A lot of the more hysterical comments online seem to come from people who simply don't like change. No brand ever stays the same so I don't inherently have an issue with it I just think the design itself is really poor and doesn't really feel like a Wigan badge. The one in Egg Chasing's picture is a great logo - it's different, new but still distils the brand identity into it. I'm really surprised that a professional has taken money for the current design.

Then we get to the whole projecting it onto rival's stadiums. Crass and vulgar, especially when you're projecting that logo onto it...

How's that different to grown men venting on here?

I personally think social media has done more harm to society than good, but it is what it is and certainly isn't going away. In many instances, if you don't use any social platforms then you don't get a say. A lot of decisions are made off the back of the reactions on social platforms.

I’ve calmed down now after the initial shock. I think the reasons behind it are totally acceptable and whilst I think the design should’ve been much better, it’s done now and I doubt we’ll change it. Ultimately the club finds itself in a very strange time and it’s a tough time for everyone. I’ve spoken on here before about backing the club to the hilt regarding finances and saying if we didn’t sign anybody then so be it. I think the financial aspect has played a part in this but when you see what the club has done from a signing and resigning POV, I can’t be anything but chuffed with that. The badge matters little in the grand scheme of things and it certainly won’t be playing on my mind during games next season.

Overall whilst the design isn’t great, I can accept it’s been done with good intentions and we move on.

Some change is not always bad. I don't particualrly dislike the new logo (it's a "logo", not a "badge" any more) and from a clean, digital-first perspective, it's ok, if just a bit "meh". I will, however, be hanging on to the old badge for as long I can & I've no intention of replacing the car stickers or my retro shirt.
I would ask, though, exactly who in the fan-base were "discretly" consulted & what was the rationale of not making the desire for a change more public? Could it be that they were worried they'd be told to stop being so feckin daft & leave well alone?

At the end of the day if the club keeps on signing the likes of French up to new contracts and bringing Field in,I'm not really that bothered about the badge,trophies will always take precedent

Quote ="sergeant pepper"How's that different to grown men venting on here? I personally think social media has done more harm to society than good, but it is what it is and certainly isn't going away. In many instances, if you don't use any social platforms then you don't get a say. A lot of decisions are made off the back of the reactions on social platforms.'" The amount of venting on Facebook far outweighs any seen on here.. I saw the badge, thought 'urghhh' a few minutes later it left my mind, got bigger things to worry about. I'm not someone who goes out and buys a replica top anymore, had the odd polo shirt over the last few years. The last time the club made a big change like this was releasing the horrific 'Warrior viking' shirt in 1997 https://www.oldrugbyshirts.com/en/teams ... -s393.html I remember the furore about moving away from the traditional hoops, however someone mentioned on here that the club announced it was one of the best ever selling shirts. It will be interesting to see how many supporters are wearing new merchandise when (hopefully) we are allowed back in stadiums again. It would be highly typical of Wiganers to have a big whinge and then see swarms of new replica kits throughout our fan base on the terraces.

Quote ="sergeant pepper"How's that different to grown men venting on here? I personally think social media has done more harm to society than good, but it is what it is and certainly isn't going away. In many instances, if you don't use any social platforms then you don't get a say. A lot of decisions are made off the back of the reactions on social platforms.'" The amount of venting on Facebook far outweighs any seen on here.. I saw the badge, thought 'urghhh' a few minutes later it left my mind, got bigger things to worry about. I'm not someone who goes out and buys a replica top anymore, had the odd polo shirt over the last few years. The last time the club made a big change like this was releasing the horrific 'Warrior viking' shirt in 1997 https://www.oldrugbyshirts.com/en/teams ... -s393.html I remember the furore about moving away from the traditional hoops, however someone mentioned on here that the club announced it was one of the best ever selling shirts. It will be interesting to see how many supporters are wearing new merchandise when (hopefully) we are allowed back in stadiums again. It would be highly typical of Wiganers to have a big whinge and then see swarms of new replica kits throughout our fan base on the terraces.

Terrible. Hope other clubs don't follow suit...

Yes as you say we will already have received the new merchandise or it’s on it’s way from the manufacturer

I believe that some of the new leisure wear looks really good so IL is maybe pinning his hopes on improved turnover and that the current noise will pass over

Do you think that if we had been more dramatic in the change by say adopting The Brigantes (with an improved logo of the Brigante) that this could have won over more fans?

I feel we have to support IL because frankly without him god knows where we be
I just hope that he learns something from this in terms of decision making and understanding the feelings of many fans. A relaunch may well have been needed just very poorly executed

I’ve got a 1958 retro shirt with the A&L that will see my days out so I won’t be buying the new shirt but many fans will do so even if through gritted teeth

I predict that the A&L will make a comeback in 2022

Leeds already did years back when you plonked a huffing Rhino on your shirt.

Nobody bats an eyelid now.

It isn't just about buying replica shirts or whether or not we win trophies. Your club crest is your identity.

Adidas as a business for example have had one or two different logos for different things and use both very well depending on the product. Would they ever ditch the 3 stripes though? No would they . Would Coca-Cola ever simply become Cola? No.

In sporting terms as I've said, United modernised their crest but the devil remained. Liverpool kept the Liverbird, Arsenal the gun, Chelsea the lion, West Ham the hammers/irons, even Latics kept the tree and crown. Similar style crests to this new one for clubs like Bristol City and Brentford keep the history and identity of the club with the Robin and the Bee.

