Dan Gargan and a Box of Crayons: The Marketing and PR Thread

Discussion in 'LA Galaxy' started by barroldinho, Aug 1, 2014.

  1. Beakmon FC

    Beakmon FC Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Jan 10, 2002
    The OC
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Simple touches are missing. My former Season Ticket rep used to stop by my seat and say "Hello", a few times each season. My current rep hasn't done this once.
     
    7E23 repped this.
  2. barroldinho

    barroldinho Member+

    Man Utd and LA Galaxy
    England
    Aug 13, 2007
    US/UK dual citizen in HB, CA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I'll be honest. I got a new rep this season and he left me a voice mail months ago and I never got round to returning it.

    You're right though. Small touches in general have been scaled back. It's not even that they're stagnating, it's that things got worse.

    My question is what happened with Tom Payne? I know he resigned (though his profile can still be googled on the Galaxy website as if he's still there :rolleyes: ) but was it a case of him wanting a new challenge or was he pushed out?

    I ask because it seems a lot of the old perks started to be reigned in upon his departure. Could the Galaxy have been spending too much on that area, leading to the current approach? Of course having said that, it costs nothing for a rep to swing by.
     
  3. profiled

    profiled Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 7, 2000
    slightly north of a mile high
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Latest poster -

    [​IMG]
     
  4. mbar

    mbar Member+

    Apr 30, 1999
    Los Angeles, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Maybe they should actually hire someone to promote the team. This is getting ridiculous.

    What is this, some sort of abstract statement on existence or promotion of a soccer match?

    ETA: I guess this is his thing...

    http://www.markyesilevskiy.com/

    <Shrugs>
     
  5. Dawdler

    Dawdler Member+

    Apr 2, 2005
    Los Angeles,CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    so the rumors were wrong, the Galaxy moved up in the allocation order to sign the invisible man not Sacha or JJ
     
  6. JBZTV

    JBZTV Member+

    May 10, 2009
    There doesn't seem to be any common sense happening on a lot of levels within the org. Take 2 small things from this past saturday, for example. I used the upgrade thing to get seats in the "all you can eat" club section. And if you've ever sat there, it's hardly all you can eat, because it's usually understaffed to the point where it's nearly impossible to get food from the people passing it out. But one person is usually walking around with waters and cokes on a little tray to hand out. Now Saturday was the hottest/most humid game I'd been at SHC for, and they in no way compensated by having more people hand out waters, giving him a bigger tray to hand out waters, etc. Poor bastard was like raw meat in front of vultures, and I ended up having to just go buy a water at halftime. And then I went over to the STH rewards booth thing to pick up my mug, and the poor rep I was talking to had to wear his suit like a normal day and i've never seen someone look as miserable. You could see he had sweated through probably a good 80% of his dress shirt. It's 85 degrees with crazy humidity, and the poor bastard isn't allowed to take his jacket off. There's obviously nobody at the club that is able (or feels empowered enough) to make some decisions based off common sense.

    The other part appears to me to be a lack of funds. Interesting insight in here that they seem to have hired a decent amount of stuff out to whatever this roadhouse place is...which I'm guessing is cheaper than having your own dept. So what needs to happen is you either need a strong person (or a long-standing vision, guidelines, etc) or you hand the entire operation over to them, and let them plan and execute an overall program for you. I'd guess none of the above are currently happening. An in house kid who probably also has to do the social media does some of it, some of it gets farmed out, and nobody's really in charge of any of it.

    I think this is the downside of being one of AEG's many "properties." There's probably a quality, experienced guy heading marketing, but he also handles LA Live, Kings, concerts, etc. And because we're well down their list of priorities, less budget is allocated for hiring less experienced people, and stuff slips through the cracks. And the bottom line is the difference between good and bad marketing that makes a difference between 21k average attendance and 23k average attendance is .001% of AEG's yearly profit, so it's not worth sweating. Quite frankly, anyone that did an amazing job with the Galaxy in marketing/design/etc would probably quickly get promoted to a more profitable AEG property.

