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Post by nctitan on Sept 15, 2022 13:33:59 GMT -5
I just went to the school's website for the basketball schedule. I visited the site for each of our nonconference opponents and every school except one list us as Detroit Mercy. The odd school was Tulsa, which still has its 2021-22 schedule posted.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Sept 15, 2022 13:52:03 GMT -5
I just went to the school's website for the basketball schedule. I visited the site for each of our nonconference opponents and every school except one list us as Detroit Mercy. The odd school was Tulsa, which still has its 2021-22 schedule posted. I believe the school names that attach to the website schedules for various opponents are sub-part of a single integrated system, that allows the “Detroit Mercy” brand to appear consistently. But in non-connected media (say the season schedules on pocket cards and posters, Tweet images, etc.,) you will still frequently see the variation “Detroit.” Relative to Bryant, the narrative in the press release says “Detroit” but swing over to the online schedule it’s “Detroit Mercy.” In all likelihood, their SID made the unilateral decision to ignore UDM’s branding guidelines because “Detroit” will be perceived as a more formidable opponent. |
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 15, 2022 15:14:49 GMT -5
I just went to the school's website for the basketball schedule. I visited the site for each of our nonconference opponents and every school except one list us as Detroit Mercy. The odd school was Tulsa, which still has its 2021-22 schedule posted. I believe the school names that attach to the website schedules for various opponents are sub-part of a single integrated system, that allows the “Detroit Mercy” brand to appear consistently. But in non-connected media (say the season schedules on pocket cards and posters, Tweet images, etc.,) you will still frequently see the variation “Detroit.” Relative to Bryant, the narrative in the press release says “Detroit” but swing over to the online schedule it’s “Detroit Mercy.” In all likelihood, their SID made the unilateral decision to ignore UDM’s branding guidelines because “Detroit” will be perceived as a more formidable opponent. I also find that discrepancy between the website schedules and the other team mentions. Best example in recent years was the first game of AD's freshman year. The Titans played Western on the road and on the way to the game I saw a big neon billboard near campus that announced the Bronco's opponent as the University of Detroit. The stat sheet and program available at the game had us listed as Detroit. It's the norm since 1990: Inconsistency and confusion. |
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Post by motorcitysam on Sept 15, 2022 15:22:51 GMT -5
Sometimes the branding inconsistency works out in my favor. I picked up four Detroit pennants at the University gift shop a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to find them, as I didn't expect to see any items that featured "Detroit" only. Kept two for myself, gave one to my niece, and gave one to the Detroit themed hot dog place in Mesa, Arizona.
I'm not sure how a pennant that says Detroit complies with our style guide, but I am glad I discovered them before they got pulled off the shelves.
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Post by Rogobob77 on Sept 15, 2022 16:03:21 GMT -5
Sometimes the branding inconsistency works out in my favor. I picked up four Detroit pennants at the University gift shop a couple of weeks ago. I was surprised to find them, as I didn't expect to see any items that featured "Detroit" only. Kept two for myself, gave one to my niece, and gave one to the Detroit themed hot dog place in Mesa, Arizona. I'm not sure how a pennant that says Detroit complies with our style guide, but I am glad I discovered them before they got pulled off the shelves. They are surplus “Detroit” Red Wing pennants, got a good deal on them from the supplier. |
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 22, 2022 6:03:02 GMT -5
Rogo has brought some of the recent branding failures present in our local media to our attention, including the two major dailies using terms that violate the school's "style guide" in both headlines and stories. It's also worth noting that Titan Men's basketball video coordinator Will Finch calls us the Detroit Titans on his Twitter page. Of course, when Will was first here, as Director of Basketball Operations for Coach Ray, "Detroit Titans" was our athletic brand.
Our branding strategy is a complete failure. It does nothing that a brand is actually supposed to do. It's past time to fix it. My fear is that if they bring in some other consultants to push another branding study, the University will announce that the result will be us changing our name to simply "Mercy". Of course, the Sisters would be happy with that.
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Post by upbasketballfan on Oct 22, 2022 8:46:45 GMT -5
I still can not understand why this is not a great project for our Business School where students can get valuable experience and an add to their resumes. It doesn’t say much for our decision makers or the Business School if we feel someone else’s findings are more accurate. Every day we can see the damage and confusion this decision has created.
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Post by Commissioner on Oct 22, 2022 9:05:21 GMT -5
Rogo has brought some of the recent branding failures present in our local media to our attention, including the two major dailies using terms that violate the school's "style guide" in both headlines and stories. It's also worth noting that Titan Men's basketball video coordinator Will Finch calls us the Detroit Titans on his Twitter page. Of course, when Will was first here, as Director of Basketball Operations for Coach Ray, "Detroit Titans" was our athletic brand. Our branding strategy is a complete failure. It does nothing that a brand is actually supposed to do. It's past time to fix it. My fear is that if they bring in some other consultants to push another branding study, the University will announce that the result will be us changing our name to simply "Mercy". Of course, the Sisters would be happy with that. We should probably call it the "debranding" strategy, since it apparently has as its purpose the destruction of a once respectable athletic brand--U of D, the University of Detroit. |
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Post by rc on Oct 24, 2022 18:58:55 GMT -5
I wonder what would happen if we merged with another area univeristy, such as Walsh, Madonna or Center for Creative Studies as three examples. I have no insight on this, but I wonder, what would they do with the name?