There is no issue in attempting to modernise the brand, but the new design has taken away every aspect of the old crest that defines the clubs identity aside from sticking 'Ancient and Loyal' underneath some clip art drawing that looks like a viking as opposed to a 'warrior'. Had the design been better this may not have received so much negativity.

Clearly the idea is to look to market the name Warriors much more than we do now which in itself splits the fanbase (and it isn't 50/50 as was claimed at the infamous fans forum) but I am pretty sure we can do that without using the design we have chosen.

Leeds did it, Saints did it, Wire did it, in fact almost every club did it, and I expect there will be some changes to many clubs badges in the next couple of years.
I don't like the new badge, but it's hardly a showstopper especially in these trying times.

That all depends on how much it cost and what return we get from it. A few social media clicks won't pay the bills should merchandise sales collapse.

Personally, I don't see us gaining any new fans nor do I see us losing any. Shirt sales may struggle at first but if we end up being succesful then people will buy. They always do.

This would be the perfect time to create a retro department (something else I have suggested multiple times) that uses the traditional crest and I would hope that that is exactly what they do rather than completely disregard it.

I've explained why it worked for the Rhinos

NK is referring to the 'hope no other teams follow suit' comment. There's no following to be done as most other clubs have already done similar. No one is disputing the rationale behind your post as far as I can see.

Fair enough.

To be fair after the backlash I can't see many clubs following suite in this fashion!

FWIW I think quite a few clubs need to update their branding I just hope they do it in a more considered way.

Pemps?

Not seen it. As pointed out in referring to a comment that says they hope other clubs don’t do the same, well they did what we’ve done now donkeys years back and I’m sure there was a fuss kicked up by their fans at the time but nobody cares anymore. I had a look at the superleague table yesterday to see the clubs badges in one place and pretty much every team has ditched their original crest. We have a Big Rhino, a Giant bloke, a Tiger, a wolf and so on. Other clubs may tinker a bit but it won’t be the extreme change like ours has been because the extreme amendments were made many years ago. It would’ve taken some time for people to get used to them originally but now they’re just the norm.

Your clubs biggest asset is the name Wigan - that is the brand it's synonymous with RL.

Warriors isn't.

Yes some clubs went all in with daft Monikers (like Leeds) but they made it work (some more successful than the others) Wigan Went with the Warriors name, never really committed to it and 25 years later nobody really equates RL in Wigan with Warriors - the better decision would have been to focus on what is successful about the Wigan brand and it is the name Wigan and it's history in the game.

Would you say the older Leeds fans bought into the Rhino's name? I thought they would have always preferred to remain either just Leeds or Loiners as previously nicknamed?

Similar to Warrington, most older supporters prefer to refer as Wire/Wires rather than the silly Wolves tag.

I think the most successful team rebrand was Bradford Bulls, I think they brought in a large new fan base and saw huge crowds in the late nineties/early 2000's. However whilst it brought them a lot of success it ultimately saw their downfall, all the new supporters who were brought in as young kids grew up and fell away, it was all a flash in the pan. Crowds reduced back to the size they were in the 'Northern' days and ultimately were left with only a few thousand loyal supporters rattling around Odsal. Now look where they are.

I suppose that more or less summarises 'Super League', had a massive rebrand in the nineties, big fan fare, attracted huge crowds, huge SKY money handed out but now looks tired and outdated. SKY know this to be true as the rumored new TV deal is significantly less than previous.

Agreed. I think the club could have gone about it differently too and engaged the fans more from the off.

A simple email outlining why they needed to rebrand and a "would you prefer a simplified version of the current crest using its key elements or a full rebrand using the Warrior theme' would have been far more effective and would have reinforced the bond between the club and its fanbase. Instead they go down this route and manage to overshadow a fantastic derby win and the French signing in the process!

I'd say the club not only shot themselves in the foot with this but the ricochet shot and killed their dog too.

I get you, I’ve said I’m not happy with the design but simply responding to the fact that somebody said they hoped other clubs don’t mess with their badges. Well that ship sailed years ago and has had varying degrees of success. You say we didn’t commit to it years ago but now it looks like we will and I’m sure in another 25 years, if we stick to it, then the badge and the name will be second nature. I do think the Warriors name has stuck to a degree, I know many people who just refer to us as the Warriors (people who don’t watch the game much funnily enough) but it’s not been as successful as ‘The Rhinos’ or ‘The Wolves’ because we didn’t totally commit to it. We went back to a traditional crest and the ‘Warriors’ part seems an afterthought, that shouldn’t be the case now. It was quite interesting reading why we adopted the name Warriors. There is a workable link there and I’m not sure that’s the case with the Rhinos or Wolves (I’ve certainly not seen any Rhinos trotting round Leeds City Centre), so we can hopefully make it work.

Just get rid of the badge, the Warriors name and Rads at the same time, everything he touches turns to cack.

From what I remember the Rhinos name wasn’t well received in the first few years, but luckily for the Club it coincided with an upturn in performance both on and off the field which will have made the transition easier.

The bulls demise has literally nothing to do with branding it was down to the mismanagement of the club.

There’s a big difference from 25 years ago, your club too on the moniker ‘warriors’ it hasn’t really worked which is why it seems an odd decision to now try and make it work, they should be looking at was does work and push that.

I 100% agree with the branding needing to be updated but I 100% disagree it needed updating this way.

I may well be wrong but to alienate your core fan base at this time seems a strange move to say the least.

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