Spun Into A New Look

For as long as I can remember, the Cincinnati Cyclones have worn the logo to the left. They wore it through their days in the IHL and carried it into their era in the ECHL. While the cartoon logo is a little primitive, it allowed Cincinnati to establish a mascot for their team as well. However, there was talk of changes to the Cyclones' brand as they established the "Winds of Change" initiative as they worked on a new branding campaign. Today, we got a chance to see what the new Cyclones will look like in this upcoming ECHL season.

It's, um, different. I'm not sure I understand it, so let's go a little deeper into what this new brand is supposed to be. From WCPO Cincinnati, "The logo features a blocked letter “C” with an abstract depiction of a cyclone inside it. When combined with the banner at the bottom of the sweater the emblem is instantly recognizable to fans of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes." The Hurricanes are one of the two NHL affiliations the Cyclones have - the Florida Panthers are the other - and the colors do resemble those of the Hurricanes. But is that even necessary?

The "abstract depiction of a cyclone" doesn't even make me think of a cyclone when I look at it. It actually looks more like a 45 rpm adapter that one would use on a record player. I had to look at it a few times to realize that it might be something a weather person would use to represent a cyclone or hurricane on a weather telecast, but we're really stretching on that association.

In saying that, it dawned on me that with the Cyclones using the Hurricanes' color scheme and rebranding themselves with a new logo that could be used by the Carolina Hurricanes, we're seeing another minor league team losing its unique identity. "Marketing agency LPK spearheaded the image overhaul and partnered with team management to create a sleek, contemporary look" that could be used by the team's NHL affiliate.

"If you look at the new mark, it's very versatile. It's a bit of a tribute in terms of color scheme and it embodies everything about this organization," Sean Lynn, the Cyclones' director of marketing, told WCPO. What does all that rhetoric even mean? That entire statement is a load of crap. I don't know how the new mark is versatile, I'm not sure how it's a tribute in terms of color scheme, and I'm not sure how it embodies the organization in any capacity. In fact, I'm pretty sure all of that warm and fuzzy jargon being used by Mr. Lynn is nothing more than babble.

I'm not saying that the Cyclones didn't need an update. In fact, quite the opposite as their cartoon logo was looking a little dated. The problem is that this update actually took away the one thing that made them identifiable from just their logo. There was no doubt they were the Cyclones with the old logo. Now? It's hard to tell exactly who or what they are.

The winds of change blew into Cincinnati alright. Like the aftermath of any storm, the Cyclones destroyed what was once recognizable, leaving behind a mess in its wake.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!