The name Seattle Kraken seems to have had an air of inevitability since the early days of the NHL expansion franchise.
“The first time in our office, there are only 10 of us in our office, and we posted our NHL Seattle sign on the front door. And the next morning there was a Post-it on the door saying, ‘Release the Kraken,’ “Heidi Dettmer, vice president of marketing for the franchise, told the Associated Press.” So it’s definitely something we’ve heard almost like a scream. of war”.
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The franchise made early fans happy on Thursday when it revealed that the team would be named Kraken.
After starting with a list of approximately 1,200 names and suggestions, no matter how wacky, Dettmer and Seattle’s office narrowed them down to a final group of five.
Each one was placed in their own silo, as they called it, and were considered thoughtful and independent with a view to what would be the best brand for the franchise.
Ultimately, Seattle chose to free the sea creature from Scandinavian folklore in the rest of the NHL.
“I think we feel that this is so authentic and noble and that we achieve all the main things that we really wanted, that we really feel that this is the right choice,” Dettmer said. “I’ve totally fallen in love with this brand and I think our fans will.”
Kraken was the winner over options that may have proven to be safer and possibly less polarizing. From the start, Sockeyes, Steelheads, even the Metropolitans in a nod to Seattle’s hockey history, were among fan favorites. There was even a push by some for the team to try to acquire the Thunderbirds name from the junior home team.
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But the fans who loved Kraken were loud and fervent.
“The Kraken is a name born of fans,” said Seattle CEO Tod Leiweke. “It was suggested and defended by fans.”
Within their passion, the main office and its brand committee found the opportunity to be a little unconventional. They opted for a name that not everyone will like, but that everyone will speak.
He was nervous, different, and sounded threatening.
The time it took to get to Thursday’s announcement had more to do with finalizing the logo and colors, with several delays. Seattle settled on Kraken around the first of the year, Dettmer said. Then came all the auxiliary pieces.
The logo was of great importance. The main logo is an “S” shaped tentacle in the style of the old Seattle Metropolitan logo and t-shirt. The Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup in 1917.
“We needed a brand that was noble and (Seattle general manager) Ron Francis was someone who kept hitting that house,” Nic Corbett, director of NHL relations with Adidas, told the AP. “It has to be noble, it has to be strong.”
The primary colors are a deep dark blue, almost black, complemented by lighter shades of blue. Corbett said one of the unique aspects of the initial renderings of the local jersey is that all white has been removed, allowing the bolder colors to stand out.
“As you can imagine, every train or flight back from Seattle once we knew we were getting closer, there were a couple of options without talking too loudly on the plane or the train, you could see that everyone’s mind could not be turned off by itself I’m going 1,000 miles an hour, “Corbett said.” How do we link it to heritage? How can we make it the brand everyone will see when it hangs on the Stanley Cup championship banner in the sand?
Dettmer said the franchise understands the name is likely to have criticism. But for a franchise that has the Hollywood influence of Jerry Bruckheimer, who is one of the owners, the play was bold and aggressive.
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“We wanted to make sure that it was really authentic for Seattle and that it was a city built by the sea, both figuratively and literally, it really works, very well,” Dettmer said. “We have the Puget Sound which is the promenade of our city that has these deep and dark waters that are also a bit mysterious.
“So if you combine that kind of local Seattle flavor, our maritime history, with the battle cry of the fans, is one of the ways in the discovery phase where we came up with this name.”
