I was skeptical about the value of bringing the bears brand back and still am however I’m willing to give benefit of doubt. The biggest risk ofcourse is making WA people feel like it’s not their team and not supporting it. The NRL must call them Perth to mitigate that risk - no ambiguous titles.
Asides from that, the NRL aren’t stupid they must have some good intel that reviving the bears brand and attaching it to Perth has strong upsides. I’m starting to see that goodwill in the media on the east coast at least, this team will definitely get a lot of interest on the east coast by being called bears that’s guaranteed. Now will this translate to more tv viewers, more members, more sponsors etc I don’t know but it seems like it would.
Are there lots of north Sydney bears fans that turned away from the game and would be willing to give it another shot with a Perth bears team? I’m sure there will be some, not sure if it will be significant. Those people would likely still support their ‘new’ team ie swans or Waratahs, can’t see them abandoning that.
If they can achieve the best of both worlds scenario of capturing a new market in Perth, as well as tapping into a dormant Sydney fanbase, it would be a powerful combination. Away crowds in Sydney and even Brisbane could be stronger than otherwise would be for an interstate team.
I don’t know if it will significantly increase foxtel subscribers like some think but it very likely will increase tv viewers of games featuring Perth in Sydney.
The nrl need to do all they can to make sure it is truly a Perth team - simply the brand recognition itself will do the heavy lifting in Sydney to attract dormant and curious Sydney fans. They need to make sure that people in WA feel it is their team - don’t take home games to Sydney especially.
