With winter bearing down and the snow piling up we are reminded that spring is right around the corner, thanks to a few recent tweets from the Kansas City Royal’s unveiling a new marketing campaign for 2014.
Gone is the “Come To Play” slogan that was a focal point of 2013 print, radio, web and television campaigns; replaced by the shiny new slogan, “Be Royal”.
Could it be a nod to the hit song “Royals” by Lorde that was inspired by a National Geographic picture of George Brett? I am expecting the Royals to piggyback on the buzz of the song and play it more than a few times at the ballpark this summer.
I am left feeling uninspired by the slogan. What does it really mean to “Be Royal”? For the better part of the last two decades it has meant losing more games than you win. It has meant living out “The Process” for the better part of the last 10 years. I am ready for “Be Royal” to mean winning the American League Central instead of finishing towards the bottom.
Remember “Our Time” in 2012? With a fan base anticipating the first winning season in years, the slogan may have added pressure to the players on the field. Some were quoted after the season as saying as much. The team backed away from the slogan as the season went on, eventually admitting that it was a mistake to the Kansas City Business Journal.
So maybe “Be Royal” works. It does not add pressure to the on field of performance of the team, which after the mishap of 2012, might be the only thing that matters.
The Kansas City Royals did hit a grand slam on this billboard design featuring Alex Gordon sliding in to a stolen a base.
The team used a similar concept for a billboard design last year, but this concept clearly takes it to the next level with a design that shows even more exposed parts of the sign structure.
The billboard design has garnered a lot of national attention already, being featured on FoxSports, ESPN and other outlets.
Look for the billboard on the west side of I-35 around Southwest Boulevard.
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