Naming Winnipeg

In 1992, The San Jose Sharks were a team fresh off the expansion line the NHL had decided to draw through the Sunnier side of America and ... well Ottawa.

One of the first challenges the teams had were marketing new names, new brands and of course, a sense of cachet that only successful market penetration can bring

The San Jose Sharks were a success

Marketing head Matt Levine 

"They were selling in the non-hockey markets, the Topekas, Austins and Bakersfields of the world, as well as the major markets,"

‘’ In a single year we had over 100 million in revenue from merchandising alone, Teams were contacting us to copy the Youth Street Hockey Program, the format of our season tickets too, the only team that had been more succesful that year was the Chicago Bulls ‘’

‘’ And we didn’t have a Michael Jordan ‘’

So what makes a succesful franchise launch ? Is it anticipation, is it the amount of coolness your branding emanates, the way it reaches across generations of hockey fans who either root for another team or can’t wait to root for yours ?

Part of the answer is also looking at branding flops, teams like the Ottawa Senators had to abandon their original ‘’ Peace Tower ‘’ Logo plan due to mitigated fan response. 

‘’ Hideous, Ugly, Juvenile ‘’ were headlines when the Ottawa Sun revealed the logo.

The Centurion logo was quickly introduced but thousands of fans found themselves with the ‘’ rejected ‘’ logo and reacted angrily at the teams marketing direction.

Within a few years of their debut, the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators were already in dire financial straits, Merchandise sales were lagging and the early 90’s recession had made the teams unable to gear up for serious on-ice results.

Worst than that, both teams were lagging in expansion fee payments to the NHL

It took Tampa Bay almost twenty years to right the ship thanks to a Stanley Cup win, an influx of franchise talent and Strong ownership while the Senators developed great teams over the last decade thanks to billionaire Eugene Melnyk’s involvement with the team.

‘’ We learned as a team, you sometimes make mistakes off the mark, but eventually with the on-ice results fans take pride in what Jersey they wear out on the street or in the arena ‘’ said an ex-Sens player.

‘’ They take pride in the Team’s name ‘’

Getting back to modern days and Winnipeg in particular, the fact half the city is already geared up in Jets merchandise could mean marketing revenue might be slow due to existing propagation 

One thing’s for sure, no matter what Winnipeg’s team ends up being named, the fact the NHL is back in the Peg is what matters most.

But millions could be made or lost on getting the ‘’ it ‘’ factor right.