Release the Kraken: Seattle’s new NHL Expansion Team
Starting in the NHL 2021-22 season, we will be seeing a new team in the league being represented as the Seattle Kraken. As we covered Sports Marketing, this article is a great read on how they came up with the name of the Kraken, color scheme, and look of the logo. Most of the read is about the Research of Product the marketing team used to help decide on the name, colors, and logo. They went with two approaches, having a third party team come in to do research on the city history of Seattle to have a theme of the team built around that and having the marketing team reach out Seattle folks to get insight and feedback from them too.
Article Link: https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/29520108/how-seattle-nhl-team-became-kraken
Homework Assignment Requirements
1) After reading the article, what three things did the marketing team do that stood out while deciding on the name, colors, and logo? Use examples in the article.
2) As we progress towards adding more professional franchise teams across the US in all sports, in your opinion would you like to see the idea of what the Seattle Kraken marketing team did be done more often when deciding on the name, colors, and logo? Again, they went with two approaches asking a third party to come in to tie the team with Seattle history and using the Seattle folks for insight and feedback.
Release the Kraken: Seattle’s new NHL Expansion Team
1). After reading the article, what three things did the marketing team do that stood out while deciding on the name, colours, and logo? Use examples in the article.
Use of an interactive portal for involving the team through suggestions and asking for feedback is one of the marketing team’s methods in selecting a name, a logo, colours. Additionally, the marketing team used got the name (Boyd, 2020). The log and the colours from a third-party team that conducted research concerning the history of Seattle city. For instance, the name Kraken was part of Seattle’s maritime history and the fact that Kraken was a mythical sea creature that lived on the surface of the water, which surrounds the city. Also, the marketing team collaborated with other brands, such as Adidas, in making the logo and the colours. Adidas Helped in making the stripes.
On the other hand, the marketing team looked for a color that resonated with the environment, such as the water, trees, and the mountains. However, the marketing team considered a color that is attractive to the funs, brilliant, and complimentary, which Helps in attracting more fans to the team (Boyd, 2020). The color blue represented the seawater, where the blue stripes presented no surrender. The marketing team chooses a mystery logo, a borrowed idea from the Alfred Hitchcock movie. The team’s ability and power were also motivated by the logo details, such as using the red alert color in the S logo that represented danger. The marketing team collaborated with companies, such as Hawaii in name registration, made sure the brand is trademarked to avoid leaks.
As we progress towards adding more professional franchise teams across the US in all sports, in your opinion, would you like to see the idea of what the Seattle Kraken marketing team did be done more often when deciding on the name, colours, and logo? Again, they went with two approaches asking a third party to come in to tie the team with Seattle history and using the Seattle folks for insight and feedback.
Seattle Kraken provides some branding lessons for professional franchise teams across the united states. Knowing your audience is an important part of professional franchising teams, especially when coming up with a name, a logo, and color (Boyd, 2020). The Seattle Karen listened to their fans and collected feedback and suggestions through social media. Being strategic, especially in decision-making, would be a lesson for franchising teams across the united states. Strategizing promotes authenticity, which enhances confidence among the team members. Involving the third party and people with stories was an effective method used by the marketing team (Boyd, 2020).
The Seattle history and information provided by the third-party Helped in creating a name for the team, which was a representation of the cities waters and the marine history of Seattle city concerning the mythical sea creature. Getting the name from city history provides a sense of ownership and authenticity, which creates a bond with the city members. Also, using the Seattle folks for suggestions and feedback was a way of declaring that the brand does not belong to the team and the city. Using insights from the audience was very thoughtful, especially in attracting more fans into supporting the team.
Reference
Boyd, J. L. (2020). How Canada’s Black Hockey League Shaped the Sport and the Path to Our Arrival in the NHL Today. JBJS, 102(21), 1918-1921.
