Leigh changing their name? Bored journo doing a rumour?

[Chrispmartha]

Just now, Martyn Sadler said:

Not sarky at all. If you are as professional as you suggest you are, then why wouldn't a Rugby League club engage you?

I'm grateful for you "telling" me, but I'll probably be more prepared to listen to you in twelve months' time when the rebranding will be shown to have flopped, as you suggest.

That sounds Sarky again Martyn

 

A rugby League club has engaged with me in the past and we did some great work with them.

I don't need to wait a year to be able to say that its a terrible rebrand badly executed. The fact it is being roundly criticised, sorry ridiculed by nearly everyone in RL should be a bit of a sign.

[Chrispmartha]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

I thought it was Martha! 

Only on Weekends

[tuutaisrambo]

It appears that the rebrand really isn't a joke so here's my take on it.

I'd be surprised if any marketing or branding professional has been anywhere near this.

If they stay in SL then that logo will be getting redesigned straight away.......I think IMG will redesign nearly all of them TBH.

However this is one of the worst rebrands in RL I've seen and there's a lot of bad ones.

Leopards isn't any more daft than Rhinos Dragons Vikings or Giants. But the execution is bad. It's technically a weak design that will look bad when it is reproduced small. It appears to be a black and white leopard which is also the wrong colour for a leopard. What is Leigh's club colour now? White? Black? Animal Print?

The font looks amateurish and the Leopard itself looks like clip art.

The new kit looks like something from a dodgy chinese website.  The leopards eyes are where peoples nipples would be

The lead rationale is that Derek Likes Leopards........tells you everything you need to know.

All very amateurish.

Decent looking squad though.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

8 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

Of course you are right that rebrands sometimes don't work.

But the people who will make that decision are Leigh supporters, not the supporters of other clubs, and not even the members of this forum.

We probably won't find that out before next season.

The Leigh supporters buy in is paramount, of course, which makes the lack of consultation all the more baffling? If they decide this isn't for them then Derek has taken a huge risk not just with his own money but more importantly with the club itself. Does make me wonder what IMG are making of all this and/or if any discussions were had with them? 

[Harry Stottle]

58 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

But until now, Leigh's cherry and white shirt has always played second fiddle to the cherry and white shirt up the road in the same borough.

 Not to Leigh fans it hasn't and there is a mere 6 years difference in the age of the clubs dating back to the 1880's also at one time Oldham and Batley played in the same colours.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Harry Stottle

[Chanter]

I suspect the centurion rugby pub in Leigh won't be rebranding 

Edited October 21, 2022 by Chanter
Spelling

[Gerrumonside ref]

3 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

 Not to Leigh fans it hasn't and there is a mere 6 years difference in the age of the clubs, also at one time Oldham and Batley played in the same colours.

I agree Harry, it’s a classic look and part of Leigh’s heritage and history.

I really hope they restore it soon regardless of what happens to the nickname.

If there is demand for images of leopards on shirts then could it not have been tested as a Magic kit?

Edited October 21, 2022 by Gerrumonside ref

[Stuff Smith]

13 minutes ago, tuutaisrambo said:

The font looks amateurish and the Leopard itself looks like clip art.

Yeah, "comic sans" would have been more of a fit with the rest of the design. And, as a bonus, would subtly reference one of their previous nicknames, "The Comics".

Edited October 21, 2022 by Stuff Smith

[hunsletgreenandgold]

Also if anyone wants a further giggle head to their instagram account. Dez worked out how to change his Twitter handle but seemingly struggling with the Gram. 

https://www.instagram.com/leighcenturionsrlfc/?hl=en

Those mock ups of the new signings in the kit  Robbie Mulhern has been done dirty, putting his head on a rather small body! 

Edited October 21, 2022 by hunsletgreenandgold

[northamptoncougar]

24 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

I disagree. I think the analogy is very strong.

In fact the opposition to what Leeds did was probably greater than the opposition to what Leigh are doing.

But it worked out well in the end as I hope it works out for Leigh.

This is some serious "head in the sand and hope for the best stuff," come on Martyn you're better than this.

[Martyn Sadler]

14 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

That sounds Sarky again Martyn

 

A rugby League club has engaged with me in the past and we did some great work with them.

I don't need to wait a year to be able to say that its a terrible rebrand badly executed. The fact it is being roundly criticised, sorry ridiculed by nearly everyone in RL should be a bit of a sign.

You're obviously a sensitive soul.

I'm happy to believe what you claim, although it would be easier to do that if you weren't on a forum using a pseudonym.

I can understand why you might wish to remain anonymous, but feel free to send me a private message with some details to corroborate what you are saying.

[OriginalMrC]

30 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

Of course you are right that rebrands sometimes don't work.

But the people who will make that decision are Leigh supporters, not the supporters of other clubs, and not even the members of this forum.

We probably won't find that out before next season.

