UFL Access interviewed United Football League COO Frank Vuono via email a day or two ago. The interview has now been posted and is generating a lot of discussion in our forums. Below is lead writer Nation Hahn’s analysis of the email exchange:

Great Ideas and (U)aw(F)u(L) Nicknames

Frank Vuono, the Chief Operating Officer of the United Football League, has an impressive resume. He has worked in the marketing industry for over three decades and he helped develop NFL Properties, including ideas such as the Quarterback Club. Vuono is the leader within the UFL in terms of marketing, ticket sales, etc. which is why I reached out to him in an attempt to hear answers to the questions many people had following the UFL’s announcement of the “Premiere Season”.

Vuono’s answers were informative and showcased the sort of forward thinking that I feel the executives and investors behind the United Football League have shown from day one. Many of the ideas he spoke on are excellent in my mind and showcase the innovation possible in a new football venture.

This interview revealed the UFL will be producing their own games, which is great to hear for a variety of reasons. With the United Football League producing their own telecasts they will be allowed to webcast the games, integrate sponsors, and ensure the quality of the production is what they desire as a league. Allowing further sponsorship integration is extremely important for a new league starting up in this economic climate. When many sponsors are rolling back their marketing budgets in established ventures then it is wise for ventures such as the UFL to provide as much value as possible to ensure maximum revenue. I look forward to seeing the UFL television partner in the next few weeks.
As a fan of the league it is also great to see they will be reaching out to sponsors for multi-year agreements which will help ensure the league is able to launch in full in 2010 and move forward after that.

I am a fan of sponsors being posted on the field and on the jerseys, as long as it is done tastefully. With low ticket prices and little television revenue, sponsors will be vital to the growth of the United Football League – especially when they launch the full league in 2010 with a $20,000,000 salary cap.

It is also good to see that they plan for aggressive local marketing, community ventures, group and corporate sales, and other ideas in order to maximize the fans in the stands. Nothing could kill the UFL concept quite like seeing 1,000 fans in the stands during the “Premiere Season”. It seems the UFL recognizes the importance of marketing and community outreach, which is great to see.

With all of the good ideas and good things we saw during the “launch week” of the United Football League I was disappointed when it came to the team nicknames.

I do not see how you can proclaim the United Football League to be such an incredibly fan friendly league and all about “U” and then turn around and use corporate integration into team nicknames. Red Bulls New York is the rare example of a corporate name that works, and I doubt they’ll be able to find anything similar. Furthermore it flies in the face of the very concept at the core of the name the team concept which I – and I think most of the people on the site – are fond of.

My bigger concern for the near future is the incredibly…. lame (inarticulate I know)…. idea of using regional branding. It reeks of the widely slammed AAFL “Team Texas”, “Team Florida” nicknames which generated more debate and criticism than the entire AAFL venture which failed before it even really began. I know Frank Vuono and the other exec’s are wise men and women with experience and I typically trust their judgment.

With that said I feel that UFL East, UFL West, etc. as the team names in year one is an absolutely terrible idea. Little has generated more discussion on our forums than potential nicknames because that is what fans identify with. No one is going to buy merchandise for “UFL East” and I am going to be a little less excited about year one than I would be otherwise. It seems, based off of the discussions in our forums so far and the poll results on the side, that most of the UFL fans who come to this website agree with my sentiment on the idea. I would much rather see the teams have nicknames with no city attached if that is the route they wish to go – but we’ll see.

The important thing to remember is they haven’t made the final decision yet, so go to the official UFL website and let them know your opinions. Remember that United Football League Commissioner Michael Huyghue will chat live on ufl-football.com on Monday evening – log in there and share your opinions as well!