NESN: Raps Must Look Beyond Basketball Court to Remake Brand

[SHFT]

To have national support you need to win games. Plain and simple. People in the Atlantic provinces or out west wont give a **** if we rebrand to be "Canadas Team" because last time I checked we already tried that and it failed miserably. I know all of this goes without saying but I realllly do not like this whole re branding talk before stuff like hiring a new GM and stuff like that.

And I am really sick of all the Lowry hate I can't wait for him to blow up next year and prove all the haters wrong!

[hankscorpioLA]

Has it occurred to anyone that a big part of any effort to rebrand the Raptors involves changing their reputation as a basketball team.

That is what is frustrating about this conversation.

People are acting like the product on the court and the brand are two separate things. But from Leiweke's comments its clear that is not how he sees it.

He wants to change the product on the court AND change the way the team is perceived across the country.

[Wo1verine]

If they want to be "Canada's team" they better win 15 games next year and try to land Wiggins!! That would surely be a step in the right direction to achieving that goal.

The hype/buzz would be crazy.

[SDM]

Is their any reason the folks who hate the team Canada concept hate it, other than the fact that TL and BC are not from Canada? (which is, IMHO, completely irrelevant?)

I hate it because it's unoriginal and pandering. They're only doing this because it provides the casual fanbase with a distraction in case the team fails.

[hankscorpioLA]

Is their any reason the folks who hate the team Canada concept hate it, other than the fact that TL and BC are not from Canada? (which is, IMHO, completely irrelevant?)

I hate it because it's unoriginal and pandering. They're only doing this because it provides the casual fanbase with a distraction in case the team fails.

So...you don't think it has anything to do with the fact that the new owners of MLSE are the two biggest NATIONAL media companies?

Rogers and Bell are in the business of getting eyeballs on screens. And the eyeballs they reach are across the country. For them, with only one basketball team in the country, it is natural that they would want to spread the influence of that team as far as possible.

Think people...think.

[SDM]

Derp.

That's exactly what I'm saying. It's about money.

It's OK the team sucks, but hey, these new jerseys look good. And they have flags on them. And people in Saskatoon intimately give a **** about things in Toronto. All pandering, unoriginal thoughts.

Demand better. But that's too much work.

[J-Roc]

Has it occurred to anyone that a big part of any effort to rebrand the Raptors involves changing their reputation as a basketball team.

That is what is frustrating about this conversation.

People are acting like the product on the court and the brand are two separate things. But from Leiweke's comments its clear that is not how he sees it.

He wants to change the product on the court AND change the way the team is perceived across the country.

IMO he shouldn't even talk about the latter before dealing with the former.

[sanity]

Rebranding is a way to trick fans into buying more tickets. It isn't going to cater to the players one bit, they don't care

If they actually wanted to promote the Raptors without putting a decent team on the court... they would stop televising exclusively on TSN2 and SN1 so casual fans might actually watch a game or two

[SDM]

The "corporation can do no wrong" attitude around here is unsettling.

Have you folks been paying attention to the last, oh, I don't know, ten years of nonsense up top?

[hankscorpioLA]

Has it occurred to anyone that a big part of any effort to rebrand the Raptors involves changing their reputation as a basketball team.

That is what is frustrating about this conversation.

People are acting like the product on the court and the brand are two separate things. But from Leiweke's comments its clear that is not how he sees it.

He wants to change the product on the court AND change the way the team is perceived across the country.

IMO he shouldn't even talk about the latter before dealing with the former.

Do you have any idea how ridiculous that sounds?

I mean...if ALL he was talking about was rebranding, then sure, bitch all you want.

But that hasn't been the case at all.

He's been very vocal about the lack of success on the court and on what he feels needs to be done about the team to make it a perennial championship contender.

But to suggest that he shouldn't say anything about his image for the team and its image off the basketball court just demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of business.



IMHO the last two months or so on here could be studied in a psychology class on the subject of people's tendency to stick to their previously-held opinions regardless of changes in reality.

