It’s as official as it has ever been – the Washington Redskins will be changing their name and logo!
Of course, there isn’t TOO MUCH to celebrate here, especially no one to pat on their back.
It’s not even the case we saw a few weeks ago, where in the wake of the Black Lives Matter social justice movement, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s announced they will be changing logos and names due to the racial stereotypes associated with them. They also “only” reacted. But at least did it quickly.
That’s not the case with the Washington professional football team, and especially with the franchise’s owner, Dan Snyder. This guy is doing it reluctantly, after decades of offensively refusing the idea.
But now, as the movement got louder and the team’s partner/sponsor, FedEx, asked for the name to be changed – Snyder approved it.
Before that, we’ve already seen retailers like Amazon and Target, dropping the team’s merchandise from their websites and shelves.
Next up seems to be the Cleveland Indians’ name and logo. Some other teams whose names include the words Warriors, Chiefs, etc., might also be going on a similar route soon.
Marketers, are you listening? It’s never too late to do the right thing.
Even if it will comes with criticism now or angry and bothered customers, getting rid of names, logos, and other designs that may include racist or stereotypical components is crucial to the success of your brand right now and in the long run.
You might have not yet thought about the possibility that your messaging may consist of subtle racist stereotypes. Now is the time to be reviewing and looking into your existing marcoms.
Still in football, Colin Kaepernick – the player who started the kneeling protest during national anthems before NFL games and since beame one of Nike’s main presenters and a prominent civil rights activist., signed a partnership with Disney’s ESPN to produce an exclusive docuseries on his journey.
“I am excited to announce this historic partnership with Disney across all of its platforms to elevate Black and Brown directors, creators, storytellers, and producers and inspire the youth with compelling and authentic perspectives,” Kaepernick said in a statement.
“I look forward to sharing the docuseries on my life story and many other culturally impactful projects we are developing.”
One way this journey will not be portrayed at, but still is worth mentioning in this context, is: being actually socially active is good branding.
And that’s not the only way the Walt Disney Company is trying to reproduce its own success. As the multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate obviously hope this new show would gain the same attention as ESPN’s last docuseries – The Last Dance – and over 4th of July weekend, Disney Plus released the play, Hamilton, on streaming, too.
Just like they did with The Last Dance – they moved the original schedule, and nailed the perfect timing, wrapping it along with a watch party on Twitter featuring Lin Manuel Miranda and other stars from the play’s original cast.
On Disney Plus is the only way fans will be able to watch the award-winning musical since Broadway performances of the show are suspended until further notice due to COVID-19.
The results of the release? Disney reported a 74% increase in Disney Plus app downloads over that weekend.
The bottom line here is that quickly shifting strategy and acting instead of reacting – is the name of the game for leading brands today. There’s a lot any marketer can learn from how Disney has been going about things recently. And it starts with being pro-active(ist).