Of plans to rename Hull AFC, “The Hull City Tigers“, owner Assem Allam tells the Guardian’s David Conn, “‘AFC’ meant nothing”, while Tigers, ‘is a name of “power'”. Certain, anyone who’s seen Bruce Jenner in “Grambling’s White Tiger” witnessed a powerful performance, but I’m assuming that’s not what Allam is referring to.
Allam is staking a great deal on presuming a worldwide bonanza from “shortening” the name, citing an article he found in the Harvard Business Review which said companies with short names do better when they float on the stock market.
“Which of the three names would you remove?” he asks, rhetorically. “Hull is relevant. City is not relevant. Tigers: are you telling me you would drop the symbol of power?”
An alliance of bewildered supporters’ groups has protested, without success so far. Asked if he has researched the projected global advantage Tigers will accrue, he says not yet. “I know it will make a difference; shorter names have a quicker impact, it is textbook marketing,” he states. He hopes to make the change “early next year,” after looking further into it.
Posed the obvious point, that everybody knows the club as Hull City, so Hull Tigers is actually longer, Allam replies: “I will not let people get away with that. Everybody knows it now as Hull City Tigers.”