The Brand

F

Frank Lee

Well-known member
 Everything from the scandal, Joe being railroaded, not beating OSU, the wacky unbalanced alignment against Michigan, the James Franklin UO white game debacle on national TV are a few of many self-inflicted events that have crushed the brand. I'm watch UT-TAMU and there are a couple of Longhorn featured ads, twangy Texas segue music, and while sitting at #16, we all know UT will be in playoffs if they beat the Aggies. It's the brand. Meanwhile, a failed and fired head coach, a possibly incompetent AD, players giving up, even Sweet Caroline, and a lack of a managed PR effort all add up. UT never needs to worry about that. Penn State needs to work hard at it and not be stupid.

Blackledge's not talking about his time at PSU, like winning a national championship, but Leinhart getting a lot of face time as he pushes his alma mater is another example.

And no rivalry game.
 
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Frank Lee said:
 Everything from the scandal, Joe being railroaded, not beating OSU, the wacky unbalanced alignment against Michigan, the James Franklin UO white game debacle on national TV are a few of many self-inflicted events that have crushed the brand. I'm watch UT-TAMU and there are a couple of Longhorn featured ads, twangy Texas music segue music, and while #16, we all know UT will be in playoffs if they beat the Aggies. It's the brand. Meanwhike, A failed and fired head coach, a possible incompetent AD, players giving up, even Sweet Caroline, and a lack of a managed PR effort all add up. UT never needs to worry about that. Penn State needs to work hard at it and not be stupid.

Blackledge's not talking about his time at PSU, like winning a national championship, but Leinhart getting a lot of face time as he pushes his alma mater is another example.

And no rivalry game.
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Winning cures all. The ability to fix this is entirely within reach. I genuinely believe it.
 
Pennstate_one said:
Winning cures all. The ability to fix this is entirely within reach. I genuinely believe it.
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I think PSU has too much history and $$$ to remain irrelevant for too long. That said I think it will take at least 3 years to recover from this debacle. This might be worse than the sanctions period. Back then kids could transfer but they couldn't easily be bought for money.

2027 class - GONE
2026 class - 70% GONE
Remaining underclassmen - WHO KNOWS?
 
bdroc said:
I think PSU has too much history and $$$ to remain irrelevant for too long. That said I think it will take at least 3 years to recover from this debacle. This might be worse than the sanctions period. Back then kids could transfer but they couldn't easily be bought for money.

2027 class - GONE
2026 class - 70% GONE
Remaining underclassmen - WHO KNOWS?
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Luckily, portal players can now be bought. I'd say 20-30 players brought in by the new coach to stabilize for 2026 (OL, DL, and LB heavy?), then go from there.
 
What is the esteemed marketing faculty at Smeal saying about brand, good will, communications, and setting expectations?
 
The brand has taken a hit. The BOT doesn't know this, but this incompetence resonates throughout the enterprise. The retail paying Asian applicants may not care, but potential students will go elsewhere. PSU merch is no longer purchased. At conferences, faculty from other schools will ask the PSU faculty, "what kind of horse sh!t is going on up in Happy Valley?"
I hate to say it, but a few PSU alum lawyers (no DEI, political, or outsider ones) who are passionate and represent the school in all things related to quality and branding, should be brought in as SVPs over the entire operation. Get some Dershewitz types or a few of those accident lawyers, but who also have business and negotiations accumen.
 
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It's a good time get ahead of things and start the retooling of the football experience and branding to complement the new coaching, players, playing style, and stadium upgrades. A total refresh. A few of my recommendations are losing "Sweet Caroline" and "Unrivaled" and replacing them with "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Kicking A$$ and Taking Names", respectively.

Another proposal. Rutgers has the ferris wheel, so maybe take that concept to the next level and add a carnival to the PSU tailgate.
 
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I'm a bit more optimistic. We have a new coach that is more of a coach and less of a CEO. I think he will generate more interest in PSU than Franklin because of the Franklin ceiling. There will be more attention to the program to see where MC can take it.

The 2026 class may get some recruits from Iowa State. So far it doesn't look like guys are jumping to the portal. The portal will be used to fill the gaps.

The 2027 may have decommits, but that doesn't mean they won't recommit. Success on the field will bring them back and add new ones.

I think the brand would have been hurt much more if we ended up with a lesser coach. We're going in a new direction and that will earn is much more brand recognition as we get good press.
 
Forester Gump said:
I'm a bit more optimistic. We have a new coach that is more of a coach and less of a CEO. I think he will generate more interest in PSU than Franklin because of the Franklin ceiling. There will be more attention to the program to see where MC can take it.

The 2026 class may get some recruits from Iowa State. So far it doesn't look like guys are jumping to the portal. The portal will be used to fill the gaps.

The 2027 may have decommits, but that doesn't mean they won't recommit. Success on the field will bring them back and add new ones.

I think the brand would have been hurt much more if we ended up with a lesser coach. We're going in a new direction and that will earn is much more brand recognition as we get good press.
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But Sweet Caroline still goes away, right? 🙁
 
Frank Lee said:
It's a good time get ahead of things and start the retooling of the football experience and branding to complement the new coaching, players, playing style, and stadium upgrades. A total refresh. A few of my recommendations are losing "Sweet Caroline" and "Unrivaled" and replacing them with "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and "Kicking A$$ and Taking Names", respectively.

Another proposal. Rutgers has the ferris wheel, so maybe take that concept to the next level and add a carnival to the PSU tailgate.
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The carnivals are reserved for our coaching searches. But all's well that ends well.
 
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