Same as it ever was? The UFL's branding
is a case of unifying with the league logo
at the expense of individuality at the
regional market level
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If there’s one thing that is certain, America loves it’s football. When NBC averages an estimated 7.09 million viewers to go with a 4.5 rating/8 share for the pre-season Aug. 9 game between the Titans and the Bills, well… you know you’re on to something.
And those that have aspirations of tapping into this vast football audience have tried to capitalize on it in the past. Whether it was the USFL or XFL, tapping markets where the NFL is currently not in, or large markets where there is a sense that NFL fans will want even more, has been tried.
The prior mentioned leagues, of course, fell by the wayside. But, that hasn’t deterred a new league from trying to break the curse. In the case of all sports, but more so with fledgling leagues, the marketing of its product can be a make or break proposition.
The United Football League (UFL) is smart in some senses, taking a “less is more” approach to its initial season by rolling out just 4 teams in Las Vegas, San Francisco, Orlando, and New York. In another move to market the UFL product, the four teams will play in seven different cities. For example, the New York team will play one home game at the Mets’ Citi Field, one at Giants Stadium, and one in East Hartford, Conn., at Rentschler Field. The Florida team will play at least one game at Tropicana Field, the home of the MLB Tampa Bay Rays. In Week 8 New York will play Las Vegas at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles.
The league is also wise in its system of ownership, with the UFL owning at least 50 percent of each franchise. Couple that with television agreements with Mark Cuban’s HDNet and VERSUS, and the UFL is not going to gain much national prominence, but as the two channels continue to gain traction (VERSUS has benefited greatly from their agreement with the NHL), those looking to find the UFL should be able to do so.
Throw in high-profile coaches such as Dennis Green, Jim Haslett, Ted Cottrell, and Jim Fassel, and the UFL claims that the structure of the league is setting themselves up for success.
Based upon the structure, it’s possible. Based upon branding, it’s questionable.
The three branding issues the UFL face, individually, may not add up to negatives that could influence the league’s capacity to reach a broad audience in its inaugural season, but putting them together could cause fans of the leagues initial season to simply be lost in a sea of sameness.
One Color Palette for All
The UFL's limited color
selection adds further
confusion to team
identity |
For the UFL’s “Premiere” season, the league has chosen to base logos and uniform designs around the colors in the league’s logo and colors. The designs and colors center around the “UFL shield and its foundation colors which represent ‘green grass’, ‘blue sky’ and silver for innovation,” according to Ron Caruso of Purepartner who created all the teams' uniforms using derivatives of the official League logo for all the designs while working to make each one distinctive.
As shown, in its initial season, all four teams will use the same five colors.
The logic seems simple: When you see a game, the colors will immediately reinforce the “UFL” brand.
The problem is that the league reinforcement distracts from market identification. Short of the names, which we will get to shortly, the fan sees no image that they can connect to.
Logos In Lockstep
The use of just five league colors is added to the uniformity of the team logos. All helmets logos all are the same, representing the two letter representation of the market within they play. Character has been thrown to the wayside in favor of uniformity. Fans will feel little emotional attachment to their team’s logos. All of them are in lockstep, creating confusion for a league looking to grab national attention.
(See helmet logos above)
What’s In a Name?
As mentioned, there will initially be four teams within the UFL, and each name is designed to connect with the market in which they play. While names are a subjective matter, one thing seems clear, in the football, you are looking to tap into its aggressive nature. In the NFL, animals of prey are often used (Lions, Panthers, Eagles, Seahawks, Jaguars), or names that denote some sense of toughness or speed (Cowboys, Steelers, Jets, Giants, Raiders, Buccaneers). The UFL seems to have missed in this regard.
Las Vegas has a long tradition of its railroads, but if you asked the majority of population, it’s hardly what one envisions. The name “Locomotives” has been selected for the Las Vegas franchise, based the city being established in 1905 with the opening of the Salt Lake, San Pedro and Los Angeles Railroads.
More than one has already said, “How long before the team is nicknamed, the “Locos?”
As far as the California team, the name Redwoods was selected. Granted, Redwoods a grand, but not exactly a name that strikes fear. “The Redwoods are planted at deep in their own territory” could easily be a call heard from the booth. The Florida franchise name was selected as “Tuskers.” This name, as is the case with the others, speaks only at the regional level, and even then, it may be a stretch. An informal poll of 10 associates showed than none of them knew what a “Tusker” was. Research shows that it’s the name for a boar whose habitat is the Everglades. Now, if the boar were on the helmet…
Finally, the New York franchise was given the name the Sentinels, which at least has some connection to historic names from New York, be that Highlanders (early baseball), or Knights (AFL), “Sentinels” has a sort of Gotham City feel to it.
All-in-all, not strong showings, but then if strong visual representation was associated with the names, it may have worked better.
Is Cost The Reason for the Weak Initial Brand Offerings?
One thing is clear: if you use the same template for the colors and logos, you’re bound to save money. The names were selected by fan vote, another cost cutting option. In both cases, there is less investment in focus groups and brand design. That makes sense on some levels for a league looking to be cost efficient out of the gate. The question is, is this a “penny wise, pound foolish” move? The UFL could be saving money in the near term on the logo designs at expense of connecting with fans in its most critical season, its first.
Finally, if the idea is to only use these colors and designs in the UFL’s initial season, and possibly change designs and logos early in the league’s existence, brand recognition suffers not once, but twice, as fans then have to readjust to the new look.
Here’s to hoping that the UFL is successful, but it will be some time before fans have a sense of team identity when, so far, the designs are simply variations on a theme.
FOR MORE ON THE UFL SEE:
 Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).
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