Rebrand Review with Tiffanee & JazzUniTracker | Podcast

Today we’re joined by Jazz Super Fan Tiffanee and Sam of Jazz Uni Tracker to review the Utah Jazz rebrand. With all components in the rearview, what’s actually good/bad? What’s the legacy of the rebrand? And what would we change given the chance in the future?
2022-23
rebrand
review
future
Author

Adam Bushman

Published

November 18, 2022

Intro

Welcome to Jabber Jazz | Fan-driven, Ad-free content on Utah Jazz basketball

Adam Bushman Twitter | @adam_bushman

Today:

  • The definitive review of the rebrand
    • What’s actually bad/good
    • Did the team use good practice
    • What’s the legacy of this branded era
    • How would we see it evolve

Guests:

  • Tiffanee Gurney: @tiffanee_dawn
    • Some of the strongest rebrand takes on Jazz Twitter
  • Jazz Uniform Tracker: @JazzUniTracker
    • The fan/designer consultant on the actual rebrand

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What’s actually bad/good?

  • Lead up
    • 2021-22 season
    • Redesigned stadium
    • Unofficial graphics
    • Font-gate
    • Black & white
  • The colors
    • Black, white, yellow
      • Yellow was a concession mandated by the league
      • Symbolism
        • White/Black: piano keys
        • Yellow: spotlight on greatest performers Color Symbolism
  • Purple is Back
    • Release video
      • Starts and ends with purple
      • 68 secs purple, 33 secs of new kit
    • Salt Lake Tribune reported it was a last minute add when fanbase reactions were poor Purple is Back
  • The court
    • Angled light flooring
    • Silver accents
    • Black and yellow point work
  • New note/primary logo
    • Primary logo doesn’t feature “Jazz” or “Utah”
    • No accent mark, thinker stem, different angle
      • More identifiable and easier for digital use
  • The fonts
    • Lots of block, capitalized letters
    • Weird, mismatched size and width Odd Font
  • The jerseys
    • Association: white, black lettering, silver & yellow trim
    • Icon: yellow, black lettering, silver trim
    • Statement: black, yellow lettering, black trim
  • The merchandise
    • A lot of meh, basic, “IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY.” energy
    • The overly yellow is legitimately tough to like
    • A lot of the purple is nice
    • The black and white, highlighting the note, is pretty cool

Did the team use good practice?

  • Came in wanting to fix an “identiy crisis”
  • Reports of “echo chamber”, “affirmative action” type focus groups
  • Lots of talk of Ryan’s personal project
  • Expediting the process with half steps
  • Last second “purple” angle
  • Awful PR
  • Ryan admitting there’s stuff he didn’t like

What’s the legacy of this era?

  • How does this branding era go down relative to the others?
  • Can the Jazz ever achieve a consistent identity?
  • Will fan base pressure provoke a change this big?

How would we see it evolve?

Assume Nike insists the team continue with a 90% facsimile of what the current brand is, what do you change?

When Jazz have their next opportunity to rebrand, what do you do?

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