Lakeland Tigers To Get New Logo, Maybe Name

[Dilbert]

Hopefully Blue Jays. They need it baaaaaadddllllyyyy.

Blue Jays are already in Dunedin, in the same league.

He meant Toronto.

I know but I thought the Jays were happy in Dunedin

[BallWonk]

Blue Jays, Mariners, Marlins, Rockies,  and Royals are my top five guesses.

I could almost see the White Sox trying to figure out how to build on their recently increased national exposure to try to become a Yankees-like iconic team that people embrace without having any actual interest in the team or even the sport of baseball.

On the White Sox: Would changing their identity at the height of their exposure accomplish that? I would say their current identity has been fairly iconic since the day it launched.

It was a hot cap right away (popping up in hip-hop videos, etc.) and has endured as a simple, classic look in part because the Sox stuck with it.

The fact the ever-changing Sox have kept it since 1990 seems to be evidence enough that it's here to stay. A 2005 title can't hurt, either. In all honesty, they might be the last team I'd expect to rebrand right now. I think they have an iconic 'Yankees' look, and as the Mad Mac says, I think all they need to cement it is more titles.

I don't know how the above reads, but it isn't meant to dismiss what you're saying. I'm actually curious to hear more on why this makes sense for the Sox.

I generally agree with you. But "re-brand" doesn't necessarily mean changing the team name or adopting blue shorts or shirts with giant fake collars or anything. It could mean changing the way the ballpark experience works for fans, or the way the team presents itself on TV.

For example, Is black and white (with silver, which is just black and white) played out as a national brand identity? Sure, Sox caps were hot circa 1991. They were just about the first in a long string of really good team redesigns, and the embrace of black was perfect timing in terms of youth/celebrity fashion, and the old-Englishy lettering was right in line with pop-culture aesthetics as well. Plus, back then the Yankees sucked. But by the late 1990s, the return of the Yankees to competitive baseball was making NY caps the iconic almost-black-and-white cap of choice for people who don't actually care about baseball but want to wear a ballcap. Then two things coincided to make the NY cap phenomenon explode: The Yankees inked a deal to get in on Manchester United's global merchandising networks, and the September 11 attacks made identification with New York a huge sentimental deal worldwide. Even during the Iraq invasion, when a total of about 12 people in all of Europe didn't believe that the United States was the most evil country in human history, everyone in Amsterdam and London seemed to be wearing a Yankees cap. You'd see 100,000 kids protesting in front of American embassies and consulates, and they'd all be wearing camouflage pants and Yankees caps while shouting "No war! Yankees go home!" and burning American flags.

The point of which being that the Sox were hugely eclipsed by the Yankees, and it wasn't really about winning lots of World Series (though pennants undoubtedly help domestically, I guarantee that the young hipsters in Amsterdam and Highbury didn't care who won the AL East or that the Yankees had become postseason chokers of the first order). It was about brand identity, and surely it makes sense for the Sox to wonder, "Can we get a piece of that back?"

If so, part of the answer might have to do with the team's uniforms or colors, but more likely it would have to do with figuring out how to create and then export a more distinctive team identity that would be attractive to influential demographic segments in the United States and possibly overseas. There are plenty of examples of companies that have adopted successful re-branding strategies without changing their names, their logos, or even their corporate color schemes. Then again, maybe the Sox cap is too similar to the market-dominant Yankees look, and so a touch of color would help reestablish the Sox logo as a brand.

Which is not to say that I actually think the White Sox are doing any of this, but they're one of only about three teams I think could be positioned to take their brands global like the Yankees did in the last decade.

[Fjm]

Maybe the Athletics. They haven't done much in a long while, and their current look is very clean and classy--just ripe for a change.

[CubsFanBudMan]

BallWonk, thanks. I better understand where you're coming from now. I certainly wasn't thinking on a global scale.

I wouldn't fault a team for trying to get a piece of that market, but toppling the Yankees at that level would seem to be a tough task. We'll see if the Sox, whose look I agree is similar to Yankees, will make a move to stand out from the crowd again. (Me? I prefer the simplicity.)

[hecticbro]

I like Lakeland's logo, just because I'm a Tigers fan who always loved that caged "D" logo they used in the 90's. It's a shame they hardly ever used it on a cap, and didn't come up with some kind of navy alternate jersey with that on the chest (or even a white one).

I know the Tigers' home uniform is one of those timeless classics that won't ever really be modified, but I never understood why they won't use an alternate at home and seem to forget that orange is in their color scheme whenver they're in Detroit.

On a side note, dropping the orange from the road look could look classy and make the looks match.

[rtrich11]

I would love to see Detroit get a new logo. The caged tiger looks ok from a distance, but is kinda weird up close. Like the cat is supersqueezed in the middle. Anyway, maybe that's just me cuz I don't like it much, but there are so many to choose for a change.

