Cajuns on ESPN Gameday

[cajunfan32]

_ They called us "Louisiana-Lafayette" _

are you surprised? I'm just happy they called us Louisiana on the SEC network for the game against Georgia

[RedTails]

Link to video

Our segment is towards the end. Cool video

[Turbine]

Chilli peppers?

I thought those were BullGator Teeth!

[Textitan]

Worst quote of the piece..."their chili pepper stickers are hotter than ever."

The school either needs to drop the pepper and change the marketing/branding, or change the nickname to UL TexMex.

I completely disagree. One of the main things I learned from the marketing program at UL and my time in the marketing department with a professional sports team is you try to create a unique brand that makes you easily and immediately identified by people. The Cajuns have that with both the mascot name and the pepper. All I know is every hat I have seen in Houston and other places outside of Lafayette have either had Cajuns or the pepper on them. It is the same reason people buy South Carolina and Fordham Univ hats, they are unique. I can tell that you don't like the pepper, but I don't really think that is what should matter to the school. I think that it is to continue to spread the brand. But I think we can agree that nothing does that better than winning.



igeaux.mobi

[Turbine]

All I know is every hat I have seen in Houston and other places outside of Lafayette have either had Cajuns or the pepper on them.
igeaux.mobi _

Well since that is all they make I don't see that fact as an endorsement.

[Textitan]

Well since that is all they make I don't see that fact as an endorsement.

That isn't all they make. I've seen plenty of hats with UL, ULL, Louisiana, or Louisiana-Lafayette on them...but those are all in Lafayette and nowhere else. In most other parts of the country, UL is Louisville, even though they prefer U of L.



igeaux.mobi

[Turbine]

_ That isn't all they make. I've seen plenty of hats with UL, ULL, Louisiana, or Louisiana-Lafayette on them...but those are all in Lafayette and nowhere else. In most other parts of the country, UL is Louisville, even though they prefer U of L.



igeaux.mobi _

Most UL fans won't touch those because they flash Lafayette somewhere on there.

Cajuns works and so you see it a lot, and the pepper is better than marketing the school as Lafayette so it sells as well. But not because it is the best marketing angle, more like it is the lesser of several evils.

[RedTails]

The Cajuns have that with both the mascot name and the pepper. All I know is every hat I have seen in Houston and other places outside of Lafayette have either had Cajuns or the pepper on them.

igeaux.mobi _

I wish we'd just see hats with "Cajuns" written on them outside of Lafayette. I also hate the pepper. Especially when it adds a false "third color" (yellow) to the perception of our school colors. Then you go out and see red/yellow abominations of merchandise. That's what I don't understand... Why did we have to create a new "unique brand" when we already had one: Cajuns.

Anyway, cool ESPN exposure and I'm glad we closed our season out with a win.

[CajunRebel]

By the way I just saw that the helmet sticker segment was on ESPN 3 if you wanted to see it.

igeaux.mobi

[rhineaux]

_ I completely disagree. One of the main things I learned from the marketing program at UL and my time in the marketing department with a professional sports team is you try to create a unique brand that makes you easily and immediately identified by people. The Cajuns have that with both the mascot name and the pepper. All I know is every hat I have seen in Houston and other places outside of Lafayette have either had Cajuns or the pepper on them. It is the same reason people buy South Carolina and Fordham Univ hats, they are unique. I can tell that you don't like the pepper, but I don't really think that is what should matter to the school. I think that it is to continue to spread the brand. But I think we can agree that nothing does that better than winning.



igeaux.mobi _

A few things...

1. I understand the creating a brand that's easily recognizable. However, that's not what UL has.

2. You are confusing the "mascot name" and the pepper. They are exclusive of each other.

3. What is more important, marketing your "uniqueness" to a few random people who will purchase your product because it is unique? Or, creating a product that ALL of your fans will appreciate and purchase?

[rhineaux]

_ Well since that is all they make I don't see that fact as an endorsement. _

Precisely. It's one of those self-fulfilling statements. Similar to someone on this board stating a while back that Rickey Bustle did a phenomenal job getting this program to where it is.

There have been multiple people at UL who have told me that the pepper and subsequent branding must be working because the college licensing dept that they use said that they couldn't believe how well our products sold. They are proud of this. However, I really can't think of a context in which this would be meant as a compliment.

Were the licensing people surprised because our branding is so hideous that they didn't think that anyone would actually buy it? Or because UL is a school that they've never heard of and didn't realize it had so many fans?

But even if it wasn't meant as a total slight, it goes back to that self-fulling thing again. It's similar to the owner of a small-town diner/cafe thinking that his food is awesome because everyone in town eats there. Do people come because the food is great? Or do they come because it's the only place in town to eat? Same thing with our branding/merchandising. Does it sell well because all of our fans love it, as assumed by our "Marketing people"? Or is it because there is nothing else to buy, as Turbine suggested?

[HoustonCajun]

_ I completely disagree. One of the main things I learned from the marketing program at UL and my time in the marketing department with a professional sports team is you try to create a unique brand that makes you easily and immediately identified by people. The Cajuns have that with both the mascot name and the pepper. All I know is every hat I have seen in Houston and other places outside of Lafayette have either had Cajuns or the pepper on them. It is the same reason people buy South Carolina and Fordham Univ hats, they are unique. I can tell that you don't like the pepper, but I don't really think that is what should matter to the school. I think that it is to continue to spread the brand. But I think we can agree that nothing does that better than winning.



igeaux.mobi _

Well, what little I see in Houston has UL Lafayette or Louisiana-Lafayette on it, which I will NEVER purchase. We need UL and LOUISIANA merchandise and spread that brand with Ragin Cajuns. No more Louisiana's or Lafayette on anything. Winning is the key, but let's win as Louisiana and not get further entrenched as Louisiana-Lafayette.