MARKET SHARE ANGELS' NAME CHANGE, RIDICULED AT FIRST, IS BEGINNING TO TAKE HOLD.

Byline: Rich Hammond  Staff Writer

The team with the longest, and most infamous, name in professional sports these days is the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, a mouthful that has become the subject of considerable debate, ridicule and scorn.

Whatever you want to call them, the Angels are quite pleased with the way events have played out. Even when they are being skewered by politicians or the national media, the fact remains that the Angels are getting plenty of attention, which is precisely what they wanted.

No amount of print advertising, commercials and billboards could generate what the Angels created by ``relocating'' themselves to Los Angeles in January. Their new marketing campaign, designed to help the team take a bigger chunk out of the Southern California market, has created what experts call a ``buzz.''

``Our brand awareness is at an all-time high right now,'' Angels vice president Tim Mead said.

Everyone is talking about the Angels, and not just because they're in first place entering this weekend's three-game series against the Dodgers. That makes them a success, on and off the field, even if team officials are a bit reluctant to embrace the theory that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

The Angels are averaging 40,520 fans per game this season, the third-best average in baseball but actually a bit behind last year's pace.

The viewer numbers for the team's 14 games on KCAL (2.3 rating and 5 share) compare well to those of the Dodgers' five games on KCOP (2.6 rating and 5 share).

Long-term impact, such as increases in ad rates, sponsorships and merchandise sales, will take longer to determine, but for now the Angels are pleased with their decision to market the team on a wider scale.

``It worked,'' team president Dennis Kuhl said. ``We have no regrets whatsoever. We've been focusing on our team and what we're doing. We took a couple risks here and there and we've been fortunate.

``It's nice when you go to New York and it's Los Angeles versus New York, two big-market teams.''

The name change created a firestorm, particularly among Orange County politicians who claim the team violated an agreement to call itself the Anaheim Angels. Most recently, the state Assembly passed a measure that would require the team to print on its tickets that home games are played in Anaheim.

Debate has raged for more than four months, and all the while, the Angels' name stays in the news. Also, team officials said, discussion of the team's strategy seems to be shifting from ridicule to acceptance.

``The life cycle of the typical news story is three to five days,'' said Mead, the team's vice president of communications.

``We've just been flooded with calls and e-mails. How many teams are mentioned (by late-night talk-show hosts), or on NBC News by Brian Williams?

``At first we were the butt of jokes, but then you could see the transition. Suddenly, business writers were calling us. It took on a different approach. First it was, 'Let's laugh at this,' but then it became, `Let's take a look at this. Is it feasible? Is it going to work?' ''

It's difficult to quantify the exact impact of the marketing campaign, which included the plastering of 480 ``City of Angels'' billboards from San Bernardino to Ventura counties.

While Kuhl prefers to put the focus on wins and losses more than marketing, Robert Hollander, a sports marketing consultant with a prominent sports background, said the name change has made an impact.

``It was a smart thing to do,'' Hollander said.

``How else do you get the Angels on the national news?

``Everything they're doing is about trying to increase awareness of the team beyond their tiny geographical imprint, and that will pay off. Everyone can identify with Los Angeles, but outside of Southern California, what percentage of people would even know where Anaheim was? Fifty percent?''

The vision of owner Arte Moreno and his top deputies - Kuhl, chief financial officer Bill Beverage and vice president of marketing John Carpino - was to make the Angels into a brand name.

To that end, they plastered billboards with the team's ``A'' logo and the color red. Those billboards ended up in areas of Southern California, such as the Valley, that never seriously were marketed before.

``I applaud the Angels for trying to extend their market,'' former longtime Dodgers executive Fred Claire said.

``The Dodgers never drew a line in the sand and said, `Orange County doesn't belong to us,' so why should the Angels do that with Los Angeles?

``I always enjoyed going to Anaheim and hearing as much cheering for the Dodgers as there was for the Angels, but right now the Angels are doing a better job in marketing than at any point in their history.

``Arte came in and said, 'We're not a small-market team.' They're ready to play with the big boys.''

That long-dormant crosstown rivalry has heated up, although the Angels say they are not trying to become ``L.A.'s team.'' The Dodgers say their marketing slogan of ``This Is L.A. Baseball'' isn't intended to be a response to the Angels, but the Dodgers refuse to refer to the ``Los Angeles Angels'' in any form.

``It's such a waste of time; it's pathetic,'' Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent said.

``I grew up watching the Anaheim Angels. I don't get it. ... I'll be playing the Anaheim Angels (tonight).''

To be accurate, Kent, a native of Bellflower, actually grew up watching the California Angels, as they were called from 1965-96, and in a way, Kent is helping to make the Angels' point for them.

The name change, team officials say, will blow over in time. In the long term, it's intended to make the Angels a household brand name, therefore increasing revenues on multiple fronts. In the short term, it's getting the team plenty of attention, which has proved to be invaluable.

``There's a buzz out there,'' Mead said.

``The attention is all across the spectrum. You can look at TV ratings and advertising rates, but when you have things such as somebody wearing an Angels hat in a music video, how do you measure the impact of that?''

Rich Hammond, [phone]

rich.hammond(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, 4 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) no caption (Eric Gagne)

(2 -- color) no caption (Frank McCourt)

(3 -- color) no caption (Francisco Rodriguez)

(4 -- color) no caption (Arte Moreno)

Photo illustration by Shane Michael Kidder

(5) On the Dodger Stadium scoreboard, the Angels are still considered an Anaheim team.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) TONIGHT

(2) SATURDAY

(3) SUNDAY

(4) ANGELS at DODGERS