St Louis Branding (3.0)

Now that we've got a new, clean thread to continue this conversation, let's keep this thread clear of any discussion regarding racism/hooliganism in other countries/leagues.

If you want to discuss racism in Italy, go to the Italy forum.

Same with England.

As for the potential sponsors, from PopsKrock's list....

Ralston Purina is now Nestle Purina. I have a hard time thinking that they would be able to sponsor, since Nestles biggest competitor in one of their largest fields of business is Mars/M&M, the company that makes Snickers, a league sponsor. Because of the league's single entity format, I don't think Mars/M&M would allow it.

Schnucks or Dierbergs....one of them will definitely have some sort of sponsorship, but most likely not the jersey or the stadium. First, for a grocery store, it wound't make much sense, from an investment standpoint, as it would probably cost too much money. Second, the point of getting naming rights to a stadium/on a jersey is to spread name recognition not just locally, but nationally. I don't know that either of those companies are looking to expand on that level.

Wachovia could be a very good choice, depending on what they see as their future in the St Louis market. If they decide they want to be just as big here as AG Edwards was, then they'll definitely want to spread their name. But that may not be the case.

As for Anheuser-Busch, they're already a league sponsor. They'll definitely be involved. Doubtful, though, that they would buy naming rights for the stadium, since they already have their name on one stadium in town. As for the jersey, it's a possibility.

Vess....is Vess still around? I haven't seen it in ages. If so, they probably aren't operating on a large enough scale (read: large enough profit margin/budget) to throw that much money into sponsorships. Also, as a soft drink, they come into direct competition with Pepsico, one of the leagues main sponsors.

Monsanto seems like a good fit for the jersey: a large enough company with deep enough pockets that they could do it; products that everyone uses in their daily lives, but probably no reason to have any interest in stadium naming rights. (Come to think of it, maybe they could just sponsor the pitch, and not the entire stadium. "We're coming to you from XYZ stadium, where they're playing on the always beautiful, always green, never a weed found, Monsanto playing field.")

Express scripts...I would think they're still too small and that it might not be the right target for them, but I could be wrong.

Schlafly, same problem that I see Vess and Nestle Purina running into.

 

Another one to consider is Energizer: world headquarters in St. Louis, global brand name, some possible tie-in with the whole "keeps going and going" thing for soccer.

At first, I thought maybe Energizer was just a division of Purina, but it was apparently spun off into an independent company in 2000.

 

I just think the shirt sponsor has got to be Anheuser Busch, Budweiser, etc. Schnuck's wouldn't be terrible, but it's not the same.

As far as the stadium, I'm not sure. Whoever doesn't take the shirt, I suppose. Hell, maybe Busch'll take them both.

 

I'd be down with a pink kit. I love Palermo's shirts. Something cool about wearing pink- it demoralizes the opposition to lose to guys wearing pink.

 

So, without perusing the prior thread, are blue and green still the current preferred combination, such as are found on the StL Soccer United web site? I still love that shield:

http://www.stlouissoccerunited.com/

 

I like the shield that they are using and the blue/green is ok. I wish MLS would do true alternate jerseys like they do in Europe. Now it seems all MLS teams do logo color and white for their shirts. I like the fact that Chelsea will go with a neon green for their alternate kit or Arsenal having the yellow jersey for a few years. The home jersey should be your traditional kit, but feel free to experiment with your away jersey. just my thoughts.

 

Although Scottrade and Edward Jones already have their monikers on arenas/domes here, they could be possibilities. A darkhorse might be Panera, or as they are known here, St. Louis Bread Co. Everyone gets a free scone the day after St. Louis scores three or more goals!

 

The only problem I foresee with having AB as the shirt sponser is that it means that very few parents would probably pick it up for their kids because the kids could not wear it to school, or any type of school events. That could hurt the merchandising somewhat. Then again if AB offers us more money than god....to hell with the kids.

 

I agree with that, but I speculated on another thread that youth size jersey's could be made without the sponsor logo.

 

As a potential fan of this team, I have to say it's a bit sad to spend a lot of time talking about what advertisement is going to be on the jersey. Personally, I'm hoping none. Anheuser-Busch does have non-alcoholic products though, so if they wanted to sponsor, they could go right after Xango and put on 180 Energy. If A-B did get the spot, I guess I'd personally prefer King Cobra.

If Monsanto is on the jersey, then I won't be buying a jersey, given their work in spreading PCBs and other chemicals all over East Saint Louis.

I'd rather read more about colors and names. Man, I do love the crest of Saint Louis United, although I'd like to see colors more in line with the City flag.

 

bwffftthh......great, I just threw up on my keyboard again. <gets out the Febreeze>

 

If I'm not mistaken, teams like Celtic with their Carling sponsorship, do drop the logo for youth shirts, but as for myself, I would prefer to not have an alcohol-related sponsor on the shirt itself. I think it might tend to put off non-drinkers, or those self-conscious of wearing an alcohol-branded shirt. However, I would concede there isn't much that would be wrong with a stadium sponsorship by them. That would help the company identify with the team without forcing alcohol endorsement onto every fan with jersey.

Just a thought,

Vidus

 

Here are some local company logos.



And here is my latest jersey concept.

Without logo


With logo


I really like the simple look. I know we have talked about using a unique element to distinguish the kit, but I think we have that element in our awesome crest.

Comments please?

 

Nice mock up - I'm not sure that a 100% strip in that shade of green would look too good in real life, and I would go for a more unique third jersey - one with the flag design in red and blue and gold.

Enterprise is a good idea as a sponsor, since they do a lot of sports sponsorships. Scottrade might be another. How about Federal-Mogul's Champion spark plugs brand? That would look pretty good, although probably not the right demographic.

Now, if you want to appeal to the families out there, you have to consider:


or

 

Please god the Build-a-Bear one.

But I think most St. Louisans have pride in AB- I would certainly buy the shirt for my kid, even if the sponsor was still on.

 

If the team is called St. Louis United, then United Van Lines would be an obvious one.



Some others that should be seriously considered:

 

And, even better some Illinois side of the river businesses:

 

Again, the team will NOT be called St. Louis United.