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Post by friartitan on Mar 28, 2021 14:03:29 GMT -5
Most ‘branding’ has to do with less not more..For example, in my legal career a number of law firms that had several names at the top of the letterhead are now know by a single name or two..Nationally with respect to Universities a single name is very common..Locally we refer to the directional schools by the first name only..i.e. Central, Western, etc. Detroit Mercy will be know as ‘Detroit’ as long as the University exists..Just yesterday Dick Vitale was referred to the coach of Detroit from 1973-79 on cable TV..Also, the U of D monicker is occasionally confused with Dayton..My advice, stick with Detroit and forget the University label or the Mercy second word..Just my opinion as a two time graduate of the school.
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Post by fan on Mar 28, 2021 15:30:26 GMT -5
friartitan; great point, I think in the real world the school will be known at "Detroit" forever.
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 17, 2021 16:10:52 GMT -5
Dan Leach posted a pic getting his vaccine shot while wearing an old school Titan t-shirt. I'm not trying to rekindle the debate. Just thought it was a cool picture.  |
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 22, 2021 14:41:24 GMT -5
Stopped by the Rally House in Livonia yesterday to pick up a few things for my new grandson. The Titans still don't have a presence in the store, although UM, MSU, EMU, CMU, WMU, and Wayne State have big displays. The Titans don't seem to have any merchandise available on the Campus Den site, either. I think that's a mistake; if the opportunity is there to be at those locations, the University should do it. I wouldn't buy any Mercy stuff myself, but there are probably those that would. And it would seem to be beneficial to have a presence in local stores for those who might not even think of Titan gear unless they see it on the shelves.
Plot twist: As I was checking out with the EMU and Detroit Stars stuff I purchased, the sales associate ringing up my purchase mentioned that he worked as a sports photographer and took pics at EMU sporting events. Said he also worked events at Wayne State and "U of D". Young guy, probably born after the merger.
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Post by terrytylerfan on Apr 22, 2021 17:53:02 GMT -5
My son was on a recent Zoom call that started with the host going around with introductions. My son was introduced as “The guy with the Detroit Mercy shirt”. A participant from California immediately asked “Oh, is that a hospital?” (Sigh)
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Post by motorcitysam on Apr 22, 2021 18:10:40 GMT -5
My son was on a recent Zoom call that started with the host going around with introductions. My son was introduced as “The guy with the Detroit Mercy shirt”. A participant from California immediately asked “Oh, is that a hospital?” (Sigh) And the band played on... |
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 19, 2021 15:41:12 GMT -5
The past couple of weeks we've seen new instances of college basketball fans referring derisively to the mercy part of the official school name. We've also seen Titan great Rashad Phillips and the Basketball Hall of Fame refer to us as "University of Detroit" and "Detroit", respectively, when discussing Antoine Davis. Phillips played for the Titans after the merger, which once again shoots holes in the theory popular with some mercy defenders on the board that it is just old fogies like me still sticking with U-D.
In the 2022 recruiting thread, Scout linked a Tweet from Westlake Prep where they displayed our current logo while thanking the "University of Detroit" for scouting their players. Some person posted an a-hole response, saying "If you want to thank us, use our correct name." It was snarky and rude, and a terrible response to someone making a positive connection with our program. Reminded me of people who insulted Tim Hardaway's education after he made a positive comment about the program and Coach Dildy but didn't use the official name. I don't get why people do that. It's not Westlake's fault that we bungled our branding so badly. Acting like a jerk doesn't seem to be the right response.
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 28, 2021 5:48:09 GMT -5
I was watching the Pelicans vs Hawks game last night, seeing Willie Green in action during his first year as a head coach. The play by play guy said some nice things about Willie and pointed out that one of his coaching mentors was "Perry Watson, who was Green's coach at the University of Detroit".
It's worth noting that, officially speaking, Green never played at the "University of Detroit" and Perry Watson never coached there. Both arrived on campus post merger/name change. Apparently, that University of Detroit name is too tough to die. Too bad we keep trying to kill it.
No word yet on whether a member of the University marketing department sent a nasty tweet to the NBA demanding that they "use our correct name" when giving us publicity.
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Post by udmperry on Oct 28, 2021 7:00:47 GMT -5
Mercy me! Lord have Mercy!
