “Bucco Bruce” was replaced by a red flag displaying a white pirate skull and crossed sabres which is a modified Jolly Roger. The flag was mounted on another sabre. The “Buccaneers” team name was written in a new font, Totally Gothic, and was either red with shadows of pewter or red and white. Orange pinstriping, and an orange football, was used to maintain a visual link to the former colors.
The lesson. Remember your core mission and design your brand to fit that mission. The NFL is a football league. Buccaneer Bruce did nothing to reinforce the images of huge men crashing violently into each other, moving the ball, war-like, into enemy territory with blood, sweat, dirt, and determination.
3. And finally, the Miami Dolphins.
The Dolphins, who joined the AFL (which later merged with the NFL) in 1966, has had a brand that is virtually unchanged since those initial days. The original logo has a distinctively hand-drawn look. Much of the detail is only visible when viewed close up. But the brand was effective in conveying the idea of a mascot who is strong, athletic, and intelligent. It also represents the look and feel of the Miami area.
In 1997, the brand underwent a facelift to give it a more modern and more graphically elegant look. The sunburst was simplified and the dolphin was darkened and given a recognizably game-faced expression.
The lesson. Sometimes a good brand just needs to be updated. The Dolphins logo still looks essentially the same but some of the fine details have been eliminated to avoid reproduction problems and to emulate modern sports logos. The result is a current, effective brand that will serve the franchise well for years to come.
