Why Canberra Raiders fans care about a logo makeover

Changing a logo is always fraught with danger - especially if you're a sports team with a connection to fans fuelled by nostalgia.

The Canberra Raiders have learnt just that after a reveal of the simplified logo the NRL club will adopt in 2024 was met with uproar among fans and a protest to overturn the decision.

The cynic will tell you the change is purely to drive merchandise sales. New logo? Everything you've got is out of date. But that wouldn't explain the race to buy retro jerseys with the original logo and brands like Woodger's and Video Ezy plastered across the front.

Canberra's first major logo change since 2000 - barring a minor colour tweak in 2019 - follows a trend towards simplified logos that has swept up almost everyone from Pringles to Pepsi.

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Raiders officials say the change was made to eliminate the use of multiple shades of green, and finding a logo that looks clean on apparel and social media.

There it is.

"There is a trend towards simplification, more modern lines, more modern colours and so on. That trend is to do with social media, to do with the fact we are seeing brand so much," University of Canberra marketing expert Raechel Jones said.

"We're exposed to about 3000 promotional messages a day, so the simpler we can get it, the less clutter for our brains to handle."

Put simply, less is more.

Which is why NRL clubs like the Penrith Panthers, Newcastle Knights and New Zealand Warriors have dropped geographical tags from their logos. Some ditch team names altogether. AFL powerhouse Collingwood ditched the Australian and black and white flags. The ACT Brumbies knocked out the triangle.

Then there is English soccer club Leeds United.

Leeds officials were panned by fans and openly mocked by rival club Aston Villa after unveiling a new crest to celebrate their centenary year in 2019. Six months of research and 10,000 people consulted, and it blew up in their faces.

Club bosses reversed the decision. No longer would they be represented by a cartoon with a hand over heart. They would go back to what people knew, because nostalgia matters.

Which is why the Parramatta Eels went back in time in 2011, why South Sydney have retained virtually the same rabbit for years on end, and why Raiders fans care about a sudden makeover.

"It's what they've grown up with, it's what they remember, it's what they could have been drawing as a kid when they were bored in maths class with a bit of paper," University of Canberra marketing expert Stirling Sharpe said.

"The logo has been around for a fairly long time, so there's probably a lot of people emotionally attached to that, that's one of their attachment points to the club.

"Now there has been a logo change, that's one thing they're not attached to anymore. They see it as a negative part of their fandom rather than a positive part like it was before. It's a little bit of that fear of the unknown and a resistance to change.

"That comes down to the emotional connection to the club, to the logo, to the jersey. The flipside is a refreshed logo, if it is more appealing to younger audiences or a different demographic they're trying to reach, can be a positive thing for a new market or for building a new fan base.

"People are legitimately attached to the Raiders brand they know, and the public face is that logo. It's what they know, when people see that logo, they know it's the Raiders.

"This new one is similar, but it's not the same. A lot of the backlash is because of that emotional charge. With that, it will be a relatively short backlash."

What was it Oscar Wilde said was the only worse thing than being talked about?

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