Rarely has an accent color signaled so much.
Billionaires Susan and Henry Samueli of Broadcom fame last week showed off a new look for the hockey team they bought a year ago. The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim – oops, I mean the Anaheim Ducks – have fresh colors, a shortened moniker and a new logo to distance the team from its Disney heritage.
To my eye – and I’ve been a Ducks season-ticket holder since the 1993 debut – it’s a rather conservative remodeling.
Using black and gold as primary hues isn’t terribly cutting edge to this guy, who spent seven years in the black-and-gold sports city, Pittsburgh. Still, anything’s an improvement over the Ducks’ dated, Disney-inspired, teal-and-eggplant motif.
The marketing genius of the new look, however, is a thin ribbon of orange within the new image. The Samuelis don’t bleed orange, but the Newport Beach couple have been huge supporters of this community – from commerce to entertainment to philanthropy.
It’s a refreshing sight. Too often, local big shots suffer from inferiority complexes. They seem disappointed Orange County isn’t L.A. or New York or Silicon Valley.
So, when it came to hockey style, the Samuelis insisted on orange as a secondary tone in the new color scheme. It’s homage to the county.
This O.C. emphasis isn’t new. In the first year of Samueli control, for example, the Ducks displayed plenty of local scenery on The Pond’s video screens – an obvious attempt to curry hometown favor.
That’s unlike the sports owner across Katella Avenue who brands his baseball team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to purportedly broaden the appeal. The Samuelis have no qualms in accepting the role as “Orange County’s team.”
When I asked Susan if the orange push was a subtle dig at Angel owner Arte Moreno’s tactics, she laughed.
“Who, me?” she said.
ANAHEIM OCELOTS?Tweaking an established brand image is no easy feat.
The Samuelis gingerly applaud the work Disney did to bring hockey to Anaheim and create a unique sports brand. To numerous fans, unique didn’t mean, “Loved it.”
Yet team face-lifts are tricky. Anybody recall the horrific Ducks’ 1995-96 jersey with a large cartoon of team mascot Wild Wing? Or Disney’s experiment with periwinkle when they owned the Angels?
Henry Samueli in his day job – communication technology wizard – has shown a deft hand at taking risks. With this Ducks redesign, it sounds like he was abundantly cautious.
The couple knew from the start they wanted to break with Disney tradition, but Henry acknowledges he didn’t want to be “wiping out 13 years of brand history.”
Fortunately, the marketing challenge may be simpler than expected. A year ago, as the couple took control, hockey was still in a messy work stoppage that killed the 2004-2005 season.
Last summer, players and owners resolved their differences – but left questions of fan support. In the Ducks case, what Henry called “a magical season” – including a thrilling run deep into the playoffs – put the Ducks back in local sports fans’ hearts.
To aid the rebranding, Samueli hired a marketing squad to poll the team’s best fans, various business partners and Ducks players to test the brand’s breaking point.
Talk about change. Design gurus were a luxury the Samuelis couldn’t afford when Broadcom was started 15 years ago. Its logo, for example, was designed by the wife of Henry Samueli’s business partner. “Ducks” lived on – minus “Mighty” – due to the research. Alternatives were briefly considered, such as numerous aggressive animals – even ocelots.
Black as a dominant uniform color was an easy choice. For two seasons, the team frequently wore black jerseys. Pushing the Orange County emphasis to include orange-heavy jerseys, though, was too garish for Henry Samueli, who’s known for his liking of fine business suits.
Another quick decision kept a Disney legacy. Fan favorite Wild Wing stays, just with a new uniform.
“A no-brainer,” Henry said.
A nagging issue was Disney’s angry duck logo. Henry liked the old mark, but was convinced by Susan that it had to go, too. In essence, a web-footed “D” takes over that leading role. And you wonder why the team gave Susan jersey number 1, while Henry got 2?
PAINT THE TOWNHenry and Susan speak passionately about one lasting memory of their first season: While attending a playoff game in Calgary, they witnessed the Flames’ rabid fans fill the arena with red garb – the team’s color.
Susan says her dream is to attend Ducks games at The Pond energized by a packed, orange-clad crowd. I told her there’s a small problem. No orange jersey.
A die-hard hockey fan wears a team uniform to a game. Replicas of an NHL team’s sweaters can run 100 bucks. An authentic jersey can run twice that or more.
After such an investment, I’m not sure fans will be dying to leave their pricey threads at home and wear orange shirts to the big game. Susan noted the challenge, and suggested perhaps T-shirt giveaways could provide the color.
“We’ll think of something,” she said.
I’m already prepared for a sea of orange in Anaheim. I stopped by the Duck Store at The Pond and bought an orange, long-sleeved T-shirt featuring the new logo.
If you don’t think sport is big business, please note the shirt cost $28. Not a bad return on a rebranding.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7966 or jlansner@ocregister.com