    That's why it'll be interesting to see who buys Chivas and what they do with them. If you get some smart/rich Sporting KC types in there, who are only focused on making LAFC or whatever they call it better than the Galaxy, it'll be interesting. I love the G's, but I certainly don't feel like they love me back. IMO, they see me as a customer who should be happy to give them my money in exchange for a winner on the field and nothing else.
     
  7. napper

    napper Member+

    Jan 14, 2014
    Fullerton
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, the Shirt always comes before the player.

    But, we do have Landon "Freakin" Donovan and Robbie "Effin" Keane on this team. I don't know much, but that should be more of a selling point than it currently is.
     
  8. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I kinda like it, to be honest. I'd have added a captain's armband to it, but other than that it's kind of cool.

    Does that make me a total rube!?!
     
    The Cadaver repped this.
  9. barroldinho

    barroldinho Member+

    Man Utd and LA Galaxy
    England
    Aug 13, 2007
    US/UK dual citizen in HB, CA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I don't get the poster?

    Some of the others seemed to be arbitrary player references with little direct correlation with the team we're playing. But I got where they were coming from.

    An abstract invisible player/anthropomorphic uniform? Is it merely meant to look cool? Because frankly, I'd have taken that concept and saved it for the next time we play in a new kit.

    "Witness the debut of the new Galaxy uniform"

    For this game, I'd have gone with a slogan top left, saying "In NorCal they love to witness art and creativity..." [main pic of Keanovan standing back to back, arms folded, looking sideways at the camera], bottom right, slightly bigger text "...we're happy to oblige". Or conversely "..be careful what you wish for".

    This may explain why I don't do this for a living...
     
    MPNumber9 repped this.
  10. MPNumber9

    MPNumber9 Member+

    Oct 10, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Berksy and dashiel seem to know a lot about what makes good marketing; I like the poster because it clears my very low bar of looking cool, but I have no idea if it's good marketing or graphic design.

    I had a very simple idea for a poster for this match: show the pacific coast with giant "X"s over Seattle and Portland and a target on San Jose.
     
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  11. barroldinho

    barroldinho Member+

    Man Utd and LA Galaxy
    England
    Aug 13, 2007
    US/UK dual citizen in HB, CA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    Also, an X with a tarp over it for Chivas USA.
     
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  12. profiled

    profiled Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 7, 2000
    slightly north of a mile high
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    We could always make videos like this -

     
  13. dashiel

    dashiel Member+

    Jul 15, 2000
    orange county
    Nope. When it comes to things like design there’s the subjective (I like it) and the objective (various factors that can be measured). The actual illustration is fine, I’d argue the artist traced the image a bit too literally – the ball, slash and (what appears to be) Omar’s right foot are a little confused and indistinct, but that’s nitpicky.

    Conceptually, well these posters are really exercises in style not design, they are literally just a particular stylists idea of what looks cool. There is no concept other than the artist has done other illustrations like this and I assume the Galaxy FO contacted them and asked them to do one for LA.

    Now the layout at the bottom is design and it has some issues, I actually wonder if the illustrator who did the main image is responsible for the “design” part of the poster or if the Galaxy did that. It shares a lot of the same problem areas as previous posters like unsuccessful typeface choices and poorly balanced elements. In a nutshell the typeface chosen makes no sense thematically, yet draws attention to itself for not being any of the typefaces approved in the brand guidelines; if you as a designer make that choice to ignore the style guide it needs to be justified and I struggle to see how this works. It’s unique enough to draw attention, but it doesn’t match the graphic feel of the illustration, nor is it different enough to be a successful juxtaposition. Good rule of thumb, if you don’t know why you’re using a typeface then you shouldn’t be using it, stick with a classic face with minimal personality.

    The balance of the elements at the bottom almost feel like there was a pre-conceived notion in mind without regards to the elements in question and no attempt at alternate placement. “LA Galaxy” and “San Jose Earthquakes” are incredibly difficult to layout horizontally and still feel balanced (that’s one of the reasons why the New England poster is so successful they avoid the inherent disparity in size by adopting an asymmetrical layout). Also while I see what the intention of coloring the respective team names with a color from the badge it further unbalances and highlights “San Jose Earthquakes” with its more vibrant blue. This is a Galaxy poster, San Jose should not be the text jumping off the page.

