Branding and Image of Super League

[Dave T]

One of the things I was really hoping for in this new world of SLE ownership of SL was a more professional portrayal of the comp, yet this just doesn't seem to be happening at all.

SL on Youtube -  2 channels, neither up to date. The highlights channel last has a video of the England game 2 months ago.

Referees sponsorship - looks like Specsavers deal has ended, they no longer feature on the TV games, but it looks like the refs and touchies are still wearing the old kits for non-TV games (even though these games have highlights on tv).

And today I was browsing the stats section of the site - the player profile pics are all of last year. Mitch Garbutt the top metre maker, being shown wearing last year's Leeds kit. Other players wearing last years kits with old sponsors on.

These are all things that partners and sponsors are interested in, and tbh it is all just a bit of a dis-organised mess. There are probably a dozen other things once you start looking.

I accept some of the financial limitations that the game works with, but there is no excuse for sloppiness.

[Cheshire Setter]

I can only assume this is due to the fact there is currently no head of communications at Super League.   The position is advertised, but I'd hope they'd be head-hunting someone from a proven background.

It's all about the funds available I guess.   Pretty poor form though - you'd think at least somebody would be covering the comms duties, even if it's Ethel the cleaner.

[Rupert Prince]

Was the Specsavers referees sponsorship for/by superleague or the RLF? 

[Bring back GB]

I think the "Super League" brand needs dropping now. It sounds cheap and gimmicky.

Should be rebranded as the Rugby League Premiership.

[Cheshire Setter]

[Dave T]

1 minute ago, Rupert Prince said:

Was the Specsavers referees sponsorship for/by superleague or the RLF? 

Dunno, suspect it was one of those murky ones, where SLE and the RFL both get a deal out of it!

IT could easily be the RFL responsible for the ref teams. Similarly it could be the RFL responsible for the website, as it is a generic RFL one.

[Cheshire Setter]

^^^

Almost certain they'll need to head-hunt someone from a different sport.   If every club puts 10k in the pot we can recruit someone decent and professional on a six-figure salary. 

[Lapsed Leeds Fan]

12 minutes ago, Bring back GB said:

I think the "Super League" brand needs dropping now. It sounds cheap and gimmicky.

Totally agree. What sounded fresh in 1996 now sounds like a regional dominoes tournament.

[Damien]

I would certainly like some of the next TV deal to go towards setting up a proper media and communications unit. I appreciate we cant match what the NRL are doing but it wouldn't take much to employ a handful of people constantly creating news and content all day long. Things like social media could be utilized much more and we could have much more digital content on the likes of YouTube etc. Such a unit could even do newspapers jobs for them, creating  match reports and news and sending them to news organisations. Yes our game struggles for space in our newspapers but when most newspapers don't even have RL journalists now we can sure as hell do all we can to get them on board. Also wine and dine journalists and prospective sponsors at games etc on freebies. The game needs to get out there and grab these people by the scruff of the neck. Yes there is a cost but there is in everything that is worth doing and such an investment could repay tenfold in additional coverage, fans and sponsors.

[Tommygilf]

To be fair they've been fairly on the ball on Instagram and twitter, with extremely bitesize clips etc. But a relatively decent amount of content.

[Dave T]

6 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

To be fair they've been fairly on the ball on Instagram and twitter, with extremely bitesize clips etc. But a relatively decent amount of content.

yes, the social media stuff has been better tbh, they seem on the ball with this, which is frustrating when you then see such sloppy stuff in other areas. 

[Cheshire Setter]

45 minutes ago, Bring back GB said:

I think the "Super League" brand needs dropping now. It sounds cheap and gimmicky.

Should be rebranded as the Rugby League Premiership.

I would prefer ‘Rugby Super League’,   The very ambiguity of the title in not differentiating between the two codes, would enable us to take advantage of the neutral observers’ lack of awareness of RL.   Even the media may take more notice.

[NotToday]

40 minutes ago, Bring back GB said:

I think the "Super League" brand needs dropping now. It sounds cheap and gimmicky.

Should be rebranded as the Rugby League Premiership.

 

I disagree. The Super League moniker is still being coveted by other entities to this day, but RL is the one it's most associated with. When anyone searches "Super League", the English RL shows up.

If RL gives that up that would be like someone giving up the Coca-Cola brand. You already gave away "rugby", now "super league" too! I'm telling you, 5 years after the fact you'd all be bashing them and calling them idiots for giving up this coveted moniker.

"Rugby League Premiership" isn't anymore unique than Super League. Except that chances are you get far fewer hits, and far fewer people considering it memorable of a name. It has no brand value whatsoever. 'Premiership' sounds so cliché.

 

What they need to do is change the Super League logo and colour scheme. The current light blue, white and bronze colour scheme is so dated. Should be changed to something like red and yellow with black outlines, and an emblem that stands out.

[NotToday]

7 minutes ago, Cheshire Setter said:

I would prefer ‘Rugby Super League’,   The very ambiguity of the title in not differentiating between the two codes, would enable us to take advantage of the neutral observers’ lack of awareness of RL.   Even the media may take more notice.

I like this idea too.

Super League Rugby is also good, what do you think? It's weird that RU took "Major League Rugby" in the US, but this one-ups them and capitalizes on anyone ever attempting to search either "Super League" or "League Rugby"

 

27 minutes ago, Tommygilf said:

To be fair they've been fairly on the ball on Instagram and twitter, with extremely bitesize clips etc. But a relatively decent amount of content.

