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a rose by any other name - might it smell sweeter?


wiggler

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I was looking at the OuRLeague page for the Sheffield Town game and I noticed that Sheffield had changed their logo/club crest from their original version and the new badge looks good.  Contemporary and impactful.  The new Ottawa (whatever you think of the concept) crest also looks top notch.

By contrast the Town badge looks outdated (who can read Latin these days, especially with the long standing typo!) and somewhat amateurish in design.  Do unicorns with anchors in their mouths really communicate what RL & Workington Town are about?  It is also over detailed which makes it hard to embroider well, especially when small.

So maybe it is time for a new cleaner, contemporary club logo/badge/crest?  I appreciate that the majority of people reading this will  be Town fans and you may not see the value of such a change.  However, I suggest it is clear from attendances and sponsorship that the club is only really appealing to diehards.  It needs to broaden its appeal if it is to thrive and a new logo could be the first step.  FMCG companies and retailers spend millions on creating and then tweaking their logos to keep them relevant to their target audiences.  It is not a panacea - just a step in the right direction.  When done properly it has worked well in our own sport - look at Leeds Rhinos, Cas Tigers or Bradford Bulls.  I know the latter have fallen down the pecking order but I would argue that that is not the fault of the branding but poor financial management.  Even St Helens, who have not gone down the added descriptor route, have adopted a new logo in the fairly recent past.

Another benefit of a good logo comes from apparel and merchandise sales.  If people like the logo and buy into the brand values then they are more likely to buy something featuring the logo.  When I am in Leeds I see more people in the city centre wearing Rhinos gear than Leeds United.  It should be the other way around based on attendances so why isn't it?  Maybe the Rhinos look is cooler?

If a new logo could be of benefit might it also be the right time for a name change.  Heresy?  Maybe, but it is hard to put much imagery into the word 'Town' and it is not even a chant friendly word on the terraces, is it?  Miami Dolphins and Oakland (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders NFL outfits sell a LOT of merchandise despite not being that successful lately.   I wonder if they would sell as much if they had been called Miami Municipality or Oakland Conurbation and did not have the strong brand imagery a good descriptor adds?

So, should a new name just affect the descriptor element of the club name?  Or should we go even further and try to appeal to a wider geographical area by replacing Workington and focussing on Allerdale, West Cumbria or maybe even Cumbria as a whole?  How about these to get you thinking - West Coast Jets?  West Cumbria Power?  Cumbria Chiefs?  West Cumbria Steelers (pays homage to our industrial past)?  Allerdale Sharks?  Allerdale Storm?  West Coast Wizards?  Cumbria Seahawks?

Some food for thought.  Enjoy chewing it over - just don't choke on it!

 

 

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Can only ever see a 'rebranding' coming about if there was ever any sort of merger. Tradition runs deep in west cumbria. More so than other parts of the country. I'd hate to lose the badge of club colours. The stadium is at the forefront of the modernisation required

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Going a bit against the traditionalist theme on here but I think a revamp could only benefit the club. Having said that now is probably not the best time to do it. I agree with a lot of what wiggler says in the original post. The badge isn't great and doesn't lend itself to marketing logos, and the name could be added to for better branding. For example if it was Workington Town Sharks ( as we are near the sea) or Workington Town Cowboys ( wild west cumbria) The amount of opportunity to use the theme of the logo is immense. Off the top of my head - a shark or cowboy mascot with toy mascot that are a ready made cuddly shark or cowboy with a town branding added. Junior club as the mini sharks or cowboy/cowgirls. Cowboy barbecues etc.  And headline writers dreams being bitten by the sharks or shot down by the cowboys. 

As it is apart from #ourtown what is the clubs identity to appeal to kids etc? And I better not get into the Latin debate in case my mate Sandy re-appears!

Like I say at this moment it probably is too big a job to rebrand everything especially if it's with a new identity,  but if we were ever to get a new stadium..... I wont hold my breath. 

The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but thats the way to bet!

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There’s a difference between a badge and a logo. No reason why you can’t have both, the traditional badge on the shirt and a modern logo for the leisure wear and other marketing.

I’m not prejudiced, I hate everybody equally

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1 hour ago, The Voodooguru said:

Going a bit against the traditionalist theme on here but I think a revamp could only benefit the club. Having said that now is probably not the best time to do it. I agree with a lot of what wiggler says in the original post. The badge isn't great and doesn't lend itself to marketing logos, and the name could be added to for better branding. For example if it was Workington Town Sharks ( as we are near the sea) or Workington Town Cowboys ( wild west cumbria) The amount of opportunity to use the theme of the logo is immense. Off the top of my head - a shark or cowboy mascot with toy mascot that are a ready made cuddly shark or cowboy with a town branding added. Junior club as the mini sharks or cowboy/cowgirls. Cowboy barbecues etc.  And headline writers dreams being bitten by the sharks or shot down by the cowboys. 

As it is apart from #ourtown what is the clubs identity to appeal to kids etc? And I better not get into the Latin debate in case my mate Sandy re-appears!

