It's a wonderful bit of irony that the "Saints" should become the face of dirty play and evil intentions in the NFL. The team's defensive unit goaded each other on, with the promise of cash, to purposely injure their opponents, knock them out of the game, perhaps out of the season, risk ending the opposing players' careers with cheap shots and deliberately dangerous rule-breaking. They wanted to see their opponents big stars carted off the field at any cost, within or with complete disregard of the regulations. Their coaches knew all about it, condoned it, in fact one of them was the gang leader.
Now that's not very saint-like.
When they were first confronted by the league about it, they lied, covered it up, and continued to do it. That's inexcusable.
This week we all learned the consequences. The most stunning of them being the head coach, Sean Payton, being suspended without pay for the entire season. His boss, the general manager, was suspended without pay for half of the season. And it goes on and on. Stiff penalties. This news rocked the sporting world.
So now imagine you were the marketing director for the New Orleans Saints. What is your messaging going to sound like for the next couple of years? What are you going to do about that great big black eye on the face of your organization?
You could choose to focus on the positive. You have a team led by some charismatic stars. You have a Super Bowl championship lingering in recent memory. You had high expectations for the upcoming season. Go out and promote the excitement and the energy of a new season. Promise your fans the thrills of football played at it's highest level. Promise your fans glory. Why let this issue cloud anything. Ignore it and go about re-building your reputation. Start it today.
That would be the old school approach. Never admit weakness in your marketing.
But I think that today's consumers have left the old school and its ways for ever. We should never underestimate their abilities to form their own opinions, hold onto them for a long time, and allow them to shape their behavior.
A brand is largely defined by what an organization stands for. How does the Saints' brand look to you today? What did it stand for for the three years that the bounty program was run? Have these revelations and repercussions retro-actively re-branded the organization? I think so. And not in a good way.
I think its time for this team to be re-branded again, quickly and thoroughly. The first step after every major misstep should be an apology. Coach Payton has issued a public statement taking full responsibility for the mess and accepting his punishment. It is time for a savvy marketing team to step in and use that apology as the launch of a new brand.
That new brand could feature all the promise of thrills and glory that the old-school approach would, but it would include much more. It could include an absolute commitment to the ideals of good sportsmanship. It could include an obvious and ardent desire to be a collective positive role-model for all of its fans. It should include a heart-felt promise to become an organization of which its fan's would once again... and forever more... be proud.
Lots of football. Lots of excitement. With some solemn vows. I think that's what I would do. What about you?
Now that's not very saint-like.
When they were first confronted by the league about it, they lied, covered it up, and continued to do it. That's inexcusable.
This week we all learned the consequences. The most stunning of them being the head coach, Sean Payton, being suspended without pay for the entire season. His boss, the general manager, was suspended without pay for half of the season. And it goes on and on. Stiff penalties. This news rocked the sporting world.
So now imagine you were the marketing director for the New Orleans Saints. What is your messaging going to sound like for the next couple of years? What are you going to do about that great big black eye on the face of your organization?
You could choose to focus on the positive. You have a team led by some charismatic stars. You have a Super Bowl championship lingering in recent memory. You had high expectations for the upcoming season. Go out and promote the excitement and the energy of a new season. Promise your fans the thrills of football played at it's highest level. Promise your fans glory. Why let this issue cloud anything. Ignore it and go about re-building your reputation. Start it today.
That would be the old school approach. Never admit weakness in your marketing.
But I think that today's consumers have left the old school and its ways for ever. We should never underestimate their abilities to form their own opinions, hold onto them for a long time, and allow them to shape their behavior.
A brand is largely defined by what an organization stands for. How does the Saints' brand look to you today? What did it stand for for the three years that the bounty program was run? Have these revelations and repercussions retro-actively re-branded the organization? I think so. And not in a good way.
I think its time for this team to be re-branded again, quickly and thoroughly. The first step after every major misstep should be an apology. Coach Payton has issued a public statement taking full responsibility for the mess and accepting his punishment. It is time for a savvy marketing team to step in and use that apology as the launch of a new brand.
That new brand could feature all the promise of thrills and glory that the old-school approach would, but it would include much more. It could include an absolute commitment to the ideals of good sportsmanship. It could include an obvious and ardent desire to be a collective positive role-model for all of its fans. It should include a heart-felt promise to become an organization of which its fan's would once again... and forever more... be proud.
Lots of football. Lots of excitement. With some solemn vows. I think that's what I would do. What about you?
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