It was a tale of two Washingtons, and a tale of two teams.
On July 23, two professional sports franchises launched significant branding announcements. One was a temporary rebrand of Washington, D.C.’s NFL franchise, the now-monikered “Washington Football Team,” for the 2020 football season. The other was the launch of Seattle’s new NHL team, the Seattle Kraken, which will debut in 2021.
Shortly after each announcement, feedback poured in from media members and sports fans across the internet. Below, we take a look at what was well received with these unveilings and where there may have been room for improvement.
The Seattle Kraken
Let’s start with the positive. After nearly two years of research, the NHL Seattle ownership group boldly moved forward and selected the Kraken – a mythical, tentacled sea-monster – as its team name and mascot. With the announcement, the group unveiled the Kraken’s branding, logo and story behind the name.
It was a daring and risky move, although, for the most part, the Kraken name was warmly received. A Seattle Times poll showed 61% of respondents loved the name. NBC Sports Washington and SB Nation each published glowing reviews. There were detractors, as some felt the mythical creature didn’t provide strong ties to the Pacific Northwest. Seattle Times columnist Larry Stone admitted he didn’t care for the name, though added he loves the logo, color scheme and uniforms.
However, there was a thorough process behind the name selection, which is what warrants the most praise. The NHL Seattle group solicited input from its 32,000 fans, conducting 50 “listening sessions” and sifting through more than 1,200 potential names. In addition, the name was selected with a sense of place in mind. Seattle has a maritime history, and the Kraken brand aims to “honor the Puget Sound waters.” The primary “S” logo that will adorn the Kraken jersey serves as tribute to Seattle’s last professional hockey team, the Seattle Metropolitans.
The NHL Seattle group certainly went big and bold in naming the 32nd NHL franchise with a moniker that is nautical and captures a mystique. The name is undoubtedly unique and interesting, and many Seattle fans eagerly await the day to jubilantly shout “RELEASE THE KRAKEN!” at home contests.
The Washington Football Team
Now for the challenging. The decisionmakers for the Washington Football Team had their work cut out for them for the rebrand of their franchise, formerly known as the Washington Redskins. For years, there were calls from Native American groups and community members for the team to change its nickname, citing racist undertones. But it wasn’t until several key sponsors – including FedEx, PepsiCo, Bank of America and Nike – recently requested the team change its name or they would pull sponsorship that a branding change materialized. Following these developments, the response was swift and a temporary rebrand was announced, with a permanent rebrand expected to follow.
The rebrand as the Washington Football Team was met with approval by many longtime critics. The Washington Post reported several politicians who had criticized the prior nickname voiced their support of the change, as did the advocacy group Rebrand Washington Football. Many fans on social media, however, were less than enthused, with some calling the interim name “rushed and generic.” An opportunity may have been missed, as sportswriter Frank Isola commented on Twitter, by not adopting the moniker “Washington F.C.”
It’s certainly an unenviable position to be in, with no shortage of critics. Fortunately, fans can look forward to the permanent rebrand of Washington’s Football Team, and there are models for what works in naming a franchise and appeasing a fanbase. We can only wait to see how the permanent branding process unfolds. Until then, those of us in Seattle will eagerly await to “Release the Kraken!”