Like I say at this moment it probably is too big a job to rebrand everything especially if it's with a new identity,  but if we were ever to get a new stadium..... I wont hold my breath. 

Some great ideas and food for thought. You can't stay in the dark ages you have to do whatever   you can to sell the club. Not many people liked the re naming of the stadium, the zebra claims.but it brought good money into the club at the time .

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1 hour ago, Town blue white said:

Some great ideas and food for thought. You can't stay in the dark ages you have to do whatever   you can to sell the club. Not many people liked the re naming of the stadium, the zebra claims.but it brought good money into the club at the time .

Remember Mark Fryer saying at the time "tradition doesn't pay the bills"

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Wigan manage to do just fine without changing their traditional badge? I get the argument to bring us into the 21st century. But I believe better facilities will bring the next generation of fans rather than what our badge looks like or whether we can get a cuddly toy.

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1 hour ago, townie88 said:

Wigan manage to do just fine without changing their traditional badge? I get the argument to bring us into the 21st century. But I believe better facilities will bring the next generation of fans rather than what our badge looks like or whether we can get a cuddly toy.

That's like comparing the reds to Liverpool,  because Wigan can still live off being the best and most iconic team on the planet for years doesn't mean that because they can get away with it that it's the blueprint to follow.

Surely it has to be the whole package though doesn't it? Go to a new stadium,  buy the food, the drink, and the merchandise. Why wouldn't you offer the whole package? 

The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but thats the way to bet!

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5 hours ago, The Voodooguru said:

That's like comparing the reds to Liverpool,  because Wigan can still live off being the best and most iconic team on the planet for years doesn't mean that because they can get away with it that it's the blueprint to follow.

Surely it has to be the whole package though doesn't it? Go to a new stadium,  buy the food, the drink, and the merchandise. Why wouldn't you offer the whole package? 

Because it costs money to rebrand and offer all this merchandise. Money we dont have. If an investor came in, then I could see it working. But not now. 

Look at Newcastle Thunder. They have a 'brand's rather than a traditional badge/logo. And they are no better off than us? 

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1 hour ago, townie88 said:

Because it costs money to rebrand and offer all this merchandise. Money we dont have. If an investor came in, then I could see it working. But not now. 

Look at Newcastle Thunder. They have a 'brand's rather than a traditional badge/logo. And they are no better off than us? 

Erm I'm sure I said it wasn't the right time didnt I? Also I said it was a big task to completey change everything  How do you know Newcastle are no better off than us because of, or despite their brand. How do you know that the people who attend their games don't spend more per person at the ground than the people who go to town matches? 

The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but thats the way to bet!

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27 minutes ago, The Voodooguru said:

Erm I'm sure I said it wasn't the right time didnt I? Also I said it was a big task to completey change everything  How do you know Newcastle are no better off than us because of, or despite their brand. How do you know that the people who attend their games don't spend more per person at the ground than the people who go to town matches? 

Then your argument is surely based on getting our current fanbase spending more rather than attracting new fans? They might possibly spend more per person, but they are still in our league and after the weekends performance, not better than us and still playing in the same league as when they were Gateshead?

Changing our branding or name etc doesn't mean we will be successful. Just an opinion but I would hate to lose our badge and possibly our identity

Just out of curiosity, what ever happened to Swinton? Weren't they going to rebrand last season?

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The Latin motto means “May the town and castle flourish” and was, I think, thought up by Tom Mitchell, though I may be wrong. It is almost always mis-spelt, a personal bugbear of mine, and should be “Floreat castellum et oppidum”.....and not castellumet as one word.

 

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5 hours ago, townie88 said:

Then your argument is surely based on getting our current fanbase spending more rather than attracting new fans? They might possibly spend more per person, but they are still in our league and after the weekends performance, not better than us and still playing in the same league as when they were Gateshead?

Changing our branding or name etc doesn't mean we will be successful. Just an opinion but I would hate to lose our badge and possibly our identity

Just out of curiosity, what ever happened to Swinton? Weren't they going to rebrand last season?

My argument is nothing of the sort pal, but if new fans and old spend more it is better for the club all round isn't it? I didnt mention Newcastle, you did, I couldn't give a toss about Newcastle (or Swinton for that matter), how they are run or what badge they have.

Plenty of fans will not want any change even if it were to the detriment to the club to progress financially, and I totally get it as part of any Town fan is to look back at the halcyon days and tradition. Nothing wrong with that at all, one of my best ever memories is standing on McLaren field half dressed as an Arab with tears in my eyes hugging everyone in a blue shirt as buck lifted the trophy. Our BOD are doing a fantastic job moving us forward all the time with no doubt a return to those days as the goal. If the next big step was to rebrand I'd welcome it with open arms as long as there was still a nod to the club's past. So for me a "Cumbria Steelers" would be a step too far as it loses everything that's gone before.

We all just want the best for the club whatever our opinions are. UTT.

The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong, but thats the way to bet!

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On 10/03/2020 at 11:14, wiggler said:

I was looking at the OuRLeague page for the Sheffield Town game and I noticed that Sheffield had changed their logo/club crest from their original version and the new badge looks good.  Contemporary and impactful.  The new Ottawa (whatever you think of the concept) crest also looks top notch.

