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Below is an excellent thread on the current state of the Georgetown basketball program. Feel free to give it a read and leave your thoughts in the comments section below. You can find Twitter Thread 1 RIGHT HERE.
Here’s my problem: those teal jerseys (that we’ve been doing since the Esh era) ARE a throwback—to a late 70s/early 80s design.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
A really poorly done throwback, to be sure. And that, to me, is kind of the issue. It’s what Georgetown does these days. https://t.co/BaoAveQIvK
I absolutely think it’s something dreamed up by a marketing exec/people from the school who were in their prime years during Ewing’s college playing days. But that’s not a growth area for your fan base anymore.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
Shoot, I’m in my mid-30s and I don’t think Nike/GU should be marketing primarily to me. Go after the students/recent alums you need to fill out your season ticket/donor base (and who you’ve neglected for years).
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
DFW (I think) made an observation recently about how a sizable chunk of the bball programs Instagram/social media posts were about Pat. I get he’s the coach and the dominant figure in program history. But it feels backward-looking.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
IMO it’d be much more effective to tell the stories of the current players, even in the context of them being the heirs/keepers of our legacy (I bet there’s great content from Jessie and Mackinjo in this area).
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
Too much focus on Ewing content or throwback jerseys from the 80s to me sends the message you’re pitching your program to a 60 year old who’s already on the Hoop Club Board.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
I mean, if you want to hit current students, at least do Iverson stuff—they still wear 3 bootleg jerseys
It gets tricky when to square the circle with Ewing and current students, you gotta use Space Jam as the reference point. Decent t-shirt, but there needs to be a more artful way to make the connection.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
Also, while we’re here: this would be a good opportunity to ditch the WAG shirt template that was designed in like 2005 and was dated 7-8 years ago.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018
There are good stories out there and a way to share, respect, and even sell GU’s history to newer fans/alums. But @talkinbpractice is dead right—it’s coming off ham-handed right now.
— John Hawkes (@FLHoya) December 17, 2018