The shark is back.
The Tasman Rugby Union has performed an admirable back-flip on its widely criticised logo change last month and has brought back the popular shark. Albeit with the new font and with the shark doing a back-flip of its own and facing the other direction.
In a message to Makos fans on the union’s official Facebook page, CEO Tony Lewis, says he has listened to concerns from fans, players and media.
“Since our last message on Facebook about the Tasman Makos logo, I have personally spoken with a wide range of stakeholders including players in person, the team management, staff, commercial stakeholders and fans within the Union, and taken that feedback from all of those people back to our Board.
“After those discussions we worked with Gusto Design on a revised logo that we believe retains the very best of the symbol of the shark, which means so much to the players and fans alike, and moves the brand forward in a very positive way.
“We have listened and have worked to retain the shark and the values associated with it. Together with the new wordmark the design reflects the values that the Tasman Rugby Union wants in its team logo. This new Makos team logo has the full support of players, management, sponsors, staff and the Board.”
Speaking on behalf of the players, captain Shane Christie was quoted in the release saying: “We’re happy to have the shark back and we like the stronger typeface for our name. The new logo is strong and dynamic. We will wear it with pride”.
Tony acknowledged the flawed process in designing its new logo.
“Finally I would like to make a point regarding the original process and the difficult position in which we put Jason Petterson of Gusto Design. The original design brief he was asked to work with was missing a number of key factors which meant we were never going to get a successful outcome to our proposed rebrand.”
Last month our sports editor Jacob Page called on the union to bring back the shark.