It's not just that though is it. Stuff like this impacts the perception of the sport as a whole. How can we grow the sport when a supposed elite club can execute this so poorly. Its truly shocking and damaging for the sport, not just for Leigh who are currently a laughing stock 

[LeeF]

30 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

I admit to having a blind spot when it comes to design in relation to logos and other elements of brand identity.

If it bombs as badly as you suggest it might, I suggest you offer your services to Derek to do a more professional job.

Not if it bombs. It has  bombed. Just read the comments on here on social media and throughout the game

Even if it is some great elaborate hoax (or more likely a backtrack) it is a complete joke and causes problems not just for Leigh but the game at a time that both need to attract new investment

[Harry Stottle]

1 hour ago, Wellsy4HullFC said:

I really hope they name the mascot Lee.

Or Derek!

It's going to be 'Spot The Leopard'

[Chrispmartha]

The wrong instagram name, Logo doesn't fit and, well you can see the rest

Edited October 21, 2022 by Chrispmartha

[tuutaisrambo]

5 minutes ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Also if anyone wants a further giggle head to their instagram account. Dez worked out how to change his the Twitter handle but seemingly struggling with the Gram. 

https://www.instagram.com/leighcenturionsrlfc/?hl=en

Those mock ups of the new signings in the kit  Robbie Mulhern has been done dirty, putting his head on a rather small body! 

Nah that's defo a real image.....

[Bolton Leyther]

1 hour ago, Martyn Sadler said:

And it's worth noting that a thread that began at 9.15am yesterday has now gone to 25 pages with 645 posts.

Whether you like the rebrand or not, it seems to be generating plenty of discussion.

The rebrand is ensuring that the club is being talked about.

"Talked about" is one way of phrasing it.

"Derided and ridiculed" is another, more accurate, way.

[Chrispmartha]

2 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

You're obviously a sensitive soul.

I'm happy to believe what you claim, although it would be easier to do that if you weren't on a forum using a pseudonym.

I can understand why you might wish to remain anonymous, but feel free to send me a private message with some details to corroborate what you are saying.

I'm really not sensitive.

You don't have to believe that I own a Branding agency but there are a few posters on here that will vouch for it, I've no reason to lie Martyn.

 

I don't need to send you anything to confirm this rebrand is bad, just use your eyes.

[hunsletgreenandgold]

20 minutes ago, Martyn Sadler said:

Not sarky at all. If you are as professional as you suggest you are, then why wouldn't a Rugby League club engage you?

I'm grateful for you "telling" me, but I'll probably be more prepared to listen to you in twelve months' time when the rebranding will be shown to have flopped, as you suggest.

We have two (at least) experts/professionals in branding and design on this forum in @Chrispmartha and @EastLondonMike - I've seen work from them both and can assure you they'd do a better job in half hour than whoever Derek drafted in. 

Also, regardless of where Leigh are in 12 months, nothing positive about it can possibly be attributed back to this 'rebrand'. Hopefully their new signings performances will have people distracted away from the monstrosity on their backs.  

[RigbyLuger]

36 minutes ago, Chrispmartha said:

The Hull KR rebrand is a very good example of a great rebranding project, it was well thought out and executed brilliantly.

They spent time and money using a good branding agency.

Wakefield have also recently "simplified" their already fairly simple logo too, having debranded a few years back.

Leeds and Huddersfield have those alternate logos as well, don't they?

[Tim Streets tache]

1 hour ago, Martyn Sadler said:

And it's worth noting that a thread that began at 9.15am yesterday has now gone to 25 pages with 645 posts.

Whether you like the rebrand or not, it seems to be generating plenty of discussion.

The rebrand is ensuring that the club is being talked about.

*Laughed at

[gingerjon]

1 minute ago, hunsletgreenandgold said:

Hopefully their new signings performances will have people distracted away from the monstrosity on their backs.  

There'll be none of that tapping the badge in delight when they score.

They'll be pounding the leopard's anus and no mistake.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Sometimes I guess when you attend a marketing exercise in a room full of people clapping it can have a powerful psychological effect.

I wasn’t there to experience it myself though and so my reaction is probably like others which is offering a quick appraisal on the dropping of tradition.

There can be an issue too where relationships behind the scenes maybe play a part in people not expressing their private beliefs publicly.

Edited October 21, 2022 by Gerrumonside ref

[hunsletgreenandgold]

2 minutes ago, gingerjon said:

There'll be none of that tapping the badge in delight when they score.

They'll be pounding the leopard's anus and no mistake.

Christ - what an image imprinted on my mind. Cheers GJ! 

[Chrispmartha]

2 minutes ago, RigbyLuger said:

Wakefield have also recently "simplified" their already fairly simple logo too, having debranded a few years back.

Leeds and Huddersfield have those alternate logos as well, don't they?

Huddersfield's is another good example of effective rebranding.

Leeds I suspect will need to update their branding at some point as its getting very tired, the issue they will have is it's actually got a lot of Brand Equity which is fairly rare for a RL club so it will have to be very well executed when they do it.