Change of Crest
 

Reading the Programme Notes of the Commercial Department in Today's Programme made me squirm slightly with the looking and re-branding of the Stanley Crest, which will be launched at the last Home game of the season along with next season's away strip.

There have been some horrors in the Footballing re-branding depatments of other Clubs in recent years.

Maybe the Club should let the fans decide?

There is History & Heritage at stake

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No no no no no no no no no no no no no.

The crest is what it should be after being changed about ten years ago. Leave it, please.

There was a bit of embroidery inbetween the Joma loga and crest on the shirts today, anyone know what that was?

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Has it been simplified by any chance ?

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Totally agree, Shakey; the current crest is based on the old Accrington coat of arms AS IT SHOULD BE!

Reading the marketing goobledegook in the programme from the commercial department fills me with foreboding, when they start throwing around vacuous phrases like this: "improve the brand's imperviousness". It's not a brand like some washing machine powder, it's the crest of one of the UK's most historic clubs.

If they go ahead with this halfwitted idea, I won't be buying one single item of merchandise featuring the new "brand", no matter how "impervious" it is. :mad:

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i agree WH

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anyone seen the new morecambe badge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Posted via Mobile Device i disagree, if they keep the core theme of the existing badge but modernise it to make it more simplistic and attractive i cant see a problem. The club are finally understanding how to market the stanley name and brand, a tidy up/re-vamp is a good thing.

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So if it were to change and you had bought this season's exsisting new home shirt, then it had a changed crest would you keep up with the Jones's and buy the slightly newer changed one?

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Not a good argument seeing that people possibly bought the home shirt one week during the season and a new one came out the week after ;)

Out of curiosity which badge is changing, there seem to be several versions of it in current use ?

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"core theme", "imperviousness", "brand", how long before we start banging on about "mission statements" in this headlong descent into third rate marketing bull?

You don't "tidy up" a piece of history - you preserve it and take pride in it!

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I am all for tradition and having heard Morecambe say this year that they changed because they could not get copyright on a town crest I was upset at yet another loss to the world of cash.

However I have had some design work done by Acedmey print and they are superb, they understood exactly what I wanted and I have every faith in them to come up with the right blend to keep us all happy.

I do think that we as fans should get the final say and I am sure the new team at the club will ensure this happens as why would you cheese off all the people who you want to sell the stuff to?

Loweiy
P.S not an advert for Acedemy but I was blown away by how good they were

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Looks like some people may soon have out of date tattos :(

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The first sentence is a very important issue regarding the merchandise side of the club. You can't protect your brand if you can't copyright it.

The current design is an absolute nightmare for merchandise. In some ways it actually does the club a favour because most of the copy companies won't even bother trying to do it, but the other side of the coin means the club are actually restricted as to what merchandise can be done with a complex piece of artwork.

Is there not room for the traditional badge to be used in some areas of the club, ie official documents etc, and then another logo to be used by the commercial/retail side of the club ?

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Academy Print may indeed be an excellent design agency, but that's not the point. We're not talking about a logo for a local plumbers or car company - we're talking about the historic crest of our town football club.

And why should it be modified or simplified anyway? The printing companies who reproduce it on programmes and mugs, the embroiderers who stitch it onto shirts and scarves don't have any problem with it. So what's the point of changing it?

By all means, expand the range of club merchandise, establish new outlets, promote it in imaginative ways, but DO NOT meddle with Stanley's history. It will bring no benefit whatsoever and will only cause a backlash from the fans.

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I thought it was a joke when i was told about this, and thought great another thing i will be out of date on as not got new shirt (now thinking phew ). From a reproduction point of view, the badge is hard to re create in other formats leaving embrodiery being the main expensive option and not much in competition for prices for the club. A simplified version would open a few more doors for merchandising production. Think the fans should have input into it as then it would feel OURS, but means hands in pockets for us tho if they get products cheaper then we should reap a cheaper price in store then that would be fair enough.
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Though looking on fishy site, noticed badge change where the town motto is, they have changed it to asfc - now im confused ?? Hope that isn't it or what a waste.
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Exactly my view.:)

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What I find difficult to understand is that something as important as changing the club crest was first communicated to fans in the Commercial News page of the Stanley programme.

Did the club not feel a decision like this deserving of a more high profile launch or were they just going to spring the new crest on us at the end of the season?

Was the decision to change the Crest made by the Commercial Department alone or one made democratically by members of the board?

' The new emblem HAS been designed to mark the new beginnings of the club' ...quote Saturday's programme.
Sounds like they have been working on this emblem for some time!

The new beginnings of the club should reflect openness and transparency whilst involving the Community that the club serves.

