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What if Bowman....

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fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
What if Bowman became a subsidiary of Topps rather than be a Topps brand. I ask this only because when you buy Bowman products, you feel like you're getting a Topps product but with a different product logo on the front (Bowman) but Topps is all over the back.

I ask this because I work for Ford Motor Company and they have seen the Lincoln brand diminish over 15 years (except 2013). What they did was drop the Lincoln brand from Ford Motor Company line of cars and made The Lincoln Motor Company. Although the Lincoln MoCo is now a stand alone company under the Ford MoCo umbrella; like Motocraft, what they did was take away the consumer thought of Lincoln being a polished Ford (which they was). The Lincoln dealerships have to be in a separate building than Ford products. The delivery system is Lincoln on on carrier truck, Ford on another even though the truck is headed to the same zip code. Now (and it has worked) customers dont see the relationship between FoMoCo and Lincoln MoCo because of the company separation. Customers dont know that the Lincoln MKV and Taurus come right off the same assembly line and share a lot of the the same parts (so did the Mazda 6 and Mustang).

Would this same brand strategy work for Topps? Would it affect the MLB license even though Bowman would be considered a second company?

Just curious,

Fordman
 

Topnotchsy

Featured Contributor, The best players in history?
Aug 7, 2008
9,446
168
You've brought up an interesting and offered a pretty cool case-study which makes for a really thoughtful post. I've given it a bit of thought but I'm not sure I agree that most people view Bowman as "Topps with a different logo". In my mind (and I may be in the minority) Bowman (particularly the classic Bowman/Chrome/Draft line) has its own brand recognition. The backs of the cards are somewhat different than Topps cards (with the mini scouting report) and I think the market has shown that they Bowman (or at least that specific line) as the leader in prospect cards, which is something the overall Topps brand does not have.

Regarding Ford and Lincoln, have there been any other changes beyond the branding? Have they separated product design and marketing teams that used to be together? I know that the cars often use the same frame (and other parts) to save money, but I wonder what other elements have contributed to the shift in perception?
 

DaClyde

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2010
1,614
58
Huntsville, AL
So would the intent here be to somehow fool collectors into thinking there was now a second, competing company with full MLB/MLBPA licensing, all the while it's still just the same people churning out extremely similar products? I think it would end up more like Ford/Mercury than Ford/Lincoln. For every Topps product, there would be a nearly identical Bowman product (Taurus/Sable anyone? Same car, every so slight difference in outward appearance). They might as well just resume printing in Canada and plastering O-Pee-Chee on the cards.

I don't see an upside to this, just a deliberate attempt to confuse the customer.
 
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saraceno21

New member
Oct 18, 2012
38
0
There is an upside to this if the creative teams for each of the brands start competing with each other for ideas.
 

mrmopar

Member
Jan 19, 2010
6,187
4,093
Ah the glory days of American (muscle) cars and their various models…Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, Chevy, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Dodger, Chrysler, Plymouth, AMC and i know there are probably a few more I am forgetting.
 

fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
Im not a Bowman collector or buyer but when I have received some as Christmas gifts, opened them, thumbed through the pack, turn the card over, scouting report but the bottom 1/4 of the cards has Topps logo plus the copyright line says Topps two-three times plus website url, kinda tells me its just a Topps card with Bowman logo on the front.

The reason I have brought this up was to differentiate Topps from Bowman in all aspects. Thinking this may help in design, sales, marketing, distribution, redemtptions and most importantly customer service. Use Bowman two ways, as a heritage type product (put current MLB players in a classic Bowman design) since they existed before Topps and as Rookie/prospect item with a different new/modern design.



As for Lincoln having a different design team....YES, they always have but they started off with the Ford designs and went from there, now they have thei own designs from th ground up. In the next 3 years, the Lincoln designs will all be different than the designs in just about every aspect. Some parts may be the same (wire looms, internal door parts and the likes) but those will only be internal and not noticed by the customer.
 
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bradical

Active member
Jun 21, 2009
4,938
0
402,712,515
OT: Wouldn't be surprised if Ford sells off the newly (re)created Lincoln Motor Company.

I don't really see a benefit for Topps to spin off Bowman into a subsidiary company. Typically companies do this to limit the liability of the parent company. Since Topps is no longer a publicly traded company, they don't have pressure from investors to show a profit, so there is no gain for Topps in removing the Bowman line from their books.

Unless Topps was looking at selling off the brand, I don't see any real benefit for them.
 

fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
OT: Wouldn't be surprised if Ford sells off the newly (re)created Lincoln Motor Company.

LMC isnt going anywhere, big $$$ for FoMoCo since it doesnt cost anymore to build the MK(Z,X) or Mark LT than a Taurus/Edge/F150, just a higher profit margin.

I don't really see a benefit for Topps to spin off Bowman into a subsidiary company. Typically companies do this to limit the liability of the parent company. Since Topps is no longer a publicly traded company, they don't have pressure from investors to show a profit, so there is no gain for Topps in removing the Bowman line from their books.

Unless Topps was looking at selling off the brand, I don't see any real benefit for them.

Huge benefit to being separate as for the subsidiary's focus on that particular brand vs all thrown into one bowl and trying to put out a 1000 fires at once and not really getting anywhere.

Fordman
 

DaClyde

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2010
1,614
58
Huntsville, AL
Topps, like most companies, would be better served simply following Steve Jobs' advice to Nike. Steve Jobs to Nike CEO: "Nike makes some of the best products in the world. Products that you lust after. But you also make a lot of crap. Just get rid of the crappy stuff and focus on the good stuff."

Instead of concentrating on the good stuff, Topps keeps trying to find new ways to produce more crappy stuff.
 
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