By contrast the Town badge looks outdated (who can read Latin these days, especially with the long standing typo!) and somewhat amateurish in design.  Do unicorns with anchors in their mouths really communicate what RL & Workington Town are about?  It is also over detailed which makes it hard to embroider well, especially when small.

So maybe it is time for a new cleaner, contemporary club logo/badge/crest?  I appreciate that the majority of people reading this will  be Town fans and you may not see the value of such a change.  However, I suggest it is clear from attendances and sponsorship that the club is only really appealing to diehards.  It needs to broaden its appeal if it is to thrive and a new logo could be the first step.  FMCG companies and retailers spend millions on creating and then tweaking their logos to keep them relevant to their target audiences.  It is not a panacea - just a step in the right direction.  When done properly it has worked well in our own sport - look at Leeds Rhinos, Cas Tigers or Bradford Bulls.  I know the latter have fallen down the pecking order but I would argue that that is not the fault of the branding but poor financial management.  Even St Helens, who have not gone down the added descriptor route, have adopted a new logo in the fairly recent past.

Another benefit of a good logo comes from apparel and merchandise sales.  If people like the logo and buy into the brand values then they are more likely to buy something featuring the logo.  When I am in Leeds I see more people in the city centre wearing Rhinos gear than Leeds United.  It should be the other way around based on attendances so why isn't it?  Maybe the Rhinos look is cooler?

If a new logo could be of benefit might it also be the right time for a name change.  Heresy?  Maybe, but it is hard to put much imagery into the word 'Town' and it is not even a chant friendly word on the terraces, is it?  Miami Dolphins and Oakland (soon to be Las Vegas) Raiders NFL outfits sell a LOT of merchandise despite not being that successful lately.   I wonder if they would sell as much if they had been called Miami Municipality or Oakland Conurbation and did not have the strong brand imagery a good descriptor adds?

So, should a new name just affect the descriptor element of the club name?  Or should we go even further and try to appeal to a wider geographical area by replacing Workington and focussing on Allerdale, West Cumbria or maybe even Cumbria as a whole?  How about these to get you thinking - West Coast Jets?  West Cumbria Power?  Cumbria Chiefs?  West Cumbria Steelers (pays homage to our industrial past)?  Allerdale Sharks?  Allerdale Storm?  West Coast Wizards?  Cumbria Seahawks?

Some food for thought.  Enjoy chewing it over - just don't choke on it!

 

 

Not choking on it, but finding it hard to swallow. I love the badge and Workington Town is an iconic name in RL. You reckon that "Town" isn't chant friendly, you obviously haven't been to many games seeing as it is used in just about every song/chant used by the fans. WE ARE TOWN. And hopefully always will be. UTT (that's up the Town by the way) ?. Most clubs had only a one word name, that's why they added new names such as Tigers, Rhino's, Warriors etc. Not many clubs had 2 word names and of those who had, only Bradford have changed their name ( I think). Wakefield Trinity is still Trinity, and Hull KR are still Rovers. I wouldn't be happy if they changed the name or the badge, and I'm sure most feel the same way. What we need to move forward is a new stadium with decent facilities,that would be the game changer IMO. 

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Just an observation, but Sundays attendance was rather poor I thought, in the LE it was put at 840 odd, Thunders twitter gave it as 1011, now considering there was 3 games on all afternoon and some people in for all three I would say that was pretty disappointing for a club that has spent a fair bit of money on players, high profile coaching staff, and  play  in a modern stadium,  have a massive population on their door step and there was at least 150 town fans and pretty decent weather considering what we have had lately, now I would say branding hasn't done Gateshead/Newcastle Thunder or whatever you want to call our Geordie friends that much success, I don't think Town need to change much, maybe a millionaire backer, a multi function modern stadium, and a youth system maybe wouldn't go a miss to! Now I am convinced Town could pull in more if only we had some of what others have, the fan base is here, re branding isn't the answer. 

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been lots of rebrands over years in the lower leagues and I can't honesty see where it's made any difference in terms of exposure or attendances.

Swinton 'Lions', Hunslet 'Hawks', Oldham 'Bears', London 'Crusaders', Broncos, Harlequins etc., Barrow 'Border Raiders' - at the end of the day, the only thing that really brings supporters through the turnstiles is success on the field.

You could argue the exception to the rule was Keighley Cougars, but even that was initially linked to success on the field with a couple of star players thrown in.

If anything, its the RL concept itself that needs a rebrand as part of a wider attempt to increase audiences on both TV and the terraces. A Barry Hearn type promoter could possibly do more for the long term prospects of the game than a  token name change.

Let's not forget that some clubs have quietly gone back to their traditional name - who can remember Hull 'Sharks'  !!

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Anyway, we have more to worry about with the Corona virus. As a sport RL has an aging support base, and some of these will be in the 'high risk' category or being over 60 with underlying health issues. 

If the government decide to ban large gatherings, we could end up in a situation that the only RL we can see locally are Whitehaven home games !!?

 

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