Whether or not we agree on a change of Crest , we, the fans must be consulted.

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You obviously did not read the Fulham programme then WH :rolleyes: :)

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In which case the club crest should be the Hyndburn one shouldn't it ?

Quick question for the traditionlists. Would people be happy if the current crest was simplified in some way, or does it have to remain as is ? By the way I have no knowledge of what the new one is, I'm just curious if a slight change would be acceptable or there is a very strong view it has to remain as is.

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Our Mission Statement:

'We are the team of players where not all the players wear shorts,
developing for our supporters and for our community, to aspire for pride
beyond the 90th minute.
Together we are Accrington Stanley'

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There are lots more pressing issues for anyone at our club to be working on

How about getting the Stewards to talk to fans like human beings for one......

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and so say all of us.;)

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???:confused::confused::confused:

Should this be Academy?

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Leave it as it is!!! I like it as it is now, nothing wrong with it at all.

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Well as I think that most of us know, at least one of the current Directors, does occasionally post on this board, so I think that we should wait and see what transpires! I am sure that for the sake of Transparency and openness, we can await a reply!!!! After all isn't it our club :confused: :) :)

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Trouble wi that joe if ya wait, could be too late, :eek: trust has yet to be earned in my book.;)

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Why replace something thats not broke?

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just a very quick post to calm a few fears, we are currently looking at the way the club is branded with the aim of bringing everything together - at the moment we have literally hundreds of different logos, typefaces and images that go out under the club's banner. we want one identity, in much the same way you instantly recognise a tesco sign or a marks and spencers ad. to illustrate the point, at the moment there are over ten different versions of our crest floating around!

as part of this process we are looking to standardise the club crest as it is - which is of course that of the town of accrington - with one or two slight amendments with two aims:

1, adding the words 'accrington stanley' to the logo, for example by putting our crest in a circular frame. this means that it is instantly recognisable as the club crest, currently when only our crest is used this is not the case - see the backdrop of football league programmes on the tele or on any football league promotional material.

2, the amendment above will enable the club to register the logo as our own thus preventing anyone from using it without our permission.

hope this clears a few things up, and most importantly the full accrington crest that we all know and love with all its heritage and history will remain!

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thanks fer clearing that up rob,;)

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i've had issues getting badges made up as the 'stolen' town crest has more than the standard four colours that a basic cost will include. However, only a slight tinkering with the colours is required and I feel that this is probably the 'ten' different versions that Rob mentions. By all means standardise the colouring to a basic four colours, by all means standardise the wording in order to protect copyright, but by no means bastardise one of the reasons why most of us support Accrington Stanley - the clue is in the first word of our name. ALL football teams should sport the crest of the area they are from.

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Omg, so its being changed because some numbnuts cant see it on the glass behind Maniche?!!

The position of it on that glass is bad anyway - changing our club crest just to show the letters Accrington Stanley FC or even changing it to just that, wont change the fact that it still wont be able to be seen for most of the show anyway because its positioned right next to Maniche's back/arm!

Thinking about it honestly, I dont think the town of Accy deserves Stanley to advertise their coat of arms all over the country and telly anyway, so a complete change which distances themselves from the town and creates our own brand is probably a good thing....:rolleyes:

Wouldnt surprise me at all if someone said, ooo look at that lovely big meaningless red shrimp on that new badge - that must be a real good conversation piece, cant you just see people asking each other what does your badge mean? Whats the tale/history behind that lovely piece of artwork? Lets do the same people!!

Jimbo T :horn8:blower

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Oh heck Jimbo - the mind boggles at a "modern logo" that needs an accompanying booklet to explain its meaning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Rob - on the flip side, if we tinker with the colours to make them 4 to reduce costs, wouldnt that open things up for more reproduction? As it is now, if you really want to reproduce it, its a badge that will cost you for the pleasure and maybe that puts some 'reproducers' off doing it in its current form?

Jimbo T :horn8:blower

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Fair enough, Rob, sounds reasonable to me, especially point 2. Why couldn't the commercial department explain that properly in the first place instead of all the marketing babble about "imperviousness" etc? :rolleyes:

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I, like Wyn, do wish that representatives of the club would stop referring to Accrington Stanley FC as "the brand" and treating it as such. Obviously there's marketing that has to be done to keep Coley's kids in sweets but the main appeal of our club should centre around its tradition, history, stories and people. The town crest is part of that uniqueness; 'there's only one Accy Stanley', we sing. Let's keep it that way, please. Standardising, plasticising, commercialising... just ain't my bag.

Just be straight with us yon club folk, we've had enough for one season!

