We Get Letters

Do not allow the cherished names Rose Bowl or Rose Bowl Game to be used anywhere outside of Pasadena.

Brands are powerful and valuable properties. They take decades to develop, enter the public consciousness and to reflect positively on the owning entity and its many constituencies. But this value can quickly erode if allowed to become associated with anything other than its origin.

Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl Game are the two most valuable names and brands in our city. And both are among the top sports/venue brands in the US. The Rose Bowl is also internationally recognized with an enduring halo effect on the image Pasadena. A branding appraisal would likely place a value on these famous brands in the millions of dollars. If we allow a Rose Bowl Game to be played in Texas we essentially say that we don’t value the exclusivity of the Rose Bowl and even the unique qualities of Pasadena.

The Rose Bowl is about a place — a specific place here in Pasadena. The Rose Bowl game is about a specific event in a specific place, Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. For a nationally televised event from Texas to be even nominally associated with the Rose Bowl and with Pasadena is wrong.

I don’t think we would tolerate our Rose Parade to take place in Dallas, so don’t allow our cherished Rose Bowl brands to be exported and diminished either.

Yes, move this year’s game, but don’t let them profit from and diminish our beloved and valuable brands by literally exporting the Rose Bowl to Texas.

Wayne Hunt
Branding and Graphic Designer
Adjunct Professor, Art Center College of Design
Pasadena

Got something to say, email Managing Editor André Coleman, at andrec@pasadenanowmagazine.com