    Based on how wildly inconsistent the work coming from the LA art department is it’s pretty clear no one with any power has a clue about good design or worse simply doesn’t care. The smattering of successful design is so infrequent I’m fairly confident in saying that was luck not intentional. Bare minimum LA needs a Creative Director who gets final say on every single piece of art that leaves the confines of the art room.
     
    redinthemorning and Geneva repped this.
  14. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    There's a Bakersfield joke there if anyone is feeling mean today.
     
    jmaestro repped this.
  15. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Be nice, or I'll start posting links to Buck Owens songs. ;)
     
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  16. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's no threat here. I am a big fan of Buck, Merle and The Bakersfield Sound.
     
  17. TruffleShuffle

    Dec 7, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    that's a Husidic poster. what are all you guys looking at?
     
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  18. Geneva

    Geneva LA for Life

    Feb 5, 2003
    Southern Cal
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't like the poster. I like the concept of the empty uniform, I guess, although that has negative connotations - like it's a meaningless, empty uniform, or the players are missing. Just the word "empty" that jumps to my mind doesn't make me feel positive.

    The other problem I have with it is the figure that was chosen. I don't like how the leg floats at the bottom, but the other leg almost looks like it's there, when we're probably supposed to be looking up an empty pants leg, which is just plain weird. I'd like the figure to be cooler somehow, with more action, and this one just seems jumbled and lumpy. I'd also like more negative space at the top for the missing head, maybe.

    dashiel, I love to read your comments about the style and design issues, and you make really good points about the font, which doesn't look right at all, and the emphasis on the bigger, colorful San Jose Earthquakes. Very interesting. Makes me wish I was in that business and knew more. I find it fascinating. Keep commenting please. I hope the Galaxy management is reading.
     
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  19. dashiel

    dashiel Member+

    Jul 15, 2000
    orange county
    Adding insult to injury, the illustrator of this latest poster is a Philadelphia Union fan.

    Look if you get Olly Moss, Chip Kidd, Drew Struzan or someone of that caliber to do your poster their club affiliation, if any, is a secondary concern, but this is so cheap and lazy by the front office it beggars belief.
     
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  20. jmaestro

    jmaestro Member+

    Mar 27, 2008
    Bakersfield
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well darn. I'm guessing Korn would work better as a threat? They're Bakersfield boys too.
     
    The Cadaver repped this.
  21. MPNumber9

    MPNumber9 Member+

    Oct 10, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm pretty fond of the poster, but even to me it's obvious that the text at the bottom is an after-thought.
     
  22. barroldinho

    barroldinho Member+

    Man Utd and LA Galaxy
    England
    Aug 13, 2007
    US/UK dual citizen in HB, CA
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I'll be honest, that's actually the only thing I know about Bakersfield.

    A bit like Stockton and Animal Husbandry. Oh and Stephen Malkmus.
     
  23. Eyenigma

    Eyenigma Member

    Oct 2, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Ugh. That is just the Adobe Illustrator live trace feature with a section of the player's leg removed. And the shoes recolored, presumably to be agnostic or remove traces of Nike. Would have taken at most an hour. Either the front office has no budget for these things, or they're hiring inexperienced designers to do them. Still not as bad as some of the first renditions though. At least we're moving in the right direction.
     
  24. Eyenigma

    Eyenigma Member

    Oct 2, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's also a rip off of the Nike campaign they did to promote their world cup kits:
    *Unless this guy adopted the style first, in which case Nike took the idea from him.

    [​IMG]

    Would have worked better as a photo realistic rendition and not just the live trace one click option. Ah well, I suspect these designers are doing free commissions for the team so you can't be too upset.
     
  25. Eyenigma

    Eyenigma Member

    Oct 2, 2010
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    My STH just... resigned. Haha. Sounds like there are a few things in disarray in the front office. I guess I try to ignore and look at the obvious. The team is playing some of their best soccer of the season. At least we're not in the cellar anymore! Hopefully we're peaking at just the right time. Zardes has been a real gem this middle part of the season.
     

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