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 14, 2021 0:21:17 GMT -5
I am watching a replay of the DePaul vs CMU game and the play by play guy just said, "This is Jermaine Jackson's first year with Central Michigan but he is from Detroit and his father was a star at the University of Detroit."
This was during the national telecast on Fox Sports 2.
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Post by ptctitan on Nov 14, 2021 5:33:50 GMT -5
The person most instrumental for the implementation of our branding policy will be retiring in 7.5 months. To understand why we find ourselves in this branding predicament, you must understand the history of Gannon University's merger with Villa Maria College in 1989. Of course, Gannon is/was a diocesan college - not a Jesuit university. VM became the Villa Maria School of Nursing inside Gannon University. Some VM alumni had very hard feelings about that decision and that was felt to have hindered Gannon's capital drive from 2001-2010.
I'm not justifying our branding policy. But, if you want to understand why the university went ahead with our current branding change near the beginning of our successful capital campaign. it's because about 800 VM alumnae didn't like being relegated to a school of nursing inside Gannon.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 14, 2021 13:16:56 GMT -5
The person most instrumental for the implementation of our branding policy will be retiring in 7.5 months. To understand why we find ourselves in this branding predicament, you must understand the history of Gannon University's merger with Villa Maria College in 1989. Of course, Gannon is/was a diocesan college - not a Jesuit university. VM became the Villa Maria School of Nursing inside Gannon University. Some VM alumni had very hard feelings about that decision and that was felt to have hindered Gannon's capital drive from 2001-2010. I'm not justifying our branding policy. But, if you want to understand why the university went ahead with our current branding change near the beginning of our successful capital campaign. it's because about 800 VM alumnae didn't like being relegated to a school of nursing inside Gannon. Interesting. I wonder if not ticking off Mercy alumni was worth ticking off the Detroit alumni. |
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Post by upbasketballfan on Nov 14, 2021 13:30:05 GMT -5
The person most instrumental for the implementation of our branding policy will be retiring in 7.5 months. To understand why we find ourselves in this branding predicament, you must understand the history of Gannon University's merger with Villa Maria College in 1989. Of course, Gannon is/was a diocesan college - not a Jesuit university. VM became the Villa Maria School of Nursing inside Gannon University. Some VM alumni had very hard feelings about that decision and that was felt to have hindered Gannon's capital drive from 2001-2010. I'm not justifying our branding policy. But, if you want to understand why the university went ahead with our current branding change near the beginning of our successful capital campaign. it's because about 800 VM alumnae didn't like being relegated to a school of nursing inside Gannon. Interesting. I wonder if not ticking off Mercy alumni was worth ticking off the Detroit alumni. My guess would be that appeasing a group with no tradition to alienate alumni who did support and back University and tradition was a real bone head move in a bucket full of other really bad moves and I do not know about the rest of you on here but Garabaldi can’t go away fast enough for me. How has Gannon done since his departure? |
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Post by ptctitan on Nov 14, 2021 14:12:00 GMT -5
Garibaldi has led many positive accomplishments for the university. For us, who are interested in Athletics and our flagship sport, men's basketball, the branding initiative cost more than it gained. The University of Detroit Mercy should play sports as the Detroit Titans. After a first reference in any article or broadcast referencing the full name of the school, the use of Detroit and the Detroit Titans should be permitted. It's that simple.
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Post by motorcitysam on Nov 16, 2021 6:27:34 GMT -5
I have been pleased with a lot of the progress that the University has made during Garibaldi's tenure. Obviously our sports programs have struggled the past few years, and there have been some embarrassing episodes among various teams, but I recognize (and appreciate) the fact that a University is much more than sports. I hope the next person in Garibaldi's role continues us on the road to progress that I believe we are on now.
Having said that, I think the branding issue has a negative impact beyond sports. And while playing as the Detroit Titans while the University maintains the merger name might be a better situation than what we have, it's a half measure at best. And if you are a fan of the show Breaking Bad, you know what Mike Ehrmantruat says about half measures.
DirecTV reminds me when my favorite teams have a game coming up. Last week I got a notice that "Detroit" was playing Wyoming.
We had a brand name that people still use after decades of us telling them not to. It seems like common sense would dictate we go back to it.
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