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Post by Rogobob77 on Oct 24, 2022 19:41:13 GMT -5
I wonder what would happen if we merged with another area univeristy, such as Walsh, Madonna or Center for Creative Studies as three examples. I have no insight on this, but I wonder, what would they do with the name? I don’t think we’d ever merge with a non-Catholic institution, but conceivably could someday with Madonna. The 1990 consolidation came very close to involving three schools — Marygrove backed out at the last minute. My guess is that a U-D/MCD/Mg merger would more than likely have been under the name “University of Detroit,” as “University of Detroit Mercy Marygrove” would be just too much to swallow. |
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Post by larrytitan on Oct 24, 2022 20:31:08 GMT -5
Four years and 26 pages of comments re Branding. This section should be retitled Stupidity. Imagine if all of this energy was directed towards a positive statement instead of this constant whining over Mercy. First world problem, indeed.
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 24, 2022 22:29:58 GMT -5
Four years and 26 pages of comments re Branding. This section should be retitled Stupidity. Imagine if all of this energy was directed towards a positive statement instead of this constant whining over Mercy. First world problem, indeed. Larry, if you mean "stupidity" as in the continued stupidity of the University to stick to this failed branding strategy, I agree. If your "stupidity" refers to the existence of this thread, I have to disagree. This thread wouldn't exist if the brand worked. Every time a new conversation starts here, it is in direct response to a new example of the failure of the branding mess. No one has to say, "Remember that time someone referred to Detroit Mercy and people thought it was a hospital?" to have something to talk about on this topic. New stuff happens on a regular basis. Our own president recently referred to us in an interview as the University of Detroit. If that's not a sign of a mess of a situation, I don't know what is. Do you think that if we stop talking about it, it won't be such a mess? Also, there is more positive energy directed on this board towards the program than the win/loss record of the last six years would warrant. All in all, I think the fans who post here, even the ones who contribute regularly on this thread, contribute in a positive way to the Titans program. The fact that this board exists and is active is a sign of that positive energy. |
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Post by ptctitan on Oct 25, 2022 5:58:23 GMT -5
For Athletics, I see the main complaint being that there is no brand. Before the 2016 branding change, for 139 years, we were known as U of D and Detroit. Now, we are known by 5 or 6 different names. That is still happening as we start the 7th year since the branding change. Average home game attendance for men's BB has declined about 15% since the branding change. Therefore, our discussions are efforts to weigh the costs and benefits of the branding change for Athletics. We know that it alienated a percentage of U of D alumni and fans because they have no emotional ties to Mercy. Also, we know that not many Mercy alumni who have no family connections to U of D have ever turned out to support men's BB because that was never part of the Mercy tradition. A percentage of the U of D alumni and fan base voted on the branding with its feet. They walked away. That happened in my own family. What have we received in return? Are the benefits to Athletics from the new brand greater than the losses caused by disaffected U of D alumni? The new university president wants us all to think like entrepreneurs when it comes to improving the school. This thread shows that for years, many here were already doing that about Titans' sports.
Go Titans!!!!
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Post by Rogobob77 on Oct 25, 2022 9:43:08 GMT -5
Four years and 26 pages of comments re Branding. This section should be retitled Stupidity. Imagine if all of this energy was directed towards a positive statement instead of this constant whining over Mercy. First world problem, indeed. 1. It really doesn’t take much energy to periodically write a declarative sentence or two pointing out how off track the University’s branding strategy is in terms of implementation and acceptance, it takes just a few seconds. For those inclined, that leaves plenty of time to do things like administer this message board, volunteer in different capacities on behalf of the school, join the Titan Club, religiously attend a wide variety of Titan athletic events, support the institution and athletic program financially, etc. Supporting the University of Detroit Mercy and having concerns about its branding approach are not mutually exclusive. 2. Branding is an important aspect of sports, many people have observations, thoughts, ideas, constructive suggestions and varying opinions on the topic. If you go to other Horizon League message boards, you will see several dedicated threads on branding as it applies to different schools. If the subject is not worth one’s attention or reading different views on the issue is seen as “stupid” or otherwise emotionally upsetting, everyone is free to avoid the thread completely. |
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Post by motorcitysam on Oct 25, 2022 23:30:34 GMT -5
For Athletics, I see the main complaint being that there is no brand. Before the 2016 branding change, for 139 years, we were known as U of D and Detroit. Now, we are known by 5 or 6 different names. That is still happening as we start the 7th year since the branding change. Average home game attendance for men's BB has declined about 15% since the branding change. Therefore, our discussions are efforts to weigh the costs and benefits of the branding change for Athletics. We know that it alienated a percentage of U of D alumni and fans because they have no emotional ties to Mercy. Also, we know that not many Mercy alumni who have no family connections to U of D have ever turned out to support men's BB because that was never part of the Mercy tradition. A percentage of the U of D alumni and fan base voted on the branding with its feet. They walked away. That happened in my own family. What have we received in return? Are the benefits to Athletics from the new brand greater than the losses caused by disaffected U of D alumni? The new university president wants us all to think like entrepreneurs when it comes to improving the school. This thread shows that for years, many here were already doing that about Titans' sports. Go Titans!!!! If the University leadership is serious about actually maximizing the potential of the sports programs, especially basketball, one of the easy things for them to do would be too remove the obstacle of the screwed up branding. As you pointed out above, the botched branding has had serious negative consequences. |
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