The Cincinnati Bengals have had tough luck and some very poor seasons in the last five years. The team is at a crossroads both on the field and in rebranding its image. In April, the team released a new stripes campaign and unveiled modern uniforms for the first time in 17 years. Other initiatives are coming, announced by executive Elizabeth Blackburn as the Bengals aim to increase fan engagement in 2021.
Cincinnati Bengals Aim To Increase Fan Engagement in Multiple Ways in 2021
One prominent criticism of the Bengals and fan engagement was often the lackluster content coming from the social media department. In the last two years, the department has been overhauled, reformed and the team has added many talented people. This has led to producing some fantastic content that Bengals fans can be proud of. The best example of this is the well-known Vonn Bell, JuJu Smith-Schuster hit on MNF.
.@Vonn knocks it out from Pittsburgh TikTok star.
WATCH on ESPN pic.twitter.com/n4BNZHcJ0J
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 22, 2020
The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. has noted how the team’s new voice in Elizabeth Blackburn and marketing push has bolstered its efforts to reconnect with a lost fanbase. Blackburn, who joined the team early in 2020, is Mike Brown’s granddaughter, and Executive Vice President, Katie Blackburn’s daughter. The revamping of the social media department is just the beginning for Blackburn who has some exciting plans for 2021 and beyond.
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Ring of Honor
The Bengals were founded in 1968 and have had many great players in their 53-year history. But the team has never truly found a way to appropriately honor former greats. The lack of recognition and celebrating the past is the team’s most egregious error. Blackburn is well aware and she went to the top to get approval for the Ring of Honor. Brown recently stated “The public wants it and on a personal level my granddaughter who works for us now, Elizabeth (Blackburn), she’s pretty keen on what the public wants and she told me so. So we’re going to go forward with this, and the public has reacted very well.” It’s not easy convincing Brown to change his stance on matters. Blackburn seems to have cracked the code and longtime fans finally get to see franchise greats honored in Cincinnati.
Primetime in The Jungle 🐅
No. 1 vs. No. 1…AND we will induct the inaugural Ring of Honor class during our Thursday Night Football game on Sept. 30 against the Jacksonville Jaguars!
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) June 21, 2021
Rule the Jungle
The final initiative that Blackburn is banking on to increase fan engagement is the just-announced, Rule the Jungle. This is an all-encompassing view of raising the standards for the entire organization. The primary focus is improving the game-day experience for fans. Blackburn wants the jungle to be an intimidating place to play and be the best live entertainment experience possible. New pre-game rituals, video board graphics, player introductions and more are coming.
Today we set the tone for the 2021 season as we launch our new campaign: Rule The Jungle!
Build. Win. Rule. This is the path forward.
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) July 19, 2021
One of team founder Paul Brown’s most famous quotes is “Winning makes believers of us all.” Fans have been through so many difficult seasons that this quote rings hollow for the organization. Blackburn is going all-in and hoping fans take to heart her words that “it often takes believers to make winners of us all.” Deep down, ownership wants to show they care with Blackburn guiding the ship. Believers wanted.
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