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Cheers Rob, maybe should have been put like that in programme notes!! :)

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I agree

Thanks for clarifying it but I still feel there are many more issues for club staff to get stuck into before "brand awareness" & the like....

Stanley's appeal is grass roots football, affordable, friendly, for all ages, with players who earn a working wage. An approachable manager & blinding community spirit & friends via football for life...

These aspects are the real issues that need sharpening & maintaining!

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Willie whilst I echo your sentiment, having been a steward, it would be nice if supporters treated them like human beings when they are asked to do something they do not like or do not want to do. A stewards work is a thankless task, because they tend to end up on the butt of supporters displeasure, when in truth it is the standard of officials or the team that is to blame.

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Willie, I've been trying for years with varying degrees of success to explain what I love about Stanley. You've just done it perfectly. Cheers! :D

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I really do hate the word re-brand or rebranding and all it stands for

Keep it simple for the fans

If you want to produce glossy brochures for would be sponsors great word them as big as you like

For us priority should be:
Early Bird Season Ticket Prices for next season

Offers to bring family & friends along or links back to the Community, or even open it up to other season ticket holders of other Clubs for an odd Tuesday game where there is going to be little or no away support to help fill the ground with Home Support who might just come back.

There are just to many mixed messages eminating from the Club at the moment, one step at a time

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I agree with person who said its way too much change for one season, 2 kits and now crest changes is going some and agree that other areas of club stuff need attention or maintaining.
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Haven't been back 'up home' since the Leicester City game. Have they re-branded the gents and pie sales outlet since ?

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lev it ...... next it will just be asfc on the top . save cash get a ground name $$$$$ us the time that way .then **** ing about with new tops

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Id be all for a change as long as it looks decent and not tacky or anything... its fine as it is now though

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Explain please, if its fine as is, why change?

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Posted via Mobile Device dave o'neill said he and rob heys never had time to read the message board. Thanks for the response Rob. Have you purchased any shares yet mr 'millionaire'?

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We might as well go the whole way and change the Club's name as well. After all it's not as though anybody recognises the name 'Accrington Stanley' is it ?

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Good idea,how about "Hyndburn Town"?:D

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Perfect. Everybody will easily recognise that.

Why don't the ones behind the scenes direct their energy into thinking of ways to attract more supporters to the games or improving public relations instead of wasting time changing the crest.

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New Club Crest
Monday 1st Mar 2010

Have Your Say
This Saturday’s match day programme will contain details of the new Accrington Stanley Club Crest to be used by the club from the end of this season.
The Nott’s County programme will contain a special two page feature that displays the top 5 emblem designs as shortlisted by the Accrington Stanley management.

The programme feature also contains a feedback section providing fans with the opportunity to input views, opinions and highlight favourite crest designs.

The club’s new logo is an integral part of Accrington Stanley’s brand identity and future marketing efforts, and your views at this stage of the design process are of great value. Make sure you pick up a copy of the programme this Saturday from the designated sellers and outlet so you can have your say.



Does that mean the Fans have the Final say?

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No - but it's a way to sell more programmes!!

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from what i was informed it aint changing it as such, its about copyright, will be NO major change, particular to the accy crest, i left feeling very relieved.;)

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Taken a long time to realise it was never copyrighted. :)

As daft as it sounds putting the crest in a circular badge will make a big difference to 'Stanleyfying' stuff :)

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That ******* word there again, 'brand'. It makes my skin crawl.

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You must move in some funny circles in Accy as you have five to choose from:D

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i will not do any more for the club or go to any home games ..... lev it as it is .... its been good all this time .. love accy hate brand

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The first thing that came to mind is why fix what isn't broke? I think that the club should be concentrating on the key areas of making the club commercially viable. This idea does not lend itself to this. I think the club should be looking at increasing gates and selling more merchandise. Surely if they launch a new badge this will then mean the home shirt will need to be changed for the second time this season. This is more likely to anger fans and mean they will be less likely to buy merchandise. Also with the current stock in the shop and outlet would this become redundant stock as it is no longer required. Would this mean that good money has been wasted?

I think the idea could quite possibly backfire on the club and is more likely to anger fans than draw them to it. The main things I would be looking at includes getting a ground sponsor, utilising the clubhouse more and making sure that we have a match and ball sponsor each game. Once these are done then other issues should be looked at.

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Way too much over-reaction in this thread in my opinion, Getting worked up over the club crest is insane ! Would be nice if some individuals showed as much passion in the stands !

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Matched on the pitch no doubt?

