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Warrington Wolves rebrand


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So after the recent fan survey it seems that the fans complained about the brand, retail ops, engagement, the matchday etc. Supports mine and others view that the off field is as important as the on field, especially when trying to build a xlub and fan loyalty. It isnt all about the 80m on the pitch.

Anyway, step 1, a new logo, with The Wire incorporated. Many wont like it, personally not a massive fan of the new wolf head, thought we could have updated the.old one, but pleased to see the.club trying to sell itself positively.

http://warringtonwolves.com/

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So after the recent fan survey it seems that the fans complained about the brand, retail ops, engagement, the matchday etc. Supports mine and others view that the off field is as important as the on field, especially when trying to build a xlub and fan loyalty. It isnt all about the 80m on the pitch.

Anyway, step 1, a new logo, with The Wire incorporated. Many wont like it, personally not a massive fan of the new wolf head, thought we could have updated the.old one, but pleased to see the.club trying to sell itself positively.

http://warringtonwolves.com/

I do like the add on of the wire but the wolfs a bit thunder cats.

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TBH 'Wolves' was one of the few acceptable nicknames, it's relatively anglicized and people at least seemed to buy into the mascot, which is more than can be said for most of the mid-90s timewarp brands that are still around. The corny like 'Wildcats', 'Giants', 'Warriors', 'Centurions' etc is what really needs to go.

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but the wolfs a bit thunder cats.

:biggrin: Ha ha ha was thinking the same thing

Maybe the marketing people thought they needed a symbol more in tune with the mental age of their fans - about 8 :tongue:

 

Warrington Thunder Cats sounds great, would certainly have the crowd smiling if the team ran out to their theme tune !

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I like the simplistic modality of the new badge to be honest. I would have liked the wolf to have kept his bared teeth and also for the crest to keep the triangular shape of the old one though as I always thought that was the most disctinctive part of the Wire badge. But overall, looks fine IMO

 

Actually, Whats with the lightning bolts and shield shapes in the background? Bit odd, but a minor detail

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TBH 'Wolves' was one of the few acceptable nicknames, it's relatively anglicized and people at least seemed to buy into the mascot, which is more than can be said for most of the mid-90s timewarp brands that are still around. The corny ###### like 'Wildcats', 'Giants', 'Warriors', 'Centurions' etc is what really needs to go.

Have thought the same re Leigh for a while now, has we have one of reached 120 years it could be "Centurions plus 20%" or "Centurions and a Fifth", seriously the name was topical when first originated, but to say it is corny nowadays would'nt be over emphasising.

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I like the simplistic modality of the new badge to be honest. I would have liked the wolf to have kept his bared teeth and also for the crest to keep the triangular shape of the old one though as I always thought that was the most disctinctive part of the Wire badge. But overall, looks fine IMO

 

Actually, Whats with the lightning bolts and shield shapes in the background? Bit odd, but a minor detail

There is a video on the website which explains a bit more. The lightning represents the Wire industry and the hard work, strength and skill (iirc I watched it very early!) - and the shields represent the 7 clubs that joined together to form Warrington RLFC.

 

On the overall design, it is different to what we have so will attract criticism, but I like the fact that thought has gone into it and it appears to be part of a strategic overhaul of a club which seems to have stagnated in the last few years, on quite a few levels.

 

So far it is a logo, but I'm liking what I am hearing since Draper took over. Gatcliffe appeared to be excellent behind the scenes and with a lot of the business side, but the customer facing operations left a lot to be desired.

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TBH 'Wolves' was one of the few acceptable nicknames, it's relatively anglicized and people at least seemed to buy into the mascot, which is more than can be said for most of the mid-90s timewarp brands that are still around. The corny ###### like 'Wildcats', 'Giants', 'Warriors', 'Centurions' etc is what really needs to go.

 

I'm not sure about that. I think that certainly with Wigan, Leeds and Bradford the SL nicknames have stuck. Not sure about the others. But don't forget, there are a lot of fans that won't have known them as owt else now.

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TBH 'Wolves' was one of the few acceptable nicknames, it's relatively anglicized and people at least seemed to buy into the mascot, which is more than can be said for most of the mid-90s timewarp brands that are still around. The corny ###### like 'Wildcats', 'Giants', 'Warriors', 'Centurions' etc is what really needs to go.

I think we were slightly lucky on a few counts on this one. Firstly, a wolf's head appears on the town's crest (I actually think we could have retained that head - which we used before we became the wolves!) - and secondly they start with the same letter as the town name, are fierce and can be made into a cute mascot! All good stuff, but rather fortunate - although we could have easily gone with that even had it not been on the crest, but I think it gave credibility and a link right at the start.

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It's pretty good, and the old badge was probably in need of an update.

 

On the first look I though the light blue in the top left looked a bit out of place given that the darker blue in the top right is the same shade which has been used in the wolf logo. After a looking at it for a little bit longer I think it works quite nicely though. I like the inclusion of 'The Wire' too, anyone who doesn't know why it's there might be inclined to find out about it and as such learn a bit more about the area. 

 

It honours the past whilst looking pleasing enough so I think it's a job well done.

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What's that shield mean with the zig zagz and rounded triangle bits in?   I think it'd look better with just the Wolf head and the team name and Wire set neatly above or below in a more striking font.....kind of like the Brisbane broncos logo.