[deliver2david]

I like Lakeland's logo, just because I'm a Tigers fan who always loved that caged "D" logo they used in the 90's. It's a shame they hardly ever used it on a cap, and didn't come up with some kind of navy alternate jersey with that on the chest (or even a white one).

They did use the caged Tiger on a navy practice jersey circa 1994/1995, seen here on Sparky Anderson:

[SabreGuy]

Maybe they should name them the Lakeland Leylands, in honor of the parent club's new genius manager.

I think a rail-thin guy with a cigarette would make a heluva logo! And if he could be rockin' the old Pirates pill box cap look... well that would just rule! lol

[leaderslead]

PR RELEASE ALERT- P//B//C//CREATIVE GENIUSES.

August 18, 2006. from San Diego.

Tigers to Get New Logo, Maybe Name

By Rick Rousos

The Ledger

LAKELAND -- The Lakeland Tigers, traditionally near the bottom of attendance and merchandise sales for Minor League Baseball, will have a new logo for the 2007 season. They may also have a new name -- that might not include the word "Tigers."

Ron Myers, the director of Florida operations for the Detroit Tigers, has wavered in the past year about whether to keep the Tigers moniker. He wants to do what's best for business, but has been reluctant to mess with tradition.

Myers now says that he is "totally open to whatever the creative geniuses say."

The creative geniuses: Jason Klein and Casey White, who own the San Diego-based Plan B. Branding. The company has been hired by the Tigers to do what the partners call "rebranding," which focuses on a new name, logo, marketing strategy, advertising, and maybe food and drinks.

Rebranding puts emphasis on the impressions, good, bad or indifferent, that fans glean during their night out.

A team can have the coolest logo and merchandise in baseball, Klein and White say, but if fans don't have a great time at the game, they're not buying anything.

Klein and White spent two days in Lakeland this week, including attending a Tigers game. They've formed some early, good impressions of the organization, Joker Marchant Stadium and Tigertown.

"This is one of the most colorful places we've been," White said.

Plan B. has so far rebranded 20 teams. One of its biggest triumphs is the transformation of the bottom-feeding Clearwater Phillies to the hugely successful Clearwater Threshers. To view its work, visit planbbranding.com.

While Plan B. is in the beginning stages of its work with the Tigers, Klein and White say the organization has a great ballpark, delicious food, cold beverages and treats fans well.

"They've got the basics down; now it's time to add some spice," White said.

Within a few months, Klein, White and Myers will sit down and come up with a team name -- or 10 of them. Next, Plan B. will come up with numerous drafts of logos, and one will be chosen.

[leaderslead]

http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/About...hatIsPlanB.aspx

Plan B might need some re-branding for their brand.

[Mings]

http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/About...hatIsPlanB.aspx

Plan B might need some re-branding for their brand.

Wrong Plan B Tom.

That one gets college kids out of trouble, not minor league teams.

[Roger Clemente]

http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/About...hatIsPlanB.aspx

Plan B might need some re-branding for their brand.

Not as bad as that piece of :censored: brand called Gameplan Creative.

--Roger "Time?" Clemente.

[M59]

Maybe they should name them the Lakeland Leylands, in honor of the parent club's new genius manager.

I think a rail-thin guy with a cigarette would make a heluva logo! And if he could be rockin' the old Pirates pill box cap look... well that would just rule! lol

Is that a MESH pillbox hat...from Abe Lincoln designs?

[rams80]

http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/About...hatIsPlanB.aspx

Plan B might need some re-branding for their brand.

[condescending parent] Awww....is somebody a little cranky because they didn't get the job? Somebody is! Somebody is! [/condescending parent]

[SabreGuy]

Is that a MESH pillbox hat...from Abe Lincoln designs?

I have to be honest with you... I'm not sure exactly WHAT he's wearing on his head there. It DOES look like you can see sky through the holes of what appears to be mesh. Beyond that, it looks a LOT taller than the usual pillbox cap, and finally... I'm not sure that thing even has a bill. In any case, it's horribly wonderful, and should be incorporated in to the new Lakeland Leylands uniforms.

[TBGKon]

I don't know if anyone psted this, but here is Plan B Branding's website:

http://www.planbbranding.com/

[Mac the Knife]

I have to be honest with you... I'm not sure exactly WHAT he's wearing on his head there. It DOES look like you can see sky through the holes of what appears to be mesh. Beyond that, it looks a LOT taller than the usual pillbox cap, and finally... I'm not sure that thing even has a bill. In any case, it's horribly wonderful, and should be incorporated in to the new Lakeland Leylands uniforms.

I can confirm it - its a mesh version of the pillbox, worn during spring training. I had one when I was a teenager.