So how do you build a brand? Do you need a product, a catchy slogan, or a better service? Well…what is it? I have no idea, I’m not a marketer. Yet.
They tell me you need to capture the essence of your product, and demonstrate so that it stands out from all the similar products. There are many successful lacrosse brands that have been built on a winning tradition; Syracuse, Duke, Hopkins, and UNC just to name a few. There are national programs like Team USA and Team Canada that are known for being the dominant international teams. (The Aussies aren’t far behind, and they will be fun to watch as they have some great fans who we got to meet in Ontario…Aussie Aussie Aussie…).
There are serious club teams like Team Toyota, Crease Monkeys, and the LI Jesters to name a few. Of course there are professional outfits, and from what I can see the NLL and MLL are building great brands with great fan appreciation.
Are these the teams we need to compete with in our brand category? Can we compete with them and their winning traditions? Ha! Absolutely, unequivocally, positively…no. Freaking. Way. At least not yet.
So we can’t compete with them on wins. How about showmanship? Well accept for our good friend Pete Rodday’s simple stick tricks and Ernie’s masterful face dodge, I’m afraid we lose out to the Powell’s and Kyle Harrison right there.
So we aren’t champions like Hopkins, and we aren’t a Globetrotters-like highlight reel. What are we? Well we are the number one lacrosse program in the Atlantic. Literally. I’m serious. Name a lacrosse team other than us in the Atlantic. You can’t. Ok so I’ve established that we are number one at something; it’s always a plus to be a category leader.
So how do we build this image, this brand? How do we get people to notice us, how do we stand out from our competition? Lucky for us, until the system of plate tectonics creates another archipelago between the North American and European continents, which then goes on and starts a lacrosse program, we’ve got this number one position on lock-down.
Why do we even want to put effort into building this brand if we have no fear of competition? For that we look to our ultimate goal of developing a sustainable youth lacrosse program on the island. In order to do that we need to make lacrosse popular in Bermuda among the cricket-loving population. The US competes with baseball, we compete with cricket.
For this we’ll need outside help, and to get that help we need to build our brand.
Bermuda Lacrosse is a luxury. People can play, and people can travel to play, lacrosse anywhere. Why come to Bermuda? Well that’s easy; why wouldn’t you come to Bermuda! We need to position ourselves as the ultimate lacrosse destination. The West Coast has Hawaii; the East Coast needs Bermuda. Luckily most of our work has been done for us through years of promotion by the Bermuda Department of Tourism, one of our largest sponsors.
Now we need the lacrosse community to stand up and take notice, and that’s now visibly taking place on the triangle’s horizon…
Bermuda Lacrosse; it’s like bobsledding…in Jamaica.
