In response to Christopher Yim’s blog post about the rebranding of the New Orlean’s Hornets, I have to agree with the positive effect the re-branding has had on the franchise. By rehauling the failing franchise through a complete restructuring of it’s image and logo, New Orleans has really turned their organization around. Louisiana has always had a strong relation with the pelican bird, it being the official state bird, as well as it’s nickname “The Pelican State.” What the franchise succeeded in seeing was that the small market size in New Orleans for professional basketball was not particularly inclined to support their home team when it was called the Hornets. Perhaps a major reason was that the Hornets was not associated with Louisiana at all. It was originally meant to appeal to the Charlotte market, where it has remain associated with since then. On the other hand, when the franchise rebranded it self as the Pelicans, New Orleans and Louisiana state began to rally behind it, not only because it was the home team, because the organization stood for something greater. The Pelican was and always has been an important symbol for the Louisiana people. When Hurricane Katrina hit, as well as the BP oil spill incident, the pelican was one of the animals to receive the most concern. By switching the hornets with the Pelicans, the franchise was able to appeal to the correct target audience of Louisiana state, as well as maintain their support for such a symbolic team and image. With the drafting of new stars such as Anthony Davis, the Pelicans are able to add onto the support they’ve garnered from the logo change with support for an actually well-performing team. With that successful re-branding campaign, the franchise at New Orleans is looking at a steady recovery, both financially and physically.

Anthony Davis

Link to Christopher Yim’s blog post: https://blogs.ubc.ca/christopheryim/2013/10/10/rebranding-nba-new-orleans-pelicans/