Building the Nashville Predators Brand

University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Supervised Undergraduate Student Research Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects and Creative Work 5-2016 Building the Nashville Predators Brand Jonathan R. Generotti University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj Part of the Advertising and Promotion Management Commons Recommended Citation Generotti, Jonathan R., "Building the Nashville Predators Brand" (2016). Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_chanhonoproj/1920 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Supervised Undergraduate Student Research and Creative Work at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BUILDING THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS BRAND Jonathan Generotti Education and marketing to the communi- Rightfully so, it all began with the excavation of the Building the Nashville Predators ty would be essential, but the conditional franchise city in 1971. A landmark discovery of saber-tooth hinged on owner Craig Leipold being able to sell tiger remains was unearthed deep in a cave below 12,000 season tickets for an arena that held just over downtown Nashville marking only the fifth finding in Brand 17,000 in nine months without the selling points of history of its kind. Thus, the team’s identity was born Jonathan Ross Generotti a name, logo, or players at first (Farber). Naturally, there some 10,000 years ago and evolved in Novem- the first two selling points were remedied within four ber of 1997 as the franchise revealed the signature “When I came to Nashville, my most import- months but the nature of the expansion draft meant saber-tooth tiger logo (Willis, Bratten, Ramirez, Grim- ant objective was to make this Nashville’s however, this endeavor too turned out unrewarding that star hockey players would not be coming to Nash- son, Weber, Daunic). (Farber). These two deals falling through provided the team in every way.” ville and the organization would not have an athlete’s perfect avenue for Nashville to create their own brand – Craig Leipold, Original Owner face to garner these ticket sales. from the ground up when it was announced that the NHL expansion was happening and that Nashville was Nearly twenty years ago the National Hockey An expansion draft takes place to fill the roster a finalist. League granted the small southern market of Nashville of new NHL teams. Expansion teams draft players the opportunity to host a team. And nearly twenty from the established NHL teams with stipulations and years later, the franchise has thrived into a hallmark Nashville was the first team of this new expansion era of the city firmly planted in the NHL. The venture to to draft. In this draft, current organizations can choose instill this northern sport into a small market, almost to protect either nine forwards, five defensemen, and entirely ignorant to the gameplay and rules, was an un- one goalie or seven forwards, three defensemen, and dertaking that was scoffed at by some. Entering a new two goalies out of their twenty-three man rosters. market is always a significant risk, but it can come with Additionally, players on entry level contracts cannot substantial opportunity for success. In the case of the be drafted meaning that promising rookie and young Nashville Predators, continuously crafting their unique players are exempt (Schoeninger). Thus, the types of brand within the mind of the city and league mitigated players left for the Predators to choose from are all the risk and turned the franchise into an entertainment of those deemed unessential to the rest of the teams The Predators Are Born The efforts of early team owner, Craig Leipold stalwart at the heart of a flourishing city. in the league. As a result, expansion teams typically One of the true marks of the franchise’s com- paid off as he conditionally secured the team’s expan- have losing seasons to begin the franchise. Without a mitment to making this hockey team the community’s sion franchise in 1997 through his LLC (Willis, Brat- star quality player coming to Nashville and the almost team first took hold in finding the name. With the Background ten, Ramirez, Grimson, Weber, Daunic). After what assured dismal start to the franchise in terms of wins, essence of the team rooted in the saber-tooth tiger The plight for professional sports in Nashville seemed like another cumbersome ordeal, there was the organization was faced with the difficult task of image, the organization opted to have fans choose the was a succinct but tumultuous one starting in 1995 and now the extraordinarily demanding task of position- marketing this sport that was largely unknown to the official name. This move sought to build on the local ending in 1997 with the grant of the NHL expansion. ing this team and game to an unaware audience. And, city without a clear selling point in a short amount of excitement from securing the provisional rights to a Construction of the then named “Nashville Arena” expansion in this market would prove to have unique time to raise the required 12,000 season ticket sales. team and instill the notion that this was the fan’s team was underway in ’95 at the commission of mayor Phil challenges to overcome. from the very beginning. After overwhelming entries Bredeson with the objective to expand Nashville from for the namesake, it was narrowed down to the “Ice a niche southern market to a more a national one (Far- Overall, four cities were given expansions: Tigers”, the “Fury”, the “Attack”, and Leipold suggestion ber). And, plans were rapidly being made for a team Nashville, Columbus, Minnesota, and Atlanta. Nash- the “Predators”, which won by fan vote (“Nashville to host it. First on the list was a relocation of the NHL ville and Columbus were the only two which did not Predators”). The brand had a face, now it needed a team, the New Jersey Devils, fresh off a Stanley Cup previously have a franchise and also had the lowest meaning. Championship win and now staring down the threat of television market sizes of the four teams that would en- moving 750 miles south to Nashville over their owner’s ter the league by the turn of the millennium (Associat- The Ice Age Returns Owner Leipold directed their marketing and arena dispute. Despite a $20 million relocation bonus ed Press). Nashville’s southern roots planted in football advertising efforts by enlisting the local yet nationally on the table, New Jersey restructured and Nashville and NASCAR coupled with a lower television market Evolution of the Saber-Tooth The paramount order on the agenda was cre- recognized agency Dye Van Mol & Lawrence to lead returned to the franchise hunt with hope as the NHL size that was not yet on the national stage due to the ating a name and image for the organization to build the initial efforts (Leipold & Oliver 81). The clock was commissioner noted “they might be a city we look to lack of a professional sports team marked significant their brand upon and officially win the franchise. A running and striking swiftly and decisively was key to in the future” (“Nashville Still Seeks Team”). Faced challenges for the organization to overcome. On top of strategy developed at the inception of the organization the life of the franchise. As a result, the organization with a finished arena and no talk of the chance to start all these challenges, Nashville also had to fight for sales and has carried on throughout to make it a success spent “close to $100,000 in local promotion within a fresh franchise in the city, Nashville pursued relo- against the Tennessee Oilers, soon to be Titans, who was the franchise’s focus on building a brand with the a seven- to ten-day period, just to come in with the cation again as it surfaced that the NBA’s Sacramento were moving to Nashville during their inaugural year. Kings were on the fringe of upheaval from California; community rather than creating one and selling it. ‘The Ice Age Returns’ campaign” featuring the tagline “Don’t Get Left Out of the Cold” (Leipold & Oliver 87). Nashville’s first campaign reflected the The Ice Breaker Bash kicked it off, the jersey reveal of deep rooted origins of Midsize Business and the Hockey Fan the sleek navy and white completed the Predators look Fully building and integrating community the saber-tooth logo in February of 1998, but it was the Hockey Tonk Jam support, the Predators engaged the smaller business that perfectly tied in at the Ryman Auditorium in March that garnered the market and their hockey fan demographic with direct with the sport’s icy most exposure (Willis, Bratten, Ramirez, Grimson, mail campaigns. Marketing efforts for the medium to gameplay. Additionally, Weber, Daunic). Faith Hill and Tim McGraw head- small sized business market led to this segment being the tagline provoked lined the event that turned into a made-for-TV spe- the most successful of the initial campaign. Five thou- a call to action for cial which aired on the local ABC affiliate (Leipold & sand pucks were shipped to these businesses within the community while Oliver 89).Nashville’s largest music stars were already a fifty-mile radius with the tagline “the puck travels Phase II: Country Music playfully contradicting some of the most committed fans to the Predators and at the speed of 100 miles per hour, and season tickets The second phase of Nashville’s push to secure the common phase the pride in their city propelled Nashville to not only are going just as fast”.

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