 

There's a damn site worse about though.

england_identity2.jpg1921_button.jpg

 

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So after the recent fan survey it seems that the fans complained about the brand, retail ops, engagement, the matchday etc. Supports mine and others view that the off field is as important as the on field, especially when trying to build a xlub and fan loyalty. It isnt all about the 80m on the pitch.

Anyway, step 1, a new logo, with The Wire incorporated. Many wont like it, personally not a massive fan of the new wolf head, thought we could have updated the.old one, but pleased to see the.club trying to sell itself positively.

http://warringtonwolves.com/

Always liked the Warrington club but always thought the old logo wasn't great, not clean or clear enough. New one addresses that although I think the 'Warrington' bit and 'the wire' bit look like afterthoughts. Overall an improvement though. Good to see a club asking and then listening to fans.

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TBH 'Wolves' was one of the few acceptable nicknames, it's relatively anglicized and people at least seemed to buy into the mascot, which is more than can be said for most of the mid-90s timewarp brands that are still around. The corny ###### like 'Wildcats', 'Giants', 'Warriors', 'Centurions' etc is what really needs to go.

I got too excited when I read rebrand, I thought at last the American college nickname s are on their way out.

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Given Wire's sponsorship deal from earlier on this year, wouldn't this image be spot on for the rebrand?

 

A_Retro_Cartoon_Gangster_with_a_Wolfhead

 

(Yes, yes, I know, I did see Hull FC's Magic Weekend kit....)

With Halloween coming up I decided to go to my local fancy dress shop to see if I could get a Dracula costume. After a few minutes the assistant handed me a Hull KR shirt asking "Is this suitable?", I replied "I think you may have misheard me, I said I wanted to look like a count."
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Warrington have gone for a pretty difficult trick to pull off here I think.

Firstly, I am pleased they have listened to their fans and that is absolutely to their credit. They must have had a lot of feedback about the name 'Wire' not being part of their current brand and it is a big part of their heritage.

Looking at the brand refresh on the website they say that Wire is their name, always has been and always will be. But the website is called Warrington Wolves of course which kind of impacts this claim.

They look like they are trying to get the club brand as the Wolves and the team brand as the Wire... not an easy ask. But good luck to them as I have always thought of Warrington as the Wire and I am glad to see the name return formally.

"The history of the world is the history of the triumph of the heartless over the mindless." — Sir Humphrey Appleby.

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Not really sure they really needed a complete rebrand, i'm sure it would have been possible to incorporate the 'Wire' in the previous branding. Which i actually think was better. The wolf does remind me slightly of the Minnesota Timber Wolves logo, it certainly seems the designer has taken direction from it.

Personally i think this new branding is pretty poor. Its been poorly executed anyway and doesn't look like the branding a professional sports team should be using. I really wish when clubs do this type of thing they would spend some money and get it done by the right people. Salford and London Bronco's recent rebranding efforts spring to mind also.

The 'wire' doesn't actually look that much like wire.. and i'm not sure what the group of badge emblems represent either.. (edit. just read previous posts explaining this bit)

IMO its certainly not an improvement.

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I like it – at the end it’s about appealing to your audience and not some old duffer who seems hell bent on ridiculing anything “new era”

 

Good on the Wolves and hope the fans of tomorrow (ie the kids) really get behind this new brand

Now then, it's a race between Sandie....and Fairburn....and the little man is in........yeees he's in.

I, just like those Castleford supporters felt that the ball should have gone to David Plange but he put the bit betwen his teeth...and it was a try

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The real Mick Gledhill is what you see on here, a Bradford fan ........, but deep down knows that Bradford are just not good enough to challenge the likes of Leeds & St Helens.
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I took part in the survey and my personal view was that me must never forget our heritage. Youngsters and newcomers to the town need to learn about the club and its close links to our town and we want/need their support. This is no different to any team in the SL. In order to shape a secure future we should always embrace and learn from our past.

Aesthetically the new badge achieves this, by way of its simple 'old school' design, unlike the rabid dog we have been used to in recent years. I like it, and as an ex wireworker I like it even more.

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After many years of supporting Warrington I have never, ever heard anyone at the match refer to us as the Wolves. The wolf idea worked to some extent, particularly with the mascot, but it was never going to replace 'The Wire' as the club's real identity. 

 

Personally I'm not over keen on the badge but it's ok and I love the addtion of the strapline.  The club has done a really good job.

 

On a related but different topic, I'd love to see the survey data with regard to when fans want matches to be played, as there are strong rumours that we are going to switch to Friday night. I really don't think that's what the fans actually want, but I obviously don't have very much proof of that.

 

Actually, if you follow this link it looks like Tony Smith is preparing us for the worst: Club should play on Friday night even if the fans don't want it

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On a related but different topic, I'd love to see the survey data with regard to when fans want matches to be played, as there are strong rumours that we are going to switch to Friday night. I really don't think that's what the fans actually want, but I obviously don't have very much proof of that.

 

Actually, if you follow this link it looks like Tony Smith is preparing us for the worst: Club should play on Friday night even if the fans don't want it

Saints made a similar decision when Eamon McManus took over. In the end they told fans that they would try it for a year or so and the final decision would be made on the financial outcome. Guess it was the right decision as they still pay on Friday night.

St.Helens - The Home of record breaking Rugby Champions

 

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