That's for hardcore fans who follow. Doesn't bring in newer audiences like youtube does, including those outside England.

[Rupert Prince]

3 minutes ago, Cheshire Setter said:

I would prefer ‘Rugby Super League’,   The very ambiguity of the title in not differentiating between the two codes, would enable us to take advantage of the neutral observers’ lack of awareness of RL.   Even the media may take more notice.

We have invested a lot of time on the Super League brand, should we really change it?

For me, I would drop the "Rugby" and call the wider  game, League Rules (Football).  LR... It just switches the letters round. When the media talke of "Rugby", they mean Union.  Don't we all think simply of "League"?

But beyond that can we at least clarify if it is Super League, or Superleague,  or SuperLeague, or superLeague or superLEAGUE....

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

We have invested a lot of time on the Super League brand, should we really change it?

For me, I would drop the "Rugby" and call the wider  game, League Rules (Football).  LR... It just switches the letters round. When the media talke of "Rugby", they mean Union.  Don't we all think simply of "League"?

But beyond that can we at least clarify if it is Super League, or Superleague,  or SuperLeague, or superLeague or superLEAGUE....

You missed out SooperDooperLeague, StupidLeague, SuperGreed....

[NotToday]

12 minutes ago, Rupert Prince said:

We have invested a lot of time on the Super League brand, should we really change it?

For me, I would drop the "Rugby" and call the wider  game, League Rules (Football).  LR... It just switches the letters round. When the media talke of "Rugby", they mean Union.  Don't we all think simply of "League"?

But beyond that can we at least clarify if it is Super League, or Superleague,  or SuperLeague, or superLeague or superLEAGUE....

He retained the SL moniker though, just added a rugby to it. Doesn't hurt the existing brand, just expounds upon it if you ask me.

League Rules sounds even more generic tbh. I can't see anyone taking a sport that calls itself just "League" seriously. How does it differentiate from all the other "leagues" being thrown around.

 

Edit: People from other languages are going to be so confused. 

Hola amigo, what do you watch?

"I'm watching Liga"

Oh gotcha, Barcelona, Madrid or which one?

[Damien]

10 minutes ago, NotToday said:

 

I disagree. The Super League moniker is still being coveted by other entities to this day, but RL is the one it's most associated with. When anyone searches "Super League", the English RL shows up.

In the UK maybe but there are plenty of Super Leagues in various sports and if you search elsewhere you will get one of these. That could be the Pakistan Super League, the Greek Super League etc. The term Super League is very non descriptive when used in isolation and could be referring to any sport.

[NotToday]

Just now, Damien said:

In the UK maybe but there are plenty of Super Leagues in various sports and if you search elsewhere you will get one of these. That could be the Pakistan Super League, the Greek Super League etc. The term Super League is very non descriptive when used in isolation and could be referring to any sport.

 

I know, that's what I'm saying. People search "Super league" and this shows up. Just need to add the word Rugby to it to be more descriptive.

If you change it to Premiership or Premier League it doesn't become more unique, it becomes less. 

[Dave T]

2 minutes ago, NotToday said:

 

I know, that's what I'm saying. People search "Super league" and this shows up. Just need to add the word Rugby to it to be more descriptive.

If you change it to Premiership or Premier League it doesn't become more unique, it becomes less. 

Yes, I find it bizarre when people suggest we should move away from Super League but then suggest something like Premiership as the replacement!

[Kayakman]

Super League Rugby.

[Cheshire Setter]

7 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Yes, I find it bizarre when people suggest we should move away from Super League but then suggest something like Premiership as the replacement!

Also, the reason I mentioned putting ‘Rugby’ in there was the fact that we have become such a little-known minority sport (awaits incoming) that we unfortunately need to piggy-back the RU / general media publicity machine that always refers to Union as just ‘Rugby’.   There are two codes, one with all the tools and finances to promote itself.   Let the neutral fans tune in to see ‘Rugby’ and then find out that the ‘Rugby Super League’ is far more entertaining than the ‘Rugby Premiership’...

If we create some silly new moniker to separate us as an entirely unrelated sport we will get the same respect and coverage as Tiddlywinks.   Probably less, as the broadsheets and the BBC currently devote more time to those pastimes anyway.

[NotToday]

3 minutes ago, Dave T said:

Yes, I find it bizarre when people suggest we should move away from Super League but then suggest something like Premiership as the replacement!

 

Not to mention there's already a Rugby Premiership. Now they'll just be getting more hits, because there's no way ours is coming on top of theirs.

Some of the ideas here are really trying to kill whatever little the sport has left. 

[RP London]

google search Super League and the full front page is Super League... not a single link to the Womens Super League football which i was a bit surprised about knowing the spending power of the FA and how much they are pushing womens football thught there would be a few sponsored or paid for links but nothing.

happy to keep Super League ahead of anything else as dont see any other alternatives giving any edge that Super League cannot. Just have to be a bit more savvy with how it is used etc.. 

I recon next year we will see major changes to branding as they havent had long to do something and get it in place for the beginning of this season.

[Cheshire Setter]

1 minute ago, RP London said:

I recon next year we will see major changes to branding as they havent had long to do something and get it in place for the beginning of this season.

For a start, they don’t yet have anyone responsible for communications OR finance.   I suppose I’d rather them spend time getting the right people for the job, but they could at least make an effort with a few extra hours at the office on marketing and promotion!