Hull Tigers…We Don’t Think So #dsmmcm1314

The East Yorkshire team having returned to the Premier League for only the second time in their 109 year history,  are now sat comfortably mid table. With some promising results such as 3-1 against Liverpool, it is likely that Hull City will remain in the top tier from some time yet. However, this revelation may not be enough to satisfy die hard fans after the recent announcement from Hull City AFC owner Assem Allam, a local businessman, who plans to rename the club ‘Hull Tigers’, much to the fans dismay. Plans are on the way after he stated that a request has been submitted to the FA to change the name by the start of next season.

On September 12th 2013 he stated in an interview with the Guardian, “By next year I will change the name to Hull Tigers. I cannot afford to run the club by fans’ feelings”. His main defence and reasoning behind changing the football clubs name is because of his distaste of the word city. In a Hull Daily Mail interview on 9 August 2013, he stated, “Hull City is irrelevant. My dislike to the word City is because it is common… City is a lousy identity.” Strong words, especially when dealing with a club with a rich history and strong brand attachment to the name Hull City AFC. Allam wants to re-brand the club, to make an impact globally. He made comparisons to clubs like Manchester United, saying  “you need a brand. Look at Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea – they are worldwide brands.” He obviously has big plans, and claims that the name Hull Tigers will be more appealing worldwide.

What was the fan response? A big fat ‘No’ is the honest answer. Re-naming the club would be like changing the colours from amber and black to pink and yellow. There is meaning behind and attachments giving to the Hull City AFC brand matter to fans, and by changing it will effectively ruin what the club and fans have built over the last 100 years.

Rick Skelton, well known among supporters for his Hull City Live Twitter feed, said the decision “would go down as one of the saddest days” in the club’s history. He was infuriated that the happiness and pride fans should be feeling right now after the momentous climb back into the premier league is over shadowed by the anger Allam has provoked with the new name proposal.

This re-naming business has also created a rather sour taste in the mouths of fans, especially at games where the atmosphere is  tumultuous to say the least. A new rather popular chant echoing the stadium rings, “We’re Hull City, and we will die when we want”, prompted from the statement Allam gave saying, “they can die as soon as they want, as long as they leave the club for the majority who just want to watch good football”.

What does this example show marketers? Well, one of main points I have learnt is that the more ambitious the new proposed strategy is, the more subtle the marketer should be when implementing. The sudden and dramatic fashion in which Assem Allam announced the re-naming has only fuelled a fire in the hearts of fans, which will take a tremendous amount of time to overcome. Yesterday at the Stoke game, which was televised live on Sky, prompted further action from fans who had previously vowed to continue the campaign to stop Allam.

Supporters have created a campaign group named ‘City Till We Die’ in order to get their voices heard.

Charlotte Morrill, a long time Hull City fan stated, “I don’t support the fact the owner wants to change the name, the club isn’t just a brand. I also don’t think that he has approached it in the right way and has alienated a lot of fans by not taking their opinions into account. However, the club definitely wouldn’t be where it is now if Mr Allam hadn’t invested huge amounts of money so therefore I think he has the right to do what he wants with the club”.