[Wo1verine]

The "corporation can do no wrong" attitude around here is unsettling.

Have you folks been paying attention to the last, oh, I don't know, ten years of nonsense up top?

You just have to try and do your best to ignore the guys that are blind.

[hankscorpioLA]

The "corporation can do no wrong" attitude around here is unsettling.

Have you folks been paying attention to the last, oh, I don't know, ten years of nonsense up top?

Were you not paying attention last year when the corporation was sold to a completely new group of owners?

[Lakonomy]

So the hate is about order - i.e., the raptors shouldn't be looking to become Canada's team until after they start winning games?


So if the team, say trades rudy gay for lebron james, demar for Wade, and Val for Bosh (bare with me...) and then wins 60 games next year, you'll be fine with calling it Canada's team?

In other words, its Canada's team if they win, but Toronto's team if they loose?

Sorry - I think you are still giving an emotional knee-jerk reaction (it's pandering! Condescending! Who do they think they are! demand better!) rather than seeing this for what it could be - a way for us to be able to attract higher-quality FAs. Which might help with winning.

[SDM]

You're in LA, so I'll give you a pass.

Ask about the reputation of Bell and Rogers in Canada.

I'll wait.

[hankscorpioLA]

You're in LA, so I'll give you a pass.

Ask about the reputation of Bell and Rogers in Canada.

I'll wait.

First of all, I am from Toronto.

Second, last time I checked, Rogers and Bell were two of the largest and most successful companies in Canada. They are also the companies that provides the vast majority of Canadians with their cable/internet/mobile services.

So go ahead and complain all you want about their crappy customer service or whatever else. The fact is that you are probably accessing this forum via one of their networks and that is all that really matters.



Also...just curious...who do you think has a better reputation in terms of being able to deliver an entertainment product that is appealing to consumers - Bell and Rogers or the OTPP?

Cuz if there is one group of people who know entertainment its the folks who manage pension funds for teachers

[TheGoodDoctor]

This is just beyond tacky and a cheap gimmick.


End of story.

[theonlyeastcoastrapsfan]

The "corporation can do no wrong" attitude around here is unsettling.

Have you folks been paying attention to the last, oh, I don't know, ten years of nonsense up top?

Were you not paying attention last year when the corporation was sold to a completely new group of owners?

and it's not a completely new group at all. I think Bell had a stake before, and the only guy who's personally invested before, is still there as the only guy who's personally invested. That carries weight. Larry still has a very sizable stake and role. He was the face of MLSE owners before, and I imagine he still is.

[wolfv]

I'd rather go back to those purple dino jerseys instead of turning the team even more canadian.

[ThemCrookedRefs]

^^^^He's talking about reputation, not the success of the companies. The reputation generally isn't positive for these companies, but people tolerate them because there are limited options; it's pretty much a duopoly.

Yes, they have a large role in delivering the content/product, but it doesn't help when you put most of it on secondary channels (TSN2, SN1, NBATV) and give it less (arguably) coverage than the CFL and curling.

[J-Roc]

So the hate is about order - i.e., the raptors shouldn't be looking to become Canada's team until after they start winning games?


So if the team, say trades rudy gay for lebron james, demar for Wade, and Val for Bosh (bare with me...) and then wins 60 games next year, you'll be fine with calling it Canada's team?

In other words, its Canada's team if they win, but Toronto's team if they loose?

Sorry - I think you are still giving an emotional knee-jerk reaction (it's pandering! Condescending! Who do they think they are! demand better!) rather than seeing this for what it could be - a way for us to be able to attract higher-quality FAs. Which might help with winning.

blah blah blah. Raps should start winning and then should start try to sell a winning product to the rest of Canada. Sorry, but they're doomed for failure if you're trying sell a losing team to a guy in Lethbridge. I mean seriously, this team is considered a joke here. Now you think you can sell them to Canada with a red jersey with a flag?? It's like a restaurant trying to get people in with a bunch of advertising and red signs and flags, but when people get there, the food sucks.