Is purple really back? Jazz owner talks about the future of jerseys and brand – KSL.com
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SALT LAKE CITY — On Thursday, the Utah Jazz’s heavily leaked city edition design was officially released. The design is a modern take on the purple mountain jersey the team wore from 1996-2004, and also features a gradient look popularized by past city edition designs.
It’s the fifth jersey the Jazz will wear this year, and the second purple one (and the second purple court). Which begs the question: What colors are the Jazz actually prioritizing?
Last December, a team of pollsters from Qualtrics randomly selected fans at a couple of Jazz home games to take part in a future jersey design poll. Those fans were shown a series of uniforms and color schemes and asked to give each a rating.
Those designs featured a number of different treatments that contained the colors the Jazz are currently using: black, purple, yellow, and white with other accent colors.
“You saw the surveys last year and we got some pretty incredible data from our fan base,” Jazz owner Ryan Smith said.
Smith was quick to point out, however, that the best data point comes from a consumption standpoint — meaning what people are buying and what they are actually wearing. When it comes to that, Smith said there’s a clear winner.
“To be direct, the yellow and black is doing really well from a consumption standpoint. Probably better than anything we’ve ever really had,” Smith said. “People love purple, we love purple, we all love purple. But there’s a reason why purple teams are incorporating black because naturally it’s not consumed the same amount.”
He said he’s learned in his career that “opinions are great, but actions are louder.” So even with the loud judgments of the bumblebee-like design, he said there’s clearly a market for it.
And, regardless how you feel about it, with all the different jerseys, he figures there will be one for every fan.
“There’s always going to be a jersey you don’t like; that’s just the business we’re in,” he said. “It’s Nike. Hopefully there’s a jersey you do like.”
So what does that mean for the future? Smith said the Jazz will, once again, have a plethora of jersey options next season. And while he sounded committed to the yellow and black design, he did leave space for some wiggle room.
“Purple’s always part of who we are. How that evolution goes, I don’t think we know yet,” he said. “I think we’re watching. I think we’re looking at the data. We have two new purple courts this year, and we’re just kind of working through this as a brand.
“I think the one thing that we do know is that the note is incredibly powerful. And watching that be activated around our arena, around Utah, around the city, around clothing, on license plates, and stickers, it’s pretty cool. We have a unique thing, and I think we’re rolling with it.”
Jazz’s Danny Ainge interjected and, pointing to a Jazz staffer wearing a purple hat with a white Jazz note logo, said: “Nobody asked me but her hat looks better than everybody else’s. The purple note wins tonight.”
How much will it win in the future? Time will tell.
“I like where we’re going, just gotta be a little patient,” Smith said.