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Got to agree with Mik. :)

Cheers Rob. :) Good positive move on the club's part. Image is everything (on and off the pitch). Gives us one official crest and the power to curve the rip off merchants. :D

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Another bit of 'clever' sales incentive, people will have to buy programme to see the designs tho:rolleyes:

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While tidying up the forum last night I found this lying around and assumed it was someone's from this thread.

If the owner gets in touch I will make sure you get it back.

http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/a...ntid=15788&stc

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give it to me .....

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I can't see what good bending them will do.:rolleyes:

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All the worrying over the badge is over the top i think.. i think when it is shown saturday the designs will look alright, personally i would of just put a circle or some sort of shape around the current crest then it cant be used as copyright of the town crest or whatever

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Can'w we all just wait until we see the proposed designs? As far as I'm concerned, as long as the Accrington crest stays the same, I wouldn't be bothered by things like putting a circle round it with the team's name inside.

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I did wonder if it was yours :rolleyes:

I will return it as soon as possible :D

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We are the team of players where not all the players wear shorts ? :eek:

Oh well if it improves the gates, I thought we were a family club though. :rolleyes:

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After looking in the programme today with the 5 designs in, it aint as bad as everybody thought i dont think. 4 of the designs were just the existing badge with a shape around it and saying 'accrington stanley f.c' etc... the 5th design is a random new design, but looks less modern i think. I rekon designs 1 and 4 would look the best...

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any pics?

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Cant find any yet.. sure somebody will find em somewhere

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Having seen the five options I've got no worries anymore. Would prefer the town's crest on the badge so that rules out 5 but it's still a decent design, if a little non-leaguey.

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All of the designs had a white background, what I would like to know is - will the white be embroidered onto any garments etc" or will it be left out?
Reason - the Accrington Stanley text was in red, that wouldn't show up too well on a red shirt unless the white was embroidered too.
Can't remember the numbers but I liked the top one, the circular one and the shield one, probably the shield one would win it for me, didn't like the bottom two on the page

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The winner for me would be option three. It's the town crest inside a shield which resembles the shape of the badge on the pre-'62 shirts. Think that'd be a nice little nod to our history :)

At a glance the circle one looks like Aldershot's!

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That was the best of the Bunch, what was the Dragon or Sea Horse design all about?

I hope the Club have not paid for these designs as I think as was mentioned earlier in the Thread it would have been a nice competition for the Kids to come up with

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Circular one and the shield one:) Although the Circular one would get my vote also my lads liked this on as well:)

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on number 5 that is the lion and the stag from the town/Hyndburn crest- I didn't like that at first -but after looking again -that would be a good change with the motto under neath-

if we change - might aswell have a unique club design

the others are basically no change with a shield outline- same as Bury, Burton others have done,

bit controvertial maybe - but I'd go for number 5

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i agree with the number 5 option but i think it would look even better with the actual crest instead of wat they got there now

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I believe that the Club have made a decision on the new crest but as far as I know they haven't been bothered to tell anybody

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Another chance for a moan, Jeff. Must be great!

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I was under the impression that I was making a statement not moaning Oldgobbin, but it seems like you are moaning about me making a statement, must be great Oldgobbin.

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Girls, really ! :)

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New Emblem.

Tuesday 4th May 2010.

Accrington Stanley have officially launched a new club emblem.

The new emblem was presented to fans at Saturday’s fixture versus Chesterfield, as part of a substantial change to the way the club is branded. The new design will be featured on the club’s future kits for the first team, reserves and youth squads, training wear and replica kits as well as all stationery, signage, and merchandise.

The new 2010/11 Accrington Stanley away strip which was bearing the new club crest was also showcased to the supporters at Saturday. However the previous logo, the town crest of Accrington, will still remain on the current red home strip for the 2010/11 Season after the club pledged supporters an 18 month strip in December 2009.

The brand was produced by local design company Academy Print at the Media Village, after successfully winning tender for the big project. Speaking about the new brand ASFC Marketing Manager Martin Edmundson commented “the whole process for the club’s new emblem has been very thorough, from selecting the right company to deliver the project, right through to ensuring the fans and supporters could also input on the matter.”
“The club are very happy with the final product as it marks a professional new era at Accrington Stanley whilst maintaining the valuable history and heritage of the town and the club.”

The club’s previous logo was the town crest of Accrington, where the local council held rights over the image that was used by Accrington Cricket Club.

Think it looks OK personally and is nice on the new strip :)

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Think the new crest looks well, seems all the adult away shirts have sold already wi it on, was in shop around 1-30 n the cupboard was bare.:D

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Shame that those that bought the new red shirt this season get a free badge with new crest on so blends with the new branding.
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Looks a bit too much like Rochdales kit, but they did get promoted!