Lots of cringeworthy stuff in this interview and it makes me realise how good Andy Gatcliffe was. He never seemed to feel the need to do all these bombastic interviews and go on about the matchday experience, he just got on with the job and took us from being a basket case club into a powerhouse force on the field.
“We don’t measure ourselves against other Super League clubs. We measure ourselves against the biggest sporting brands in the world.”
Then we are rank amateurs. Do you look at things like 'the Wire flyer' and Wolfie spying with binoculars and think this is the sort of thing that the Dallas Cowboys or Real Madrid would do? Look at the quality of merchandise these clubs sell. Look at how iconic their kits are. Look at how good their websites are. Look at the facilities at their stadium. Most top football clubs have their own TV channel. We have stupid gimmicks.
"There is also evidence in the report that some fans support the club not because they play rugby league, but because they are Warrington’s premier professional sporting organisation, reinforcing Fitzpatrick’s belief that the Wolves need to sell an entertainment package rather than just what takes place over 80 minutes on the field."
You can just see from the language used here that you're dealing with people who have got obsessed with management-marketing speak and lost the ability to see the wood for the trees. People watch Wire because they want to watch rugby league. The entertainment that matters is the 80 minutes on the field and it has been going downhill in recent years. Faffing about with other gimmicks and calling it an 'entertainment package' isn't going to mask that.
“After what happened this year, we know Lee Radford at Hull FC doesn’t like how our social media operates,” he points out, after Radford cited Warrington’s social media activity as motivation for his team winning there in May. “That’s good - we can use that again.”
What was the big success here? We disrespected Hull, they used it as motivation for beating us, and that's good, we can do it again? How about next time Hull come here, we don't spout off on social media, but we beat Hull by 40 points and send a message to the rest of the league that makes them think....have you seen how Warrington are playing? Don't fancy going to their place any time soon. I would rather focus on doing the business on the field than having an 'edgy' social media account.
“To be honest it probably wasn’t edgy enough at times,” he smiles. “I think there might have been some trepidation from the staff when I outlined this vision - they were a little bit concerned about how it would be perceived.
"Does it rub people up the wrong way at times? Yes - and good, because it’s provoking emotion. That’s what sport is all about and what we want to do, we want people talking about the Warrington Wolves brand.
What does he want people to associate with the Warrington Wolves brand? Is it 'internet edgelords who wind people up on social media and think they are funny'? If you want some case studies of 'sporting brands', what do you associate with Roger Federer? Ultimate professional, relentless winner, look at how well dressed he is on and off the court, look at how classily he conducts himself, how well he speaks to the media. That is an iconic brand, and he's not short of blue chip companies wanting to associate their brand with him through sponsorship.
Or for another example, look at the great Liverpool sides of the late 80s, and how they built the "Liverpool Way". That wasn't just about their identity for open, passing football. You would hear stories about how unselfish their players were off the pitch, helping other teams carry kit on to the bus and stuff. You saw what Dalglish and the players did for the bereaved families after the Hillsborough tragedy. It was about being class human beings as well as players and doing the right thing. They got a deserved reputation for it.
If we want to build a brand then lets start with values of classy behaviour, being fearless competitors on the pitch but known off the pitch for our respect for opponents and for how we treat fans and the local community. Think about our club icons, all the stuff Brian Bevan achieved and his modest persona and unassuming image. Think about Mike Gregory and what qualities you associate with him - leadership, toughness, personal warmth, knew how to make everyone have fun. You can build a brand out of these kind of qualities....not winding people up or seeking 'controversy'.