Over the past few weeks, Bristol Rovers has been actively engaging with supporters on a possible new crest to positively represent the club moving forward.
It was felt that, after 25 years of the current logo, it could be time to modernise it. The existing option is also not particularly versatile and poses problems when it comes to applying to merchandise or using it through online channels. Finally, it was felt that the current pirate was more representative of an Admiral and the direction of the sword often leaves the crest off-centre.
The plan for this process has always been to be open and honest and to try and find a solution that all supporters could get behind.
To date, this process has involved three surveys to canvass opinions from all supporters on whether you would be open to change and what changes you would like to see.
The first allowed initial feedback to be shared on all aspects of the crest; this resulted in a strong resistance to a circular template-style crest and had a small majority of supporters that were open to change. As there was a majority, it was decided that the process would continue to see if a consensus could be gained.
The follow-up survey took the predominant themes that were mentioned in the initial surveys and gave some examples to further fuel conversation and input across three areas - shape, imagery and font. Again, there were clear preferences for one option in each category, with a majority of supporters in favour of each choice.
The third survey then pulled together the selected options into an initial concept crest, with a view to garnering further feedback to work towards a position where we could create a final crest through more in-depth focus groups.
However, within this final survey, for the first time, it was clear that the current route wasn’t the right path to go down. We have therefore taken the decision to halt the process and we will continue with the existing logo.
Since the release of this survey, we have been inundated with responses from supporters who have designed their own concepts and shared their own feedback. Thanks to all of those that have taken the time to develop these concepts and should any of these gain traction in the future, the club can re-open the process.
Thanks to all supporters for your continued support and cooperation.