National Basketball Association - Charlotte Bobcats

Ad Pros Weigh In On Charlotte Bobcats' Design

Orange, black, silver and blue -- do Bobcat colors work for you?

LEIGH DYER
Staff Writer

It's bold, eye-catching and classy. Parents will buy it for their kids, and fans will quickly warm to it. It's a classic design that will stand the test of time.

But it's no teal and purple.

Those are the early reactions from sports marketing experts, city officials and fans to the logo, colors and merchandise the NBA Bobcats unveiled Wednesday.

While the orange, silver, blue and black Bobcats design drew positive reviews, many said the Bobcats face a marketing challenge in following the Charlotte Hornets. Charlotte's first NBA team made a worldwide splash when its design -- the teal and purple Hornet -- was unveiled in 1987.

Fan Herb Glynn, 67, in town from Vermont to attend his Charlotte granddaughter's high school graduation, paid $16 for a T-shirt and $18 for a hat at Wednesday's unveiling.

"It's OK," he said of the design. "But it'll never beat the old Charlotte Hornets -- that was one of a kind."

By 1995, the Hornets were selling more merchandise than any other team in the NBA, and sightings of Hornets gear ranged from Kenya to Finland. The team took the color scheme with it when it moved to New Orleans last year.

Now, more pro teams are in the U.S. market, and competition for fans' pocketbooks is stiffer than ever. Don Hinchey, vice president of the Bonham Group sports marketing company in Denver, Colo., said the Bobcats are likely to generate strong regional sales, but less likely to capture the international interest the Hornets did.

But about a dozen marketing pros in Hinchey's firm gave the Bobcats design a thumbs-up Wednesday.

"I think this does have a fresh look about it," Hinchey said.

Max Muhleman, a Charlotte sports marketing consultant who's done a study for the Bobcats, dubbed the team's look a success. "This is grab-your-eye material," he said.

The shade of "Bobcats orange" is unique in the NBA, and no other team uses orange as its primary color, although at least three others -- the New York Knicks, Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns -- have orange in their color schemes.

After the unveiling, Mayor Pat McCrory quickly donned an orange Bobcats T-shirt under his sportcoat. "It's a logo that shows action and freshness and a new product," he said.

Team owner Bob Johnson said merchandising ability was key in the formulation of the Bobcats, and he determined to "turn it into a logo that people will readily gravitate to, men as well as women and kids."

Several of those interviewed said the Bobcat looks similar to the mascot of Charlotte's other major pro sports team, the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

But Chris Weiller, executive vice president of corporate affairs for the Bobcats, said, "We weren't aiming for any synergy with the Panthers logo," he said.

Fans snapped up T-shirts, caps and polo-style shirts at area Belk stores. Specific sales weren't available, but Belk spokesman Steve Pernotto said the SouthPark Belk store expects its first merchandise shipment to sell out before the end of the weekend.

They also clustered around merchandise booths downtown Wednesday. Telvin Patterson, 32, quickly donned two freebie orange-and-black beaded necklaces with Bobcat medallions. "I'll buy a jersey, hat and a couple of T-shirts," he said.

Mickee Goodson, 64, planned to buy T-shirts for everyone in her family. "I'm excited -- the colors are very stimulating and bright," she said. "I think a lot of people are going to be wearing orange and silver."

Staff writer David Perlmutt contributed.

This article was taken from www.charlotte.com.  All rights reserved.