The Seahawks’ quest to become back-to-back Super Bowl champions has "expanded the team’s marketing base and promises the financial spoils that come with that," but experts say that the team's brand "still has room to grow," according to a front-page piece by Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. N.Y.-based Brand Keys Founder Robert Passikoff said that last year's Super Bowl win "indeed brought the Seahawks a boost," but they "only jumped from No. 19 to No. 14 on his firm’s annual 'sports fan loyalty index.'" Baker notes loyalty "rising among fans increases the chance of people spending on tickets, merchandise, corporate sponsorships, advertising and other things associated with a team’s brand." But Passikoff said that the Seahawks are "still a relatively regional team lacking the national appeal" of teams like the Patriots. Baker notes players such as Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and CB Richard Sherman are "enjoying their own major endorsement deals, which has an impact on the amount of attention paid to the team itself." So, with only so much money a team "can squeeze out of fan loyalty in any given year, much has already been diverted to individual players." But Passikoff said that some Seahawks players "have the opposite effect nationally, such as the sometimes-polarizing Sherman." He added that the postgame rant by WR Doug Baldwin after the NFC Championship "might have 'turned off' fans around the country." N.Y.-based PR consultant Richard Torrenzano adds RB Marshawn Lynch to the list of Seahawks "who might limit the team’s appeal nationally." Torrenzano said that Lynch’s media-day antics this week were "'childish' and 'rude' and 'embarrassing' for himself and the team." But he added that he sees the Seahawks "making gains" if they win on Sunday (SEATTLE TIMES, 1/29).
MISSING THE MARK? ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel noted the Seahawks are "trying to trademark the word ‘Boom,’ as in ‘Legion of Boom,’ and the phrase ‘Go Hawks.’ He said if the team is successful in trademarking "Go Hawks," what are fans of the NBA Hawks "supposed to say, ‘Go us?’" Kimmel: "On top of that, they want to trademark the No. 12 because they consider their fans to be the 12th man. You can’t own the No. 12. I need the No 12. I use it all the time to buy doughnuts” (“Jimmy Kimmel Live,” ABC, 1/28).
