For WNBA Toronto, it all begins with a name and logo but evolution key to long-term success

Whatever the WNBA Toronto team names itself, history suggests most people will probably be unhappy initially.

The six PWHL franchise recently went through the same process — anecdotally, at least, as the logo-less first season was received coolly, the summer's nickname announcement mildly and last week's jersey release appears to have been met warmly.

Golden State, which will play its first WNBA season next year, revealed its nickname in May as the Valkyries.

The newest NWSL team, BOS Nation FC, wound up apologizing after its launch campaign caught criticism from the transgender community and others in October.

WNBA Toronto may be next up to reveal its nickname and logo — which is "likely to be early in the new year, according to a team official — but that's only the beginning of building its brand.

As it prepares to navigate those treacherous early waters, the team endeavoured to be open about the process — it launched a podcast on its brand strategy, welcomed public suggestions for its nickname and its Instagram page includes posts titled "four things to consider when designing a brand."

In a September interview with MacLean's, team president Teresa Resch said choosing the item at the top of her to-do list was "easy."

"We need an identity. A logo, colours, a name that people can rally around. WNBA Toronto? That does not have a ring to it," Resch said.

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John Lashway, a communications executive who helped launch the Raptors in 1995, cautioned that the franchise should keep its expectations for the initial rollout in check.

"If they can get half the audience to love it right away,