Rebranding is a good way to reset the club and take the club to a different direction. IMO, this will go a long way to solve our issues.
Our state of malaise can be associated with a lack of change. We do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
Something as simple as a rebrand can change the mindset of the whole club. We're a tired club. It's quite obvious. Supporters are tired, the players are tired, our coaches are tired, the people with power are tired. We need to be reinvigorated. We need to establish an identity.
At the moment, we're all over the place. We continuously chase money, memberships and crowds. If that's our goal, then why would the club want to change when we're in a good financial position? We sell hope like no other and spend draft pick after draft pick to trade in talent for no change. Can anyone seriously tell me we have changed from 2017 after all of the spending spree? Better yet, any change since 2005? It's literally the same club with no difference in how we approach things. At the moment, it's all about winning off-seasons and jumping on the hype train.
First thing I would like to address is this home ground fiasco and the broader topic, chasing money.
We're in between two home grounds at the moment. We play half of our Melbourne games undercover and the other half out in the open. Both grounds play very differently. It's laughable.
The main aim for this arrangement is not success or premierships. It is money. Instead of building a brand or an identity, we chase the lucrative deals. We'll plaster anything on our jumper if it pays us well. Forget the brand. Forget building relationships with sponsors. Forget building an on-field brand tailored to weather conditions. It's all money.
The lack of foresight when we left the home of football to a concrete jungle is astounding. That was entirely a business decision as we were at the top of our game. It is no wonder that we lost our identity, our powerhouse status, our growth as a club and most importantly, our success. We left the home of finals for money.
Every problem we are facing now stems from this decision as it completely changed the mindset of our club.
It's time we stopped prioritising money and start looking at how we can give ourselves the best chance of success. On field success gives you off field success. Get out of Docklands and back to the MCG. Do everything you can to make the change. I don't care if it loses us money in the interim. It will be made up for.
Second thing. Rebrand your image to reinvigorate the club.
People underestimate what something as simple as a logo change or a jumper change can do. You might laugh, but it has a proven track record. It gives the club a mental opportunity to leave the past behind and make a change. After all, mental application is what we struggle with the most right?
Here are some recent examples:
Geelong changed their logo for 2008 to usher in probably the most dominant period in the modern era.
Hawthorn also changed their logo for 2008 to do the same thing.
Richmond changed their logo for the 2012 season to leave 30 years of mediocrity behind and reset as a club. They obviously went on to win a premiership after they failed to make finals from 2001-2012.
Fremantle completely rebranded for 2012 as well and played in their first grand final the year after.
Bulldogs changed their logo for the 2015 season to win only their second premiership the year after.
More recently, West Coast rebranded back to the royal blue wings and changed their logo for the 2018 season and went on to win the premiership.
Collingwood also changed their logo for the 2018 season and fell short by 5 points in the grand final after a period of mediocrity.
We're one of only 3 teams who haven't rebranded since the 90s. The other two are Sydney (who don't need to rebrand) and St Kilda. Point is, we need a rebrand. This is a perfect example of why we're struggling to adapt to the modern era. Richmond, another team who struggled to adapt, admitted to needing a rebrand and went on to win a premiership when they did. We need to move to the MCG and rebrand to establish an identity and start fresh again.
If these two things happen along with some changes in personnel, I will be more comfortable with the direction of the club. At the moment, we're going around in circles no matter what player we trade in, who we draft or who our coach is.
Our state of malaise can be associated with a lack of change. We do the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.
Something as simple as a rebrand can change the mindset of the whole club. We're a tired club. It's quite obvious. Supporters are tired, the players are tired, our coaches are tired, the people with power are tired. We need to be reinvigorated. We need to establish an identity.
At the moment, we're all over the place. We continuously chase money, memberships and crowds. If that's our goal, then why would the club want to change when we're in a good financial position? We sell hope like no other and spend draft pick after draft pick to trade in talent for no change. Can anyone seriously tell me we have changed from 2017 after all of the spending spree? Better yet, any change since 2005? It's literally the same club with no difference in how we approach things. At the moment, it's all about winning off-seasons and jumping on the hype train.
First thing I would like to address is this home ground fiasco and the broader topic, chasing money.
We're in between two home grounds at the moment. We play half of our Melbourne games undercover and the other half out in the open. Both grounds play very differently. It's laughable.
The main aim for this arrangement is not success or premierships. It is money. Instead of building a brand or an identity, we chase the lucrative deals. We'll plaster anything on our jumper if it pays us well. Forget the brand. Forget building relationships with sponsors. Forget building an on-field brand tailored to weather conditions. It's all money.
The lack of foresight when we left the home of football to a concrete jungle is astounding. That was entirely a business decision as we were at the top of our game. It is no wonder that we lost our identity, our powerhouse status, our growth as a club and most importantly, our success. We left the home of finals for money.
Every problem we are facing now stems from this decision as it completely changed the mindset of our club.
It's time we stopped prioritising money and start looking at how we can give ourselves the best chance of success. On field success gives you off field success. Get out of Docklands and back to the MCG. Do everything you can to make the change. I don't care if it loses us money in the interim. It will be made up for.
Second thing. Rebrand your image to reinvigorate the club.
People underestimate what something as simple as a logo change or a jumper change can do. You might laugh, but it has a proven track record. It gives the club a mental opportunity to leave the past behind and make a change. After all, mental application is what we struggle with the most right?
Here are some recent examples:
Geelong changed their logo for 2008 to usher in probably the most dominant period in the modern era.
Hawthorn also changed their logo for 2008 to do the same thing.
Richmond changed their logo for the 2012 season to leave 30 years of mediocrity behind and reset as a club. They obviously went on to win a premiership after they failed to make finals from 2001-2012.
Fremantle completely rebranded for 2012 as well and played in their first grand final the year after.
Bulldogs changed their logo for the 2015 season to win only their second premiership the year after.
More recently, West Coast rebranded back to the royal blue wings and changed their logo for the 2018 season and went on to win the premiership.
Collingwood also changed their logo for the 2018 season and fell short by 5 points in the grand final after a period of mediocrity.
We're one of only 3 teams who haven't rebranded since the 90s. The other two are Sydney (who don't need to rebrand) and St Kilda. Point is, we need a rebrand. This is a perfect example of why we're struggling to adapt to the modern era. Richmond, another team who struggled to adapt, admitted to needing a rebrand and went on to win a premiership when they did. We need to move to the MCG and rebrand to establish an identity and start fresh again.
If these two things happen along with some changes in personnel, I will be more comfortable with the direction of the club. At the moment, we're going around in circles no matter what player we trade in, who we draft or who our coach is.