We’ve seen numerous football columnists and pundits slating Dr Allam’s name-change plans, on the grounds of history and tradition. But what does a marketing expert think?

Mark Ritson won Columnist Of The Year for business magazines this year. In his regular column in industry journal Marketing Week today, he has the following to say about the “Hull Tigers” fiasco:

“… All this illustrates one of the most important points about brand management – how you enact a strategy is often just as important as the strategy itself. Much of the ‘marketing theory’ being quoted by Mr Allam is, quite frankly, nonsense, but the one area he has completely failed to grasp is brand engagement.

The lesson for other marketers intent on radical changes like rebranding or repositioning is that the more ambitious and dramatic the proposed strategy, the more gentle and engaged a marketer must be to ensure the strategy is first accepted and then executed correctly.”

You can read the full column here: 犀利士
gweek.co.uk/opinion/4008852.article